Google want to make their Maps application comprehensive in India, for which they have launched India’s first ever mapping competition: Mapathon 2013.
The Mapathon 2013 competition is designed to encourage participants to map their neighborhoods and places which they know within the geographical boundaries of India. Any Indian citizen can participate in this contest and winners will chosen as per official contest rules.
To ensure good participation, Google has announced some really great prizes as well. Here are the prizes for that will be awarded to winners:
Google Mapathon 2013 prizes
- 10 Samsung Galaxy Note 800 Android Tablets
- 40 Samsung Galaxy S II GT I9100 Android Phones
- 50 Flipkart gift coupons worth Rs. 5000 each
- 1000 Google Mapathon 2013 t-shirts and certificates (includes the top 100 above and another 900 people)
Give the number of Prizes offered in mapathon 2013 competition, I am quite sure, that it will attract plenty of participation from people all over India.
How to Participate in the contest
If you are planning to be part of this competition, here are a few things that you should know:
- The contest is open to just about anybody who is a resident of India.
- The contest will start from February 12th to March 25th
- The Map edits have to be within Indian boundaries, as only those will be counted.
And, if you want to win the coveted prize, its simple – You have to make maximum number of edits on Google India maps. The top 1000 contestants will be eligible for the above given prizes. Remember, if you are one of the Top 50, you may also win a Galaxy Note Tablet or a Samsung Galaxy SII phone.
So, if you have not already started, its time you start adding the places. Here is nice video on how to add a place on Google maps.
Why Mapathon in India?
Like I have mentioned earlier, its simple. Google wants to improve the quality of its maps application in India. And for a maps application, the most important thing is addition of places (be it roads, societies, neighbourhood shops, schools, restaurants etc.)
It is physically impossible for Google themselves to do all this by itself. However, with power of crowd-sourcing, the Google maps database can really become comprehensive over a period of time.
What’s your take on Mapathon 2013? Do let us know in comments.
One question is that “How we have to submit our maps to Google?” and other “Is it valid if we start editing the maps before competition??”..
This is simply Awesome…