Beyond the Code
or, how to win friends, influence people and make a living by writing open source software. It's not just about the code.
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Thursday 5 November 2009, 4:35 PM
AOL local news site switches to OpenStreetMap
Patch, the US local news site bought by AOL earlier this year has switched its maps to ones based on OpenStreetMap. The maps went live today, but there's been no official announcement, quite possibly because Patch's previous mapping supplier, MapQuest, is also an AOL subsidiary.
What's even more interesting is that Patch appears to have built its own map infrastructure, including designing, rendering and hosting its own tiles. While there have been some high-profile sites using OSM-based maps in the past, most notably Whitehouse.gov, they've usually used an outside company with experience of the OSM toolset to do the work. This appears to be the first time a company has done it for themselves.
Speculation about commercial adoption of OpenStreetMap has increased since Google's announcement that Android 2.0 would include free turn-by-turn navigation, causing shares in Garmin and Navteq to drop.
Disclosure: I'm a contributor to OpenStreetMap and a member of the OpenStreetMap Foundation.
What's even more interesting is that Patch appears to have built its own map infrastructure, including designing, rendering and hosting its own tiles. While there have been some high-profile sites using OSM-based maps in the past, most notably Whitehouse.gov, they've usually used an outside company with experience of the OSM toolset to do the work. This appears to be the first time a company has done it for themselves.
Speculation about commercial adoption of OpenStreetMap has increased since Google's announcement that Android 2.0 would include free turn-by-turn navigation, causing shares in Garmin and Navteq to drop.
Disclosure: I'm a contributor to OpenStreetMap and a member of the OpenStreetMap Foundation.
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