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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year From Google Maps Mania!

Friday, December 29, 2006

Ring in the New Year using these Google Maps!


With the clock ticking down to the end of 2006 and the start of 2007, here are some Google Maps sites that will help you to ring in the New Year:

World Time - Check the time and countdown!
DayLightMap.com - Use this cool Google Maps tool to follow where New Year's Eve is taking place
World Weather from WeatherBonk - Check the weather where you are on a Google Map before heading out for New Year's Eve celebrations!
Find out the sunrise time for your location (Tools -> Sun)

WebCams - Watch the New Year roll in all over the world! Use Qlock to find out the local time for the cam you are viewing! Here are good webcam sites to check out:
Contiguus Worldcams
New York City - (Add in cameras to view live video)
Live Map Cameras (click cam icon to show location)
WeatherBonk World Webcams


StayUpMaps - Features specific New Years parties for various US cities
PartyGPS - locate bars, clubs, and liquor stores in the US by city or zip code.
US Gay and Lesbian Club Finder
Find Bars and Restaurants by world city..
Bar + Transit Maps: Chicago -- New York City
World Transit Mashups to get home safe!

Wikipedia: New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, 2007

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Thursday, December 28, 2006

50 Things to do with Google Maps Mashups

(Update (Dec.4/07): See 50 MORE Things to do with Google Maps Mashups!)

Back for an encore are two posts which generated a huge amount of interest in 2006. I put together two posts which listed 25 things you can do with Google Maps mashups. I wanted to prove, with these lists, that these newly introduced mapping applications can be useful in your everyday life. I've put these two posts together to make the following list:

1. Measure your run route or commute
2. Check the time in a world location
3. Look up a US zip code
4. Measure Area
5. Make your own Google Map out of any map
6. Map your photos
7. Check what's on the other side of the world
8. Find a person in the US
9. Check the weather anywhere
10. Find the nearest Starbucks
11. Discover an eBay real estate deal
12. Find airport parking in the US.. or the UK
13. Create a running route
14. Watch a travel video
15. Find Fast Food in the US
16. Buy beer in Ontario
17. Check the news for your zip code
18. Avoid disease outbreak
19. Beat traffic
20. Make your own Google Maps mashup
21. Avoid red light cameras
22. Find cheap gas
23. Check sunrise or sunset times
24. Convert currency
25. Find a place to live in the US
26. Find out where the daylight is right now
27. Find a ski resort anywhere in the world
28. Track a flight on Google Maps
29. Calculate the distance between two world airports
30. Find the elevation/height above sea level
31. Map the 7 Wonders of the World
32. Find a golf course anywhere in the world
33. Click anywhere and get travel info
34. Simulate a flood to show damage effects
35. Fly a plane
36. Search Google Maps in full screen
37. Find a world webcam
38. Find a US or Canadian Library
39. Find a world port
40. Map the fish in your tank
41. Find high risk areas for modern marine pirates
42. Find a world dive site
43. Map Wikipedia articles to their location
44. See where UFOs have been sighted
45. Pray in the direction of Mecca
46. Search eBay items by US zip code
47. Map flight turbulence and pollution
48. Plan a London tube journey
49. Calculate cab fare in New York City
50. Map movie filming locations - US and Canada


See 50 MORE Things to do with Google Maps Mashups!

_______

Friday, December 22, 2006

New satellite imagery for Google Maps


Latest update now reveals satellite view of Edinburgh Castle

It has been a pretty busy week for Google Maps. First came the addition of roads, streets and place names for India, Singapore and Hong Kong and now Google Maps satellite sightseers have been treated to some new views with an extensive update. The good folks at GoogleSightseeing.com have tipped us off on this update and to review, here is a list of the specific areas that have seen updates (also courtesy of GSS):

- Digital Globe updates all over the globe with the most notable being large content additions in Somalia and Australia
- Updated US states: Indiana and Delaware
- Miscellaneous high res cities and counties in North America: Monterey Bay, CA; Yakima County, WA; Summerland, Canada; Greater East Wenatchee, WA; Polk County, IA; Warren County IA; and Bay County, FL
- Small high-res updates in the UK (Swansea, Edinburgh, Doncaster, Gwent) and expanded London coverage
- High-res update in Bremerhaven, Germany.
- Newer imagery for Lanzarote (Canary Islands)
- Google Earth Blog-supplied XPrizeCup flyover and the Sanford, NC airport
- Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
- Foo Camp @ O'’Reilly Headquarters in Sebastapol, CA

Go on.. Get over to Google Maps and check out the updates! :)

Thursday, December 21, 2006

25 More Things to do with Google Maps Mashups

(1 - 25 Here..)

