How Did You Contribute To OpenStreetMap?

Since 2013, I have been contributing to various projects with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (http://tasks.hotosm.org/). While my contributions have been few and far between in recent years, taking part in these projects has been both enjoyable and rewarding for me (and I've met some really cool people along the way). Recently, I discovered a pretty neat website that allows you to view your individual OpenStreetMap (OSM) contribution statistics.

How Did You Contribute to OpenStreetMap?
(http://hdyc.neis-one.org/)

Looking at my contributions by year (see above), I took a wild dip from 2014 to 2015, after taking a new job in the GIS consulting world. By 2016 my OSM contributions became non-existent, as more and more of my time was gobbled up by work and life commitments (Who knew adopting a dog and getting engaged could take up so much of my time? ;P). Free time in the evenings was a rare treat, and sadly OSM fell by the wayside. In the Summer of 2017, I found myself with a new opportunity working with the State of Minnesota. With a ring on my finger and the puppy now a well-trained (sort of) fully grown 100-lb beast, I found myself with an itch to re-enter the OSM Community. As shown below, I have been contributing to several HOTOSM tasks related to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. I couldn't be happier to be back, and would urge anyone who is interested to contribute as well! http://tasks.hotosm.org/


For the most part, my contributions have consisted of volunteer coordination and arm-chair digitizing. I have always felt an odd satisfaction from letting my mind go blank and digitizing geographic features, whether it was in ArcMap, QGIS, or Java OpenStreetMap (JOSM Editor). There isn't much to it, but I think there's something about getting into a rhythm and seeing points, lines, and polygons appear on a map, and seeing a project come together that is really satisfying to me. More than anything, it feels good to contribute to something so positive, and I hope to always find time for the OSM Community.