[Wikimediaindia-l] [Press] : Pune Mirror : " Will Google Maps lead people astray, the Wikipedia way?"

[CherianTinu Abraham]

Interestingly a slightly negative story on Wikipedia in India after a long
time.

There's some pretty impressive mistakes and assertions in this article
(copied below), in particular:
* "Many of us have also been tricked by faulty or falsified information on
Wikipedia, which is edited by users who are often tempted into leading
others astray."
* "Originally, Wikipedia allowed anyone to update its entries" ... "In 2009,
it was forced to recruit 20,000 editors to stop falsification of entries."

*Pune Mirror : " Will Google Maps lead people astray, the Wikipedia way?"*
http://www.punemirror.in/article/26/20110423201104240122415581039affe/Will-Google-Maps-lead-people-astray-the-Wikipedia-way.html

*With the launch of the new Map Maker application in the US, Google Maps can
be edited by anybody, putting a question mark on the reliability of its
content*
*
*
*New York: Almost all of us have been tricked by a faulty GPS into taking a
wrong turn, driving down a dead end road, in extreme cases even driving into
rivers or to the edge of cliffs. Many of us have also been tricked by faulty
or falsified information on Wikipedia, which is edited by users who are
often tempted into leading others astray. *
*
*
*Now, Google is set to combine both dangers into one with the launch of Map
Maker in the US, reports Daily Mail. Map Maker is a web-based application
that allows users to edit Google Maps using their own local knowledge of an
area. It takes advantage of crowd-sourcing to map the parts *
*of the world that even Google can’t get to. *
*
*
*Crowd outsourcing*
*
*
*“You know your neighbourhood or hometown best,” Google Map Maker tech lead
Lalitesh Katragadda and product manager Manik Gupta said in a blog post.
“With Google Map Maker, you can ensure the places you care about are richly
represented on the map. For example, you can fix the name of your local
pizza parlour, or add a description of your favourite book store.” *
*
*
*Users are also encouraged to add bike lanes, walking paths, secret
shortcuts, parking lots, and any other details they can think of using Map
Maker. *
*
*
*
*
*The suggestions are set to be reviewed before being published. “After
approval, the edits will appear in Google Maps within minutes — dramatically
speeding up the time it takes for online maps to reflect the often-changing
physical world,” the blog post read.*
*
*
*Wikipedia controversies*
*
*
*Originally, Wikipedia allowed anyone to update its entries. But a series of
malicious incidents — including changes to George W Bush’s page that saw it
having to be corrected an incredible 40,000 times, and an entry giving
former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s middle name as ‘Whoop de doo’ —
soon forced the site to rethink its policy.In 2009, it was forced to recruit
20,000 editors to stop falsification of entries. *
*
*
*Review of changes*
*
*
*Map Maker, perhaps learning from that lesson, is set to review changes
before they are published. How exactly the changes will be reviewed,
however, remains largely undefined. When MailOnline tested the app, changes
appeared to be subject to review by other users.*
*
*
*It was not clear how many users were needed to approve or deny a change
before it was published, but Google promises that changes will appear
‘within minutes’. A request for more detail on the vetting process has not
yet been answered. *
*
*
*Already up and running*
*
*
*Map Maker is already running in 183 countries around the world. Despite
concerns, it is being hailed as a cartographical revolution, allowing some
of the world’s remotest places to be mapped in a medium available to the
masses for the very first time. *
*
*
*It also allows for a level of detail — for example, of college campuses —
that simply would not be available on conventional maps. “Map Maker users
have mapped entire cities, road networks and universities that were never
previously recorded online,” the blog post bragged.*
*
*
*“These contributions have been incorporated into Google Maps and Google
Earth, so the collective expertise of the Map Maker community benefits the
millions of people using these products globally.”*
*Those who have Google Earth can also watch mapping in real time by others
around the world using  the application. *


Regards
Tinu Cherian
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