26. Find out where the daylight is right now
27. Find a ski resort anywhere in the world
28. Track a flight on Google Maps
29. Calculate the distance between two world airports
30. Find the elevation/height above sea level
31. Map the 7 Wonders of the World
32. Find a golf course anywhere in the world
33. Click anywhere and get travel info
34. Simulate a flood to show damage effects
35. Fly a plane
36. Search Google Maps in full screen
37. Find a world webcam
38. Find a US or Canadian Library
39. Find a world port
40. Map the fish in your tank
41. Find high risk areas for modern marine pirates
42. Find a world dive site
43. Map Wikipedia articles to their location
44. See where UFOs have been sighted
45. Pray in the direction of Mecca
46. Search eBay items by US zip code
47. Map flight turbulence and pollution
48. Plan a London tube journey
49. Calculate cab fare in New York City
50. Map where movies were filmed in the US and Canada


(1 - 25 Here..)

Digg!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Google Maps adds Singapore, Hong Kong street maps

After posting about the addition of streets, roads and cities for India on Google Maps, Google Blogoscoped has informed me that Singapore and Hong Kong also now have streets available for viewing:

Singapore:


Hong Kong:


As with the India post I suspect mashups will increase in number in these two locations, and sites like Wikimapia and Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps will see more locations described and added:

Wikimapia: Singapore, Hong Kong
Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps: Singapore, Hong Kong
Related: Hong Kong Google Maps Mashups

Countries and regions now with street maps: Africa, Brazil, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan (which now has placename and address support in the API), UK & Ireland and most parts of Europe.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Google Maps adds India

The Google Maps team has made a huge launch of streets, roads and place names for the country of India! Take a look:



Previous to this launch India showed a vast white space with the "Map" view toggled on making only satellite imagery available. The street maps that have been added for Indian cities also show symbols for various amenities such as hotels, police stations, cinemas and more. This is a significant addition for Google Maps due to the size of the population in India that will be able to take advantage of this new mapping data. Also, expats living abroad can now use the hybrid view to zoom in and look at their home city or town. This expanded data is not yet available for Google Maps API sites, but once it is (and it should be very soon) the following sites should improve their usability and coverage for India. The Google Maps mashup activity should definitely pick up in India as well, now that there is some location context to points which are plotted:

Wikimapia (India) - Individuals will now be able to positively identify structures and places with map and hybrid views put to use. This will greatly expand the number of described places on this great service.

Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps (India) - This list should also fill up with more places confirmed.

India is now on the Google Map! :)

Monday, December 18, 2006

Google Maps: Get from point A to B.. then C & D!

A new feature from Google Maps will help you plan your next roadtrip:

The core Google Maps service has improved its directions feature by allowing you to enter more than 2 locations to plot directions between. Now when you plot directions between 2 points a link appears at the bottom of the instructions to the left labeled "Add Destination".

Click this link to enter more places to add to your route plotting. It doesn't appear to have a limit for the number of locations you can add and it will also auto-complete places from your 'Saved Locations' area if you have this feature enabled. This looks to be active for most Google Maps countries: USA, Canada, UK & Ireland, Japan, Germany, Spain, France and Italy. Perhaps the next feature addition will help NASA plot directions from Earth, the Moon.. then Mars! :)

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Ads targeting Google Maps satellite sightseers

Satellite advertising is a theme that is resurfacing among various blog posts and news stories recently:

The story behind the huge ReadyMix logo - Stephen Hutcheon, Online Tech editor at the Sydney Morning Herald has written an excellent article about the huge ReadyMix logo in Australia's Nullarbor Plain that was created over 40 years ago and is viewable on Google Maps. The logo was initially created to target the "trans-continental flight route during the 1960s and '70s".

KFC is targeting Google Maps with a logo in the desert - AmberMac points us to a new KFC logo that's been etched into the floor of the Nevada desert recently. I don't have any confirmation at this point that it's visible in Google Maps yet. Check out a video which shows the making of the logo. The guys from Google Sightseeing also weigh in on the claims made throughout this PR stunt that this is the largest logo viewable from space. They refer to the ReadyMix logo in Australia (see article above).

British clothing company Jigsaw rooftop ad - Finally, here is an example of rooftop advertising being highlighted with a British example. Most current rooftop advertising have come from the US so I thought I would point you to one example in the UK. This comes from the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames, Surrey, UK. Explore this area on [Via SuperHighStreet]

Firefox logo viewable on Google Maps

Check out Google Sightseeing for more satellite advertising examples

Previous posts on this topic:

Will ads target the satellite cameras? - May 9/05
Will ads target the satellite cameras? (Part 2) - Aug 23/05
MIT Advertising Lab: Advertising with Google Maps

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Google Maps face-find: Ape face in Death Valley

Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps submitter 'Shadrack' has a new Google Maps satellite "face-find". This time the outline of a face that resembles an ape has been spotted, nestled in a mountain range in Death Valley, California. The mountain lies near Highway 127. You might remember the recent discovery of a face that resembles a first nations individual that was found in the hills of Alberta, Canada. Stephen Hutcheon of the Sydney Morning Herald pointed out that the user looked like he was listening to an iPod and titled his article: This iPod user "rocks"! While this guy doesn't appear to be using any peripherals, he does look like he's winking at us! :)

New York Times Travel Google Maps Mashup: Where to go in 2007

Where do you want to go in 2007? The New York Times Travel section has some suggestions and they're using Google Maps to show you:



This Google Maps mashup summarizes the top spots to visit in 2007. Called "Where to Go in 2007", each point on the map links off to a full article that you can read about that location.

