Most of our mapping parties, if not all, start with a brief introduction. The newbies are informed about the various benefits of using and contributing to OpenStreetMap, such as massive improvements to the individual’s privacy and an easy mechanism to correct data.

However, I have been wondering if this approach is the optimal path. This doubt started nagging me after I picked up The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen. If class distinctions are really so pervasive as theorized in the book, shouldn’t we try to incorporate these findings in our promotion of OSM in mapping parties and everywhere else?

A clear description of the context would be in order. Though our existing method of extolling the benefits of OSM is good, I don’t think it is the best one for India. India has, unfortunately, one of the lowest proportion of people contributing to social activities. In conversation with my friends, I often find them considering the idea of “doing something for free” repugnant. Maybe its due to the oppressive nature of the Indian classes, where people’s aspirations are mostly reduced to the singular objective of rising above their current class. Whatever is the reason, we can at least conclude that the current system of promoting OSM is unsatisfactory in the context of India.

We can, for instance, try to frame OSM as a hobby and actively compare the intensity of mapping activity with other mappers (say, by focusing on the heat map that is displayed on the OSM profile page). Setting aside the moral considerations this entails, I believe this approach is likely to bring some interesting results. People may or may not be excited by the idea of increasing their reputation by performing conspicuous leisure in the form of contributions. However, it must be tested on field before we derive any conclusions.

This diary entry was first posted on my website under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.