Maps and Yellow Pages - Motiejus Jakštys

From cartography to coding, it's all about the journey and the people you meet along the way.

I wanted people to see this on stream, so let's see if we can make it show up. Oh, okay, I think you can see it now. You can read it; it says "Zero the Zigana Zig Mascot." So, you can love 24. Zero has a badge. Good job, Zero!

Welcome to the second-to-last talk. Our speaker is Mattius. I already forgot your surname. How do you pronounce it? Yak? Yak, man, this is so hard. Could you please introduce yourself?

Yes, I'm a jxt. This is my fourth time here—well, technically, like the Milan party Meetup and then the third CLE—and this is my third time speaking. So, I feel I get a lot of attention, and I really like you folks. Good to be here again. Please give it up. Oh, one more thing—wait, wait, wait, wait, wait—one more because Michael was speaking about food. I spent a couple of years in the UK, and there's one thing I remember that I miss. I'd like to take my Michael-like cheddar, and I like the British breakfast. I really miss it here because you would get your breakfast at around 9:00, and the second meal would be at around 7:00 p.m. That was really efficient.

Okay, that's it. Awesome. So, please give it up. Oh, I go, yeah. But first, move your microphone slightly so that it doesn't touch your beard. Okay, yeah, yeah, you can bend it up outward. Yeah, that's good. Thank you. Okay, so let's do this. Okay, cool. This is visible, right? Yep, blue background, very bright blue. Not here, not so much. Okay, so I introduced myself here. Welcome again. This is going to be my first non-technical talk in the cycle, which I was looking forward to a lot.

About me: Who attended my cartography presentation in 2022 at the first Milan Meetup by sh H? Right, a couple. Good to see. So, that presentation was the first 3 minutes where cartography was introduced. Today took two years. So, now a bit about me. I introduced Zik to Uber over those years. That's why I was mostly on stage. I did a Master's in cartography a few years ago, so I'm a cartographer among non-cartographers because I don't do it seriously. But if I meet cartographers, I'm a software engineer. Currently, I'm in Chronosphere doing metrics, a time series database. That's very briefly about me.

This is me. I like travel. I still do. I did that a lot. This is me in 2010 or 2009 with my current wife in Sweden. We were hitchhiking throughout Sweden and used to stay wherever. This time, it was a parking lot. This is our tent, and a local reporter came over, took an interview, and we ended up in a local newspaper. She sent it over a few weeks later, which was nice. So, that's me from a long time ago.

Agenda: About me, we just talked. I'll do some demos of Yellow Pages—what that was, what that is, what that maybe will be. We'll switch to real maps on contemporary supercomputers in our pockets, and then we'll actually fix the map in OpenStreetMap. Who of you downloaded OSM and the map? Oh, this is so nice. This is way more than I was expecting, so you'll have things to do, right? So, preparation—you did the preparation, so we can skip this.

Okay, so most of you have it. You downloaded Milan, you downloaded Lombardy, you saw the map, right? I have this for the introduction. What's the difference between Yellow Pages and the map? I left myself a note to make a picture of the maps of the pile of maps that I have at home, but of course, I forgot the picture. Then Loris, as soon as I came, saved me. He gave me those, and these are example maps with half advertisements, half maps. But, like, you know, if you're traveling and if you like this stuff, you probably have a pile as well. There are like four, which I'll bring home. Thank you, Loris.

So, imagine a pile of maps, but bigger and more diverse. This is kind of the theme of what we're going to talk about—what's the difference between a map and Yellow Pages. For those who are my age and older, you may remember that there used to be phone books where you could find anyone in your city by their last name and maybe address, depending on the country, and their phone number. That used to be a white book with very thin pages and very small font. There would be a much thinner piece of the book with Yellow Pages, and these had business listings. Businesses could buy space there and get, like, a quarter of a page.

=> 00:05:31

Old-school maps and Yellow Pages are out; digital maps like Google give you everything you need, from Eggs Benedict to water fountains.