The New York Times is also mapping all articles from its 36 Hours column which covers various cities in the US. Also, if you're a travel nut you'll want to make sure to view this collection of travel mapping mashups. Another list is here.

[via]

New US Google Maps Mashups


Google Maps home search for Minneapolis - This new real estate mashup has a great interface to find homes.

Find a Garage Sale on Google Maps - This mashup pulls data from Craigslist and plots garage sales on Google Maps. All garage sales (thousands of them) plotted are for the next 2 weeks. Add your own as well..

Find a Church on Google Maps - MyChurch.org has mashed up a database of over 1300 US churches. 20-30 New churches are added daily as users claim theirs from the site.

New York State Fishing Sites Mashup - Find a place to fish in the state of New York. Start by region and drill down to find locations.

Local business directory uses Google Maps - Though not really a mashup, this local business site links addresses off to Google Maps to plot the location.

Saturday, December 9, 2006

Google Maps Mashup Roundup



Mashed Hotels - Hotel data has been taken from 3 different sources then mashed up with the CIA World Factbook and a globale airport database.
European Archeological Tourism Mashup - For the area of Spain, Portugal. The site is managed by Barcelona University.
World City Audio Tours - Find and discover walking tours for world cities. Available tours are plotted on a Google Map.
Google Maps GPX Viewer for websites - A Google Maps application. You can download and show your tours on your own website.
Geonomy - 404813 locations.. The Earth. Tagged. (Example Tags: Ecotourism tag, Military tag
Europe's Next Top Model Google Maps mashup - Shows cities of residence for each contestant.
GlobeNetTravel Australia - Over 800 Australian hotels and resorts. View accommodation and major airports in 50 regions within Australia.
Google Maps API Venice Photo Album - Not a maps mashup but uses the API to create a photo viewer.

New from ProgrammableWeb.com:

GeoSpot.EU - European directory of geographical spots, like for example theme park, animal, living, shops, bicycle, kids and fun. Languages are Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish or Danish.
epiSPIDER - Google Maps ProMED Mail, CIA Factbook and PubMED mashup of infectious diseases.
World Webcam Map
GeoPix

Friday, December 8, 2006

Cool new web 2.0 sites using Google Maps

Mangez Mangez - From the site: "..is a social networking website dedicated to sharing information about local restaurants. Rate and review restaurants, share your favorites with friends and family, track the restaurants you want to try, and discover new local restaurants using our RSS data feeds." Mapping component is Google Maps.

WeHangHere - From the creators: "We aim to bring social networking to the real world, and allow our members to create profiles and then link them to their favourite social hangouts around the world." It uses Google Maps to plot these locations.

Outdoor PhotoOp - OutdoorPhotoOp is a community-based website for finding and sharing photography locations such as landscapes, panoramas, wildlife, wildflowers, waterfalls, cityscapes, canyons, and more.. all plotted on a Google Maps interface.

MapDango - View classifieds on a Google Map. Mashes up Google Maps and the Vast.com API.

Do Go UK
- Provides free advertising of venues and events, initially launched in the UK, subsequently in other English speaking countries, and then in various other languages/countries including Spanish, French, German, etc.

Trovit - Trovit is a search engine for classified ads: homes for rent and for sale, jobs and used cars that uses Google Maps.

BikeSpace - From the creator: "..An online community specifically designed for cyclists. This site combines Google Maps API technology with social networking & messaging tools to provide the complete social network experience for cyclists."

Vibely - From the site: "..Vibely is a place where you can explore the world (on Google Maps) around you through the eyes of your friends and others just like you! You can see what others have said about a certain place, view pictures taken there, and even organize an outing with your friends to check it out."

Olive You.net - From the creator: "..Provides free personals for the world. It is integrated with Google maps so that you can see who else is looking for love near you. You can also search by distance as well as personality type, biorhythm compatibility, photos, etc. When you add your profile, it will geo-located based on your IP address too."

LA LA Music Trade - CD Music trading site that makes use of Google Maps. Here is an example map.

MapMyEvent - Google Maps event mapper.

Previous Web 2.0 Roundup here..

