While it may seem appealing at first, Birdpost is not so good when you delve
into the details of this FOR-PROFIT endeavor that directly competes with
Cornell/Audubon's Project eBird.
Indeed, much of the Birdpost application seems to be a shameless repackaging of
some of eBird's new features like Google mapping, Notable Birds Gadget, etc.
I hope people do not reduce their eBird usage in favor of this product! From
what I can tell, Birdpost is not a true 'citizen science' tool like eBird,
Christmas Bird Counts, GBBC, Project Feederwatch, etc.
* All
things being equal, why not use a personal bird
tracking/alerting/mapping tool that also helps bird research and
conservation?
Due to some structural/procedural/data quality
drawbacks, I doubt that Birdpost will ever be part of the Avian
Knowledge Network: http://www.avianknowledge.net/content/datasets
There
seems to be a high probability of spurious/misidentified/bogus species
reports making it into the Birdpost database. This is because once a
species gets on Birdpost's regional checklists, people can apparently
report it at will without an editor or other expert reviewer weeding
out the misidentifications, fabrications, etc. This means neophytes,
kooks, 'wishful thinkers' and the entire spectrum can enter sightings
unchallenged by well-informed and experienced local gatekeepers - unlike eBird,
GBBC, CBCs, etc.
And
the dataset for Birdpost will probably never reach the size of eBird's,
since eBird also gets imported data from sources like the ISS
(International Shorebird Survey - a 30+ year project) and numerous
other sources.
* For these and other reasons, it seems like
Birdpost data will not be of much use to researchers. I don't think it
qualifies as "Citizen Science" due to the data validity issues alone.
In
terms of their future plans for other areas of reporting: it would be
hard to imagine the later versions not having harmful effects when it
is used on reptiles for example (since both legal and illegal
commercial turtle and snake collectors can use the Internet too).
Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC
Subject: BirdPost
From: "Zach Thompson" <glorifyenterprisesinc AT gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:34:32 -0400
Hey All,
Look at this:
http://www.birdpost.com
Presentation:
http://www.techcrunch50.com/2008/conference/presenter.php?presenter=85
