Towards a socio-economical evaluation framework of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) Anisur Rahman Gazi (1), Research Director: Dr. Stéphane Roche (2) 1 PhD Student, Geomatic Science, Université Laval, anisur-rahman.gazi.1@ulaval.ca 2 Professor, Geomatic Science, Université Laval, stephane.roche@scg.ulaval.ca Abstract Neogeography with World Wide Web and satellite technology has become an important subject matter of modern digital age. Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), using the web 2.0 platform with wikilike initiatives has enriched and is developing the idea of Neogeography in the digital world. VGI is the user-generated-content with geospatial reference in the field of Geomatics since VGI harnesses the tools to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic data provided voluntarily by individuals. Wikimapia, OpenstreetMap, Google Mymaps and Cloudmade are some examples of this phenomenon. These sites provide general base map information and allow users to create their own content by marking locations where various events occurred or certain features exist, but aren’t already shown on the base map. The importance of VGI is growing as since the numbers of contributors are increasing day by day. The field of VGI has already drawn attention to the contributors of participatory Geoweb as well as to the researchers in the field of Geomatics. The emerging Participatory Geoweb (web 2.0) and VGI aim to create a highly dynamic environment building a digital Neighbourhood along with the participating people of the whole world. It has a big hope to bring a positive change in the social life and economic sector amongst the neighbours of that digital neighbourhood. It is introducing a new business model, new economics and a new way of thinking about the future of Geographic Information Science (GIScience). Project: SII- 86 (ECOGEO II) - GEOIDE

1. Company
DÉPARTEMENT DES SCIENCES GÉOMATIQUES
LOGO
Towards a socio-economical
evaluation framework of
Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)
Anisur Rahman Gazi –PhD Student
Dr. Stéphane Roche –Professor & Research Director

2. Main Field of Research
• The main research will be carried out on the field of VGI and
PPGIS, an emphasis on the socio-economic evaluation of those
two fields in combination with Neogeography.

3. Components of PPGIS

4. Components of PPGIS
Section 1
Technologies
Sciences GISciences
WebGIS
PPGIS
Local Knowledge
Community Development E-Government
Participatory Mapping E-Democracy
Critical GIS
GI &Society
Section 2
Social Inclusion
Section 3
Source: Ayesegul, S. Roche, N. Chrisman

5. Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)
• The term “volunteered geographic information” (VGI) refers to GI
which is created in collaboration by users who usually don't have
special skills in handling spatial data. This makes it difficult to
incorporate such GI in applications depending on high quality
data.
• Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has the potential to be
a significant source of geographers’ understanding of the surface
of the Earth’’- (Michael Goodchild, 2007). Goodchild has also
termed this phenomenon as user-generated content.
• User-generated geospatial content through the web is part of
Geospatial components of the Web 2.0 and, an example of
Neogeography.

6. Characteristics of VGI
Free Labor and Free Source Code
Free Labor and Free Source Code
Open Standards and Open Data
Open Standards and Open Data
New Standards, Schemas & Protocols
New Standards, Schemas & Protocols
Appreciated by NMA (e.g., Ordnance Survey)
Appreciated by NMA (e.g., Ordnance Survey)
Wiki Like, Self-Motivated Actors
Wiki Like, Self-Motivated Actors

7. Cycle Diagram Showing the Formation of VGI
Socio-Economical
As
pe s
ct n teer
s Volu Web 2.0
GI Socio-Economical
Socio-Economical
Science Framework of VGI
Framework of VGI
s
Feed
R SS
Mash-Ups

8. What Neogeography is???
• Neogeography is telling the story of a place in one’s own
way. The tools can be tagging, blogging, photo sharing
and script writing about the geography of a place. It is the
new way of thinking about geography.
• Adding and describing a newly discovered place on the
map, telling the changes of the map, landuse, Road
network and structure of an area.
• It is followed by the daily update of the map, it is a new
way of sharing one’s experience of vacation in a new and
exciting place. It is the easiest way to to create maps and
of sharing the locations of a one’s interest and history.

9. What is Web 2.0???
• According to Wikipedia Web 2.0 is a trend in World Wide
Web technology, and web design, a second generation of
web-based communities and hosted services such as
social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies,
which aim to facilitate creativity, information sharing,
collaboration, and sharing among users.
• It is almost defined as the new era of the World Wide
Web.
• The term became notable after the first O'Reilly Media
Web 2.0 conference in 2004. The term suggests a new
version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an
update to any technical specifications, but to changes in
the ways software developers and end-users use webs.

10. Business Model of Web 2.0
• Web 2.0 introduces business model through creating places
online where people would like to come together to share what
they think, see and do.
• The most hosting sites of User-Created Content (UCC) started
their steps with no business plans but the increasing demand
and the increasing number of hits on the sites insisted them to
think again and they started earning revenue.
• The website 2.0 still offer free access to their services. Their
economy is based on the ability to enhance exchanges and
activities that develop on the site to generate revenue around
this free service.
• According to Beuscart, Dacheux and Kevin there can be four
forms of monetizatin of Web 2.0. They are as follows;
Advertising
The Freemium Principle (Free+Premium)
Market Place.
Collection of resources based on giving and Volunteering

11. What is Web 2.0?

12. Main Research Objectives
• Main Objective
The Main Objective of this study aims to give
an outline for achieving socio-economic
benefits of Volunteered Goegraphic
Information (VGI).
• Specific Objective
To Present VGI as a new Business Model.
To Provide a socio-economical evaluation
framework for the evaluation of VGI.

13. Methodology to adopt Objectives

14. Ethical Background
• Present mapping world is looking forward to be
more faithful to reality coping with the
development of 3D maps.
• Mobile mapping and remote sensing are
inherently prone to human errors, needs more
revisit rates and cover no story about places.
• In this sense, neogeography can be considered
as an up- to- date mapping technic in
comparison to mobile mapping and remote
sensing.

15. Political and Social Acceptance
• Increasing new interest by the tax authorities.
• The Governments are having off-line economic
gains.(OECD, 2007)
• Virtual transactions but treated as underground
economy (OECD, 2007).
• Building a digital Society through Web 2.0. The
Facebook community can be an example of
digital neighbourhood.

16. Effects on the Market
Figure showing the Long Tail Graph in the market economy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Long_tail.svg

17. Effects on the Market
Comparison between Old market and New market (the long tail) economy
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Longtail.jpg

18. Conclusion
• Neogeography with VGI has the potential to save
thousands of lives and billions of Dollars a year in
the US. (Wilson, C.2007)
• The users are making the contents freely, so the
products being cheap.
• Increase for consumer deals in big sale and the big
sale decrease the cost of products. A long tail
graphics is created in the market.
• VGI is supposed to bring a positive effect in
mapping science and on the market of Geospatial
database which will be positive for both the
consumers and suppliers.

19. Acknowledgements
The Authors are Acknowledged to
Géomatiques C R G ECOGEO-II GOOGLE
ULAVAL ULAVAL GEOIDE Wikipedia