Online mapping has been dominated by Google Maps for some time. Nevertheless, OpenStreetMap is gaining fast. Though it is only 8 years old, it is obvious that the people at OpenStreetMap are competing for the title of most-used web map service.
Like Google Maps, OpenStreetMap is a digital world map, enabling users across the globe determine where they are and where they are going. OpenStreetMap is crowd-sourced – a hot trend these days in the computing world – and free. It’s also becoming more and more popular. In mid-March, OpenStreetMap boasted nearly 560,000 individual registered users, an impressive total.
OpenStreetMap’s Growing Popularity
The mapping service also scored a significant public-relations victory at the beginning of March when Apple moved from using Google Maps to OpenStreetMap in its mobile software for regions outside the United States. And more recently, Apple dumped Google Maps for its iPhoto service on iOS, Apple’s new photo management app. The new maps on this service are created from OpenStreetMap data. This is probably one of the biggest signs that OpenStreetMap poses a genuine threat to Google Maps.
Other companies are making the switch as well. For example, a well known social media service, Foursquare, made the change earlier this year. So, what is the reason that OpenStreetMap is becoming so popular? One advantage that it has over Google Maps is that it lets users to update maps based on experience. Two heads are better then one, right? And if you look at the success that Wikipedia has had with this philosophy, it points to a bright future for the fledgling digital map company.
Google No Longer Invulnerable?
For a while it seemed improbable that any company would challenge Google. Yet, they have had a couple less successful ventures lately. Google+ is a good example of this. While many people are on Google’s social media site, it does not hold a candle to the activity that resounds on Facebook or Twitter. We shall see if the reputation of OpenStreetMap continues to grow. It may surpass Google Maps as the most frequently used digital map service.