Imagine a pile of maps, but bigger and more diverse. This is the theme of our discussion today. What is the difference between a map and the Yellow Pages? For those who are my age and older, you may remember phone books where you could find anyone in your city by their last name, address (depending on the country), and phone number. These phone books, often referred to as the white book, had very thin pages and small font. There was also a much thinner section known as the Yellow Pages, which contained business listings. Businesses could buy space in the Yellow Pages, ranging from a small line to a quarter or half-page ad, depending on how much they wanted to pay. Essentially, all business listings were compiled in this single book, which was issued every couple of years. The origin of the Yellow Pages may have been from the US, but I am not certain. Over time, as people stopped reading books, the format became smaller. However, you can still find examples of Yellow Pages for free.

Now, let's look at a map of Nicosia. I took this map when I landed in Cyprus. Unlike the Yellow Pages, this is a proper map that you can get for free, and as you can see, there are no ads at all. The other side of the map is zoomed in on the city center and contains no business information, which could be good or bad depending on what you're looking for. I have plenty of these maps, and they are quite useful for navigation because they are much larger than a cell phone screen when unfolded. For example, this is a map of Stockholm that I got from a train station during a trip in 2010. The space allocated for the map compared to everything else is substantially different, with the map being slightly bigger but still dominated by businesses that paid to be featured.

There is a huge variety of maps, from road maps useful for planning longer trips to tourist booklets and everything in between. Now, let's switch to this year and my brief experience trying to find Eggs Benedict. Last year, I started at a new company in the very center of the city and often needed breakfast. I like Eggs Benedict, so I used two mapping applications to find it. On the left, you see Google Maps results for Eggs Benedict, and on the right, you see OpenStreetMap results. Google Maps provided quite a few matches within a few hundred meters, with user comments about the quality of the Eggs Benedict. In contrast, OpenStreetMap did not provide any matches because it does not categorize food items like Eggs Benedict.

Another example is looking for a water fountain. I used to do long running trainings, covering distances of 15 to 20 kilometers. One of the bigger problems was getting water. I didn't want to carry water, but after 8 to 10 kilometers, I really needed a drink. I used to plan my trips around water fountains, ensuring there would be one every few kilometers. If not, I would carry cash to buy water from a kiosk. Comparing the two maps for water fountains, Google Maps shows several options, while OpenStreetMap provides a different story.

=> 00:09:55

Open Street Maps lets you fix errors instantly, unlike Google Maps where you need permission.

The story begins with a comparison of matches on maps, noting that there are quite a few matches on the left side, even though the business may not advertise it. The next example involves looking for a water fountain. The speaker used to do long running trainings of 15 to 20 kilometers, and one of the bigger problems was getting water. They didn't want to carry water but needed to drink after 8 to 10 kilometers. To solve this, they planned their trip around water fountains, ensuring there would be one every few kilometers. If not, they would carry cash to buy water from a kiosk.

When comparing two maps for water fountains, Google shows seven water fountains in the area, whereas Open Street Maps shows many more. This highlights that water fountains, which are supposed to be on the map, appear more frequently on Open Street Maps. This discrepancy leads to the realization that finding useful locations like water fountains or children playgrounds can vary significantly between different map providers.

The speaker then delves into the differences between Google and Open Street Maps, comparing them to two kinds of encyclopedias. One type requires permission to change something, like traditional encyclopedias, while the other allows changes to be made first and then asks for forgiveness, similar to Wikipedia. The speaker grew up with the former type, where updates are made by the publisher, but with Wikipedia, anyone can make changes, which are generally successful.

This concept applies to maps as well. There are maps where you need permission to make changes, like Google or TomTom, and there are maps where you can make changes directly, like Open Street Maps. The speaker has experienced both types, noting that changes made on Open Street Maps go live immediately, although they can be reverted if necessary.

The speaker explains why one might want to change a map or an encyclopedia. Errors on maps can lead to mistakes in navigation. While some mistakes are due to user error, others are due to errors on the map itself. The speaker has encountered both scenarios and acknowledges that mistakes and bugs are everywhere. The important question is what can be done about them.

The speaker shares that there are many examples online of people making mistakes due to incorrect maps. These stories are valuable because they highlight the need for accurate maps and the ability to make corrections. The speaker recounts a persistent problem on Google Maps that couldn't be fixed for years, emphasizing the importance of the ability to change versus the inability to change.

The speaker's brother also had a bad experience with an incorrect map but thankfully was fine. This leads to the speaker's love for editing maps. Recently, they walked around looking for a good example of what can be edited on the map, demonstrating the practical aspect of making real-time changes to improve accuracy and usefulness.

