[HOT] Telling the story of HOT

[noah ahles]

Hi All,

I'm going to take a page out of Amazon's book and write a future press
release for a new initiative within HOT that I'd like to spearhead.
-----------------------
"There are thousands of articles published covering HOT and the great work
that is being done all around the world but often times the amount of
information is overwhelming, especially for new mappers and those who have
never used OSM before. In response to this, HOT has just revamped the
projects section on hotosm.org to include a comprehensive guide to telling
the story of each major activation in a compressed and easily digestible
format. Each HOT project has 4 sections of compiled information:

1. A description of the disaster, what was mapped, why it was mapped,
how/who it helped
2. Slideshow / geolocated photos with testimonials of end users and how HOT
data helped them achieve their goals
3. Published maps using HOT data/imagery to further describe how OSM data
was implemented
4. Any statistical analyses and conclusions using the data in that project

There is also a compilation of modules using HOT data/imagery to implement
in the classroom setting on teachosm.org. Introduce students to GIS and how
it benefits the world while building valuable and marketable skills in
OpenStreetMap, QGIS and ArcGIS. TeachOSM has also created an easy to use
workflow for teachers to customize their own modules tailored to their
curriculum. Preparing the next generation of remote humanitarian mappers is
only a click away!"
---------------------------

I've been contributing to HOT for about two years now and have hosted ~10
mapathons in Burlington, VT. In my experience, the single most difficult
aspect of hosting mapathons is consistently being able to recruit new
volunteers and getting volunteers who have attended a mapathon to come to
another one.

I'd like to open up a discussion about how to get people excited about
HOT/facilitate recruitment efforts by revisiting two question:

1. Why is HOT data important?
2. How is it being used?

These two questions can be answered in several ways:
*A*. Creating a consolidated repository of information, images, maps,
videos, analyses that tell a story without overwhelming the user with
information.

*Being concise and using a format that flows well is paramount to keeping
people's attention for long enough to get across a complete story.*

*B*. Compiling written and video testimonials of people who have used HOT
data
examples: https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/athaikdin/diary/37480,
http://sm4good.com/2015/11/30/maps-helped-fight-ebola-part-ii/,
http://sm4good.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/GIS-Support-Ebola-2015_EN.pdf
These resources are great and I think they could be compiled, compressed
and made easier to digest overall for new mappers to paint a picture of who
is using the data and how it has helped them. We could be adding an
organized geojournalism side to HOT that I think would get people really
excited about projects they have already worked on and upcoming projects.
(Check out  http://infoamazonia.org/ which already has a great
geojournalism framework)

*C.* Creating modules that integrate open imagery (
https://openaerialmap.org/) and HOT vector data that tell a story and
develop skills using OpenStreetMap, Overpass Turbo, QGIS, ArcGIS, etc.
These modules could be posted on TeachOSM. Very simple example module:

Task:
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25th. The WHO and Red Cross
have asked you to determine how long it will take to get from the base camp
in Kathmandu to the rural city Dhading Besi to distribute supplies. They
have also requested you determine the approximate population in Dhading
Besi Given 4 people live in each household on average. Lastly, confirm that
the route you plan has roads wide enough for trucks to travel safely on.
Write a brief summary of your findings and if supplies need to be
transferred to smaller vehicles at some point along the way find the
lat/long of that location.

Deliverables:
-Distance from Kathmandu base camp to Dhading Besi in Miles/Kilometers and
time of travel
-Estimated population in the region
-Lat/Long of vehicle transfer (if necessary)

Workflow:
-Use the OSM routing system
http://www.openstreetmap.org/directions?engine=osrm_car&route=27.7077%2C85.3149%3B27.9119%2C84.8880#map=11/27.7992/85.0778
-Use Overpass Turbo to query buildings in Dhading Besi by simply typing in
Building into the Wizard

Please let me know if you have any thoughts/ideas about this initiative or
would be interested in helping get it underway!

Best,
Noah
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