[diversity-talk] SotM13 blog post: OSM community diversity discussions

[Martin Dittus]

I wrote a blog post summarising some of the discussions and talks about community diversity I witnessed at SotM in Birmingham, Rob Nickerson just published it here:
http://2013.stateofthemap.org/blog/changing-ratio-openstreetmap-community-diversity-sotm-2013/

I really enjoyed SotM, and had a range of great discussions there. I'm still fairly new to OSM, but found that it's culturally close to many other hacker/geek communities I've experienced over the last 15+ years, including all their good and their bad sides. With maybe one key difference: at its core OSM is about maps, not tech… which I think has interesting implications.

Summary of the proposition in my post: I think it's clear that the OSM community is still very much a technology-focused community, and thus demographically homogeneous. Most prominently: male-dominated. However there also is a great opportunity to broaden their interests and demographics. Maps, at their core, are not about technology -- they are meeting grounds and catalysts for a wide range of social concerns. Community activities already reflect this, and other indicators show that OSM may quite naturally be undergoing a cultural shift towards a more diverse community.

Looking forward to witness the next few years of growth!

m.