=> 00:14:15

Fixing Google Maps errors is addictive once you start noticing all the missing details!

There is a persistent problem at Google Maps that has remained unresolved for years. This issue highlights the broader theme of the ability to change versus the inability to change. My brother has a dark story involving an incorrect map, but thankfully he is fine now.

Now, let's get to the fun part of actually editing the map. This morning and the previous morning, I was walking around, examining the map, and looking for examples of what we can edit. I found several issues, such as missing benches, missing stairs, and poorly represented buildings. I realized I had to stop because I kept finding more and more errors. We will take two examples here: one will be done by Mr. Johnny Marler, and I will handle the other using different software. I have prepared a handful of changes and suggestions, and then we can go outside to make further edits if you wish to upload a change.

For the demonstration, Johnny will be the one submitting the change because we cannot submit the same change multiple times. The process will be the same for different kinds of objects. After the talks, I will be outside to help anyone who needs assistance or suggestions, and we can submit changes together.

Johnny, can you prepare the demo mode? We will connect the phone, so please take out your phones and open OSM. Johnny, go ahead. We have the map, and everyone should see it in front of them. I will show a photo of where the map is wrong, and we will fix it now.

I was walking near the main entrance of a building, and there is a bench that is not on the map. OpenStreetMap includes benches, water fountains, and other features, so let's add this bench. I was standing at the location of the bench and made a screenshot. Let's add it exactly there.

This is the first floor, and the non-tiled area represents the minus first floor. We can add stairs later, but let's focus on the bench now. Johnny, click on where the bench is supposed to be, hold it, and then click on actions. We need to enable the OpenStreetMap plugin. Go to settings, then plugins, and scroll down to enable OpenStreetMap editing.

Has everyone enabled the editing plugin? Great, let's get back to the bench. Click on actions, then create a point of interest (POI). Does everyone see "create POI"? Nice. Let's proceed with adding the bench.

=> 00:19:19

Adding a bench to OpenStreetMap is just the beginning; every big project starts with small steps.

To enable the OpenStreetMaps plugin, navigate to the settings, then to plugins, and scroll down to find the OpenStreetMaps plugin. Once located, turn it on. If anyone has not enabled the editing feature, please do so now. After enabling, return to the main screen and go to the actions menu. Select "Create Point of Interest" (POI) and enter "bench" as the type. Click on "Save" to see the bench on your map. If everyone can see the bench, proceed to upload it.

Johnny has already uploaded the bench. To upload any changes, you will need to create an account on openstreetmaps.org and log in from your phone. Johnny used his Google account yesterday, which is a simple process.

Now, let's continue with the Java segment. Before proceeding, please attach your phone again. I want to show something that will be relevant for the Q&A session later. Zoom out to show the elevator that was added. Although it wasn't added by us, we will revisit this later.

Congratulations on adding the bench. While the app on the phone is limited and doesn't allow for changing lines or adding polygons, we can do more complex tasks using desktop software. I will use a program designed for editing OpenStreetMaps to fix some issues.

I have pre-selected an area in Milan to download. Here, we have the same map in vector format. OpenStreetMaps consists of points, lines connecting the points, and polygons. Each of these elements can have tags, which are free-form key-value pairs. For example, a cafe will have key-value pairs defining it as such.

The data model for OpenStreetMaps includes points, lines, polygons, and arbitrary key-value pairs. These key-value pairs are conventions agreed upon by the community. For instance, to add an entrance to a building, we refer to the OpenStreetMap Wiki for the correct key-value pairs.

This vector map can be rendered to show the final map on openstreetmaps.org. Let's hide the current view and check if Johnny's bench is live. Johnny, where did you put the bench?

=> 00:24:31

For instance, this building does not have entrances on the map, so we will add one entrance. To select the entrance, we open the OpenStreetMap Wiki. This is how I find these keys here: entrance. If it's just an entrance, then it's "yes"; if it's a main entrance, then it's "main." This is the vector map and how it looks rendered. If you open OpenStreetMap.org, this is the result of what we just saw from the vectors. Let's hide this for now.

