[OSM-talk] AND donate entire street network of Netherlands toOSM

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

> Deals like the one with AND take positive marketing, time and  
> enthusiasm
> from those involved and the building of trust.

Right, and while I assume that a lot of time has been spent getting  
the AND people to trust us, our trusting AND is taken for granted.  
That's the major problem here, and we had the very same with Mikel's  
work with Yahoo: There's a long process leading up to an agreement,  
and the community is only told the second that a deal is struck:  
"This is good news, believe us, it is GOOD". (Sometimes news is out  
on other websites before the community is told, even.)

This is anything but building trust.

Add to this that Steve is, most of all, not a programmer or a leader  
but a good marketing guy. He has an excellent capacity to sell ideas,  
to clad them in words that the receivers are likely to swallow. This  
has helped the project a lot when applied to the outside, but I feel  
it hurts when applied to the community. Think of his announcement  
that we'll have Mappam ads ("I helped create Mappam... currently only  
UK... Mappam not taking a cut") - all were true, but the full truth  
was that Steve was a director (not only helped creating it), that the  
whole world followed shortly after (while it was true that at the  
time of announcing it, it was only the UK), and that Mappam was not  
taking a cut *in the fist month*, with further details not yet worked  
out. All that was left out to make the message easier to digest.

So it is only natural for us to ask: What has been left out in the  
AND "press release"? And let's be honest, we the community, that is  
the people who do the 90% of work that Steve doesn't do himself ;-),  
have not had more than the very same press release that went out to  
the world. We aren't insiders in this process. We are outsiders, and  
treated as such.

> So let's cut through the crap and get back to the business of  
> making our
> cool map data even cooler, because right now all of the geodata  
> community
> worldwide is watching with interest at OSM's rapid rise in status.  
> There is
> absolutely no reason at all to think that the project will be  
> anything other
> than a huge long term success. So I suggest everyone tightens their
> seatbelts, the next couple of years and more is likely going to be  
> a very
> fast and at times bumpy ride.

Admit it, you're a marketing guy as well. I feel like hearing a  
"Herbalife" presentation. We are cool, yay! And now let's all stand  
up and sing!

Damn it, where's Lars with his icy cynicism when you need him.

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00.09' E008°23.33'