My guest post about State of the Map Europe and OpenStreetMap in general is now live over on tech.eu (if you don’t yet their newsletter is worth signing up for). As is always the case when you write a guest post, it’s never clear what the editor will leave on the cutting room floor. In this case it was my mention of OSM’s tenth birthday parties and generally positive words about the conference organization and content. Unfortunately the photo used in the artcle also isn’t attributed correctly in the live post, it should be cc-by-sa flickr user osm-at.

In the article (go have a read, I’ll wait) I point out some of the major challeneges I see in OpenStreetMap, most of which are self-inflicted. This isn’t in any way an attempt to diminish the mazing things that have been accomplished, but rather an admission that as things evolve (or indeed explode in usage, as is the case with OSM) so too the community needs to as well. Not easy.

For me one of the most interesting aspects of OpenStreetMap (and open data in general - see my summary of the recent Open Data Institute pitch event) is whether sustainable business models can be built around it, thus allowing all the resources of the business world to flow into the project.

Looking forward to the next ten years.