Is Johnny's bench already live? Where did you put Johnny? Your orientation got me messed up. Where was the bench? Somewhere here, right? There are a few serious problems here. You see, this is a sidewalk, and this is a building. I went outside, made a photo, and screenshotted the map on how it's supposed to look. It is a straight building on both left and right, and the actual corner is somewhere here. We can fix it; it's a straight building as we saw in the photo because we could see the whole distance, and it's somewhere here roughly.

Now, who wants to upload? Because I know there's so much I can fix, but it's really tempting. Let's try to be a bit slower. What I found after I made all those photos is that very recently, satellite photos were uploaded. You can just open your satellite photos and get your corners straight. With this, I am quite comfortable. This is the entrance. I'll add at least one entrance to the building. I didn't take the pictures for the slides, but I have a couple of pictures with Johnny as well on the entrance. Here’s a pathway to the entrance, so let's just add the entrance tag. It's not the main entrance; the main entrance is on the other side of the building.

Now, I'll upload the change. There's a warning about a shop inside a shop, or there was an error before. I don't think I changed the location of the shop. I'm not comfortable making a live edit on stage if there's a warning; I should be careful. So, I won't upload it now. I'll upload it afterward when there are people behind me, not in front of me. That's how it looks like in the actual backend.

Zooming back, we're not map makers here, although I hope there will be some map editors. What's the point of this lecture? One point is, if we use OpenStreetMap or derived applications, we can change stuff if we see errors. I think that's powerful. Why would we use OpenStreetMap versus TomTom or Google Maps? There are different reasons. If you want to find a business or buy something, Google Maps is the best because it has all the business listings, and businesses are incentivized to put them there because everyone uses them. If you're hiking, in my experience, OpenStreetMap gives more information because there are more enthusiasts adding all those routes that corporations don't care about. Google or TomTom care about car navigation, much less about navigation in a very remote park.

=> 00:29:17

Use Google Maps for business listings and OpenStreetMap for hiking and biking routes.

If you want to buy something, Google Maps is the best option because it has all the business listings, and businesses are incentivized to put their information there because everyone uses it. So, if you want to buy something, use Google Maps.

For hiking, in my experience in a couple of countries, OpenStreetMaps is more useful because there are more enthusiasts adding all those routes that corporations don't care about. Google or TomTom focus on car navigation and care much less about navigation in very remote parks.

For urban car navigation, Fubar Fu Corp (F Corp) is also a good option because they are aware of traffic situations and can suggest routes to avoid traffic jams. For outdoor car navigation, similar to hiking, OpenStreetMaps is better because the roads are not only more numerous but also better tagged. If a road breaks down or is upgraded, it will usually be reflected quicker on the map because someone in the area will update it.

For bicycle navigation, OpenStreetMaps is also superior. In some places, like Vilnius, bicycle navigation by Google Maps is not even an option. OpenStreetMaps provides better route information and better connection information.

The choice of which map is better for what also comes from the incentives of the company. As mentioned in the very first presentation today, companies serve their users and decide what kind of niche they want to serve. Google helps people find businesses and is really good at it. OpenStreetMaps, on the other hand, has nerd cartographers who want to be really precise, resulting in very precise maps to which you can contribute.

When you open a map, think about who has a better interest in helping you find what you want. Test and see what's better, and you'll learn. Personally, I use both a lot.

Now, let's switch to questions. Thank you very much. Please join me on the armchairs. Great talk, thank you. I'm happy that I got so many people to try this out. It's very nice to see some passion about something that is in software. I am also passionate about software, but something like photography, being angry at the lines not lining up, that was fine.

Before we start with questions, I want to mention the elevator stuff. I didn't know that Google Maps didn't show that information, but I didn't know that other maps did. Yesterday morning, we were coming here with a tiny cart full of equipment, and I was looking for an elevator. I didn't know it was there and lost about 15 minutes dragging the cart up a slope. In hindsight, it would have been nice to know that.

One more thing I wanted to mention: now that you know how to make edits to the map, the first thing I did after a similar presentation was to fix the area around my house. I put entrances to the buildings in my apartment block, which has multiple entrances. I added the apartment numbers next to the entrances for delivery people who need to pick the right entrance. The area around my house, about a 500-meter radius, is now pretty good. If half of you did the same, we would be in a better place.

Now, let's have questions. Any recommendations for software on Linux for viewing?

