foursquare is joining the OpenStreetMap movement! Say hi to pretty new maps!
We usually use this blog for big product announcements, but, as a startup, we also often think about how we can make life easier for other startups. Today, we're doing both - a little announcement …
Context & Ripple Effects
Foursquare had already made maps part of its product experience through Location Layers and an earlier Google Maps-based mashup. Its move toward OpenStreetMap ties that mapping work to a free, editable map project rather than treating maps only as a display layer.
The announcement also frames the change as help for other startups, making the choice notable beyond Foursquare's own redesigned maps: a consumer location service is publicly aligning with shared map infrastructure.
First-order effects
- Foursquare users receive the newly announced maps, while OpenStreetMap gains a prominent location-service participant in its editable-map movement.
Second-order effects
- Startups building location products gain a higher-profile example of OpenStreetMap as a mapping foundation, increasing pressure on proprietary map providers to justify their terms and product advantages.
Third-order effects
- If more consumer services contribute to and build on shared map data, mapping can become an open-commons chokepoint: collective maintenance improves a resource that many competing products depend on.
The trend: Location services are beginning to treat open, collaboratively maintained map data as strategic infrastructure rather than a commodity input from a single provider.