1. Meeting in
Person:
Why, How, & What’s Next?
Kathleen Danielson
State of the Map US 2014

2. ● Board Member, OpenStreetMap US
● Creator and co-organizer of Geo DC
● Technical Project Manager
● Online Community Management
Community is my jam.
Who Am I?

3. Getting people into
the same room to
drink beer and do
nerdy things
My Life Skill:

4. Geo DC, January 2013

5. 1. Save Community, Save the World OSM
2. Every community is unique
3. Take care of yourself
4. Community Scales
If you only pick up 4 things:

6. Why?

7. ● This community has diverse interests--
people get involved in OSM for a lot of
reasons. Learn about them!
● Mapping is a solitary task; it's easy to go
down rabbit holes and forget about the
big picture
● It can only help the project to establish
more in-person hubs
Why Bother?

8. ■ Real Talk: I love OSM, but the mailing list
discourse isn’t always as constructive as it
could be
■ Building real world connections can help
■ Bottom-up approach to global
community building
■ A healthier community won’t
spontaneously create itself
Community Health

9. How?

10. ■ This isn’t scary. (But don’t let anyone tell
you it’s easy!)
■ If you don’t get pick-up, that’s ok. Try
again. Rethink your approach. Reach out
for suggestions. (More on this later)
■ It’s also ok if it doesn’t work out. Every
place has unique challenges.
Just Do It!

11. ● Find other mappers
● Spread the word
● Programming
● Keep it going
Getting Started

12. ● New York City
● San Francisco
● Boston
● Tampa Bay
● DC
● Baltimore
● Cleveland
● St. Louis
● Salt Lake City
● Seattle
● Chicago
● ???
Where are the local communities?
These aren't all exclusively OSM-focused,
and that's ok too. More on that later.

13. ● ito! OSM Mapper
● Pascal's OSM Contributors Map
● talk-us mailing list (but try the
others first)
Find people in your area

14. ito! osm mapper

15. ● Email
○ Google Groups are great
● Twitter
● Facebook... wait, what?
○ DC Homebrew Club
● Meetup.com
○ Not free
○ Great way to reach new folks
Spread the Word

17. Meet your community
where they are

18. ● Ask!
● Keep trying new things
● Reassess: what your community needed
two years ago might not be what they
need today
Assessing your community's needs

19. ● Social meetups ("Mappy Hour")
● Mapping Parties; Field and/or "armchair"
● Informal presentations, "lightning talks"
● Maptime
● Editathons
Now What?

20. #Editathon!

21. ● No one says you can't have a wider scope
● Some of the largest, most active groups
aren't OSM-exclusive
● This is probably an easier way to get
started
All OSM all the time?
Maptime!

22. ● Connect with other groups and
organizations:
○ Environmental groups
○ Tech groups
○ Others (KCDC)
● Don't try this alone!
● No, seriously: don't forget to reassess
your community's needs.
Keeping things going

23. Take Care of Yourself

24. ● Try to have at least one co-organizer
● Don't be afraid to ask for help or
resources from your community
● What type of programming or schedule
can you realistically support?
● Make sure it's fun for YOU! Take a break
if you need it.
Avoiding Burnout

25. This Stuff Scales

26. ● How can we help each other build
stronger local communities?
● How can our local communities
strengthen the national one?
● How can the US community better
collaborate with communities around the
world?
Let’s talk about it

27. ● Amsterdam Geo
Drinks
● Mappers in
Belgium
● OSM France in
Paris
● OSM meetup in
Rome
Local Communities in Europe

28. ● Save Community, Save OSM
● Communities are special snowflakes
● Take care of yourself
● Community Scales
Key Takeaways

29. @KathleenLD
Thanks!