outline-sotm-talk.md

Outline for osm.org talk

Plan is to define a number of fundamental problems with osm.org and present concrete, solutions, in the form of visual mock-ups, that address these flaws.

Problem 1: The site information architecture doesn't properly represent the project.

Rethink the information architecture and visual design of the website to better represent the project and meet real user needs. OpenStreetMap is four interconnected things:

1. openstreetmap.org is a map in the way Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Users use it for navigation and exploration. It needs to look like a map and function like a map.
2. openstreetmap.org is an app designed for editing and maintaining the map. Users use it to inspect data and directly access editing tools.
3. openstreetmap.org is a social platform that supports the community behind the map. Users use it for collaborating, knowledge sharing, and bragging about their contributions.
4. openstreetmap.org is a data resource for 3rd party users of the open data that powers the map.

OpenStreetMap is really not that compliated if presented correctly. All users, regardless of their end goal, should be able to understand the site and do what they want to do right away.

Problem 2: The front page does a poor job of introducing the project to new users.

As Tom Hughes mentioned in his 2010 blog post Redesigning the OpenStreetMap Web Site:

"[another] problem with the home page is that for a newcomer to the project it gives little information about what the project is and why it is more than just another “internet maps site” like Google, Bing or Yahoo."

"there are essentially two entirely separate classes of user that the home page needs to address – newcomers who need to be introduced to the project, and existing users who quite likely just want to see the map."

This is still an issue. How to solve it:

• Provide a prominent, concrete definition of OSM right away in a conditional modal or popup that only appears for new users. "OpenStreetMap is a free worldwide map, created by people like you..."
• Make the join button more prominent and the signup process friendlier.
• Information architecture changes will instantly just make the project make more sense for everyone. No more tension between the navigation in the sidebar and the tab-based header navigation, which is currently a confusing mess.

Problem 3: The community section of the site needs to be more social.

• Totally redesigned the user profile pages. They should open with a slick summary block inspired by the content on How did you contribute to OpenStreetMap. Visualize the user's activity in an easy to digest format. Add rankings, badges based on # of edits (or more appropriate metric). This adds huge social incentives for mapping. Display comparisons between current user and average user, user's friends, top users, ect. Make it competitive.
• Smart activity feed. Rather than a single post for each your friends with their latest edit, this should be a feed filterable by: specific area, your friends, and content type, that combines blog posts, map contributions and other types of activity(?) into a single timeline.
• Allow commenting on all items in the feed.
• Allow users to follow not just other users, but also locations.
• Add profile pages for geographic locations as well as users. If this is technically/conceptually weird, add some sort of geographic-based group feature.

There are major improvements that can be made to the History and data browsing sections of the site as well, but I'm leaving that out of the scope of this talk.