Map it. Change it? Not really. Mapping doesn’t equal change.

Using crowdsourcing tech like Ushahidi maps without doing the strategic and programmatic ground work is likely not going to work or change much of anything. Trying to crowdscource a map without a goal or strategy is well, just a map, and pretty soon a dead map.

There is an increasing number of Ushahidi maps that are set up with little thought as to the why, what, who, and how. And we definitely see many maps that where created by people who have absolutely no idea about how to actually go about changing much of anything. Most of them end here.

So we thought we’d use a crowdmap to map dead maps (duh.). Think of it as the Ushahidi cemetery. We’ve collected and visualized reports of maps that are definitely deceased. More on what characteristics warrant us issuing a death certificate for a map is below.

But before we get to that, we want to share some ideas as to what we think makes for more effective crowdsourcing and mapping.