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

[Ashwin Baindur]

Hi friends,

I noticed this yesterday on page 16 of Pune Mirror which deals with Sci-Tech
articles. Its given as reported from New York and it appears to be a
syndicated reprint. No news agency or author or date is indicated. Pune
Mirror is a tabloid, junk sold alongside its respectable elder sister Times
of India, so no surprise that it provides complete misinformation.

Warm regards,

Ashwin Baindur
------------------------------------------------------


On Sun, Apr 24, 2011 at 7:04 PM, CherianTinu Abraham
<tinucherian at gmail.com>wrote:

> 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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