....there's a new game in town! The New York Public Library has taken crowd-sourcing data to a new level with their Building Inspector app. In those odd moments during the day when you might otherwise play a game on your iPhone, why not help the NYPL extract data from historical maps?
The NYPL has digitized an amazing number of historical maps, and this new effort is hoping to engage the power of the crowd to capture information that the computer cannot, such as handwritten annotations or hand-painted color keys. In the module pictured here, all you have to do is click on the correct color:
Other modules ask you to type in the number associated with a particular building, or to affirm that the red dots cover an entire building on the lot. They make it very easy to login with your Google, Facebook, or Twitter account, and you can watch your progress on the screen as you enter data. Believe me, it is addictive, and, dare I say it, even fun....
Why not help make history more accessible, and give it a try?
The NYPL has digitized an amazing number of historical maps, and this new effort is hoping to engage the power of the crowd to capture information that the computer cannot, such as handwritten annotations or hand-painted color keys. In the module pictured here, all you have to do is click on the correct color:
Other modules ask you to type in the number associated with a particular building, or to affirm that the red dots cover an entire building on the lot. They make it very easy to login with your Google, Facebook, or Twitter account, and you can watch your progress on the screen as you enter data. Believe me, it is addictive, and, dare I say it, even fun....
Why not help make history more accessible, and give it a try?
