Volunteered geographic information
Volunteered geographic information (VGI) is the harnessing of tools to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic data provided voluntarily by individuals (Goodchild, 2007).[1] Some examples of this phenomenon are Wikimapia, OpenStreetMap, TeamSurv and Google MyMaps. VGI can also be seen as an extension of critical and participatory approaches to geographic information systems[2] and as a specific concern within online or web credibility.[3] These sites provide general base map information and allow users to create their own content by marking locations where various events occurred or certain features exist, but aren’t already shown on the base map.
VGI is a special case of the larger Web phenomenon known as user-generated content.[4]
[edit] Criticism
VGI has been criticized for poorly representing common variations in the data of OpenStreetMap and other sites: that some of the data is paid, in the case of CloudMade's ambassadors, or generated by another entity, as in US Census data. [5]
[edit] See also
- Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Neogeography
- Participatory 3D modelling (P3DM)
- Participatory GIS
- Public participation
- Public participation GIS (PPGIS)
- Traditional knowledge GIS
- Web mapping
[edit] References
- ^ Goodchild, M.F. (2007). "Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography". GeoJournal 69 (4): 211–221. doi:10.1007/s10708-007-9111-y.
- ^ Elwood, S. (2008). "Volunteered Geographic Information: Future Research Directions Motivated by Critical, Participatory, and Feminist GIS". GeoJournal 72 (3&4): 173–183. doi:10.1007/s10708-008-9186-0.
- ^ Flanagin, A. J.; Metzger, M. J. (2008). "The credibility of volunteered geographic information". GeoJournal 72: 137–148. doi:10.1007/s10708-008-9188-y.
- ^ Graham, M. (2010). "Neogeography and the Palimpsests of Place". Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 101 (4): 422–436.
- ^ Gorman, Sean. "Why VGI is the Wrong Acronym". Fortius One. http://blog.geoiq.com/2010/04/15/why-vgi-is-the-wrong-acronym/. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