=> 00:33:51

I labeled all the entrances and apartment numbers in my building to help delivery people find the right door—if more of us did this, our neighborhoods would be so much better!

I live in an apartment block with multiple apartments and multiple entrances to the building. To make it easier for delivery people, I put all the entrances to the building on a map and added the apartment numbers next to the entrances. This way, delivery people can look at the map and enter the right entrance. The area around my house, within a 500-meter radius, is now pretty well mapped. If more people did the same, we would be in a much better place.

Questions and Recommendations: One question was about recommendations for software on Linux for viewing OpenStreetMaps. There is a project written in a programming language, but I forgot both the name of the project and the language. I tend to use my phone for this purpose.

Another question was about trap streets in printed maps, which are fake streets added by cartographers for copyright purposes. This practice is common in the publishing industry, like with dictionaries, to make it easier to sue for copyright infringement. While I haven't seen examples myself, I wouldn't be surprised if Google or others did this in digital maps. Google Street Maps' license requires just attribution, so there is no incentive for companies to withhold data.

Regarding downstreams, OpenStreetMaps.org is primarily used by OpenStreetMaps editors, but the vectors can be downloaded in a packed format to render your own maps. Many applications, such as Apple Maps, hiking apps, and search and rescue maps, use OpenStreetMaps as their primary source. Contributing to OpenStreetMaps benefits not only the OSM users but also every other downstream user, making it a valuable upstream to contribute to.

A question was raised about why Google and other companies do not use OpenStreetMaps data and prefer to use their own. This is more of an opinion, and I usually keep opinions for dinner. Many companies like Lyft, Uber, Bolt, Amazon, and UPS use OpenStreetMaps for navigation because it is cheap to implement and has comprehensive data. However, Google operates differently, and I don't know why they don't contribute. It could be that they don't want their support centers overwhelmed with complaints about data from OpenStreetMaps, but this is just speculation.

Lastly, a question about how OpenStreetMaps avoids spam and abuse was raised. It's similar to how Wikipedia handles it, and I have some anecdotes to share about this.

=> 00:38:26

OpenStreetMap is like Wikipedia for maps—crowdsourced and constantly monitored for accuracy.

I can't tell you, but I don't know. There are many other companies like Amazon, UPS, and others that use and contribute to it. Matus, would you say that it could be possible that maybe they just don't want to have their support centers overrun with complaints about things that are coming from OpenStreetMap, for example? Maybe they just feel like relinquishing control. But again, I'm not part of that, so I don't really know.

Questions about how OpenStreetMap avoids spam and abuse in general are common. It's just like Wikipedia. I have some anecdotes. For instance, I was looking for a restaurant or a coffee shop in the outskirts of Vilnius, and the only thing open was McDonald's. It wasn't on the map because it was recently built. So, I got home and added it to the map. Initially, it was marked as a building site, so I changed the key value pairs to a McDonald's. I didn't update the geometry because the photograph wasn't updated yet. A few days later, a guy named Thomas Straus messaged me to verify the size of the McDonald's. Someone is always watching, and sooner or later, any abuse will be reverted.

Wikipedia has their criteria for notability. If you are super into some incredibly niche thing and put loads of information on Wikipedia about it, they will delete it because they don't think it's relevant. I'm super into trees and would love to add all the awesome trees in my area to OpenStreetMap. You can add niche things like trees. If you take an orienteering map, which is very small scale, you have individual trees there. You can render orienteering trees by applying a style. If you label every individual tree in a forest or urban area, it's beautiful. Go for it.

Regarding real-life pictures, they come from different sources. For example, Mapbox is a mapping company that publishes images for OpenStreetMap editors to use. If you photograph the world with your drone and allow it to be used, you can submit a pull request to add it as a source. I did the same for the village of my summer house. I made a map with a drone and added it as an overlay. If done on a larger scale, it makes sense to publish it to a country-specific source.

One last question: I don't use OAN much, but I'm a heavy Organic Maps user. It has 3D models for buildings in certain places. Is that part of OpenStreetMap itself or an overlay? Buildings have key value information like the number of floors and the type of roof. Natural Maps, a descendant of MapsWithMe, uses the same data source. They crowdsource information to build 3D models, which is part of OSM.

Okay, I think we're done. Please give it up for us. Let's take a 10-minute break, and then please come back here for the final talk of the day.