Thursday, December 7, 2006

Mapping chatter surrounding James Kim tragedy

Updated Dec.7/12:24pm: Be sure to view this link..


There has been a lot of talk about Google Maps, and maps in general, throughout this tragic event. One blogger put out an open call to Google to make updated satellite imagery of the area available (much like Bret Taylor and the Google Maps team made a reality during the Katrina flooding in New Orleans). Accuracy of route plotting features present in online mapping services such as Google Maps have also been discussed. One satellite company even offered its services to help in the search. I've also just come across a map which shows the distance James covered to try to find help. It's staggering how far he walked! Here is a summary of some of these items:
My personal thoughts and sympathy go out to the team at CNET and to the Kim and Fleming families..

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

New Thailand Tourism Google Maps Mashups

Here are some new Google Maps tourism mashups for Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.. If you're going to Thailand.. Check these out!! :)

Chiang Mai and Phuket: Chiangmaitcc.com:

With no street or road mapping yet available for Thailand Chiangmaitcc (English language) addresses this with some help from the Thai government. Panutat Tejasen and the SIPA's Thai Tourism C-Commerce Project Team have created a road mapping layer that meets with the satellite mapping already available from Google Maps for two Thai tourism hotspots. The maps are mashed up with more than 2,000 business listings photos, panoramas and video. Many different types of businesses are listed including accommodation, entertainment and "interesting sites". This is a mashup TOTALLY designed and targeted at tourists, so if you're heading to either of these two places, be sure to check it out. Switch between Chiang Mai and Phuket from the left side.

Bangkok Street Maps on Google Maps - Here's a new site created using the Google Maps API that provides street maps for Bangkok which includes Sukhumvit, Silom, Sathon Bangkok Airport, and Suvarnabhumi. Click on the Moffle toggle to see these street maps. Moffle also allows you to Create Google Maps using these street maps as well. [Via ProgrammableWeb]

More Bangkok Maps:

Great Bangkok Google Maps Mashup - BangkokRecorder.com has created a fantastic mashup of Shopping, Hotels, Attractions and other must-see spots around BKK. It also maps the transit lines and locations for airport, train and bus stations. Combine this mashup with Moffle perhaps to add some context to these satellite-mapped locations. [Via Gridskipper]

Bangkok Audio Walking Tour

ThaiGoogleEarth.com
- A Thai language Google Maps and Earth website.
Previous Roundup of Thai Google Maps Mashups

New Zealand Google Maps Mashup Roundup - Part 3

Google Maps New Zealand Address Search Tool - Google Maps doesn't currently perform address search for New Zealand so use this tool until it's present.
New Zealand Accommodation Maps - Features 300 + accommodation providers: budget, to hotel resorts and luxury lodges.
Personal New Zealand Cycling tour - North and South Islands.. includes some great photos.
LocalMoa New Zealand uses Google Maps - New local search service displays results for businesses, entertainment and tourism on a great Google Maps interface.
Recent: Air New Zealand website now uses Google Maps

NZ Sights:

Waihopai Valley Listening Post (ECHELON)
Mount Taranaki
Auckland International Airport
New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands (UNESCO)
Amazing Maze 'n Maize
HEAPS more NZ Sights here..

Check out Wikimapia to learn more about specific parts of New Zealand

Previous New Zealand Google Maps Mashup Roundups: Part 1 | Part 2

San Francisco Google Maps Coupons Mashup

Bobby Steel comes to us with Uncle Coupons, a mashup for Google Maps Coupons in the city of San Francisco. Here is an excerpt from the Uncle Coupons Blog describing the service:

"..Did you know that Google has secret coupons available in Google Maps with discounts on many local restaurants and stores? These coupons normally only appear when you do a search - there is a nearly-hidden link below the business showing the coupon link. This site lets you find these coupons on Google Maps and search over JUST the coupons. Looking for coupons on Thai in San Francisco? There are 5! Sushi, pizza, sandwiches, plumbers, car repair, the list goes on and on. Check out Uncle coupons first before you go shopping!"

Google announced the introduction of printable online coupons on Google Maps back in August 2006. Businesses can go to this page and quickly enter the text-copy for an online coupon, as well as details about their business listing on Google Maps. See my original post about this..

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Germany Google Maps Mashup Roundup - Part 3



New Google Maps Mashups from Germany:
(Thanks to Google Karten)
Germany Google
Maps Mashups:
Part 1 | Part 2


More Google Maps Mashups from Germany can be found on The Google Karten Blog

France Google Maps Mashup Roundup - Part 5



New Mashups:

Thanks to Renalid for these new mashups from France:
Recently mentioned:
France Google Maps Mashups:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Educational uses for Google Maps - Part 2

Educational Uses:
Find Schools:
Educational Uses for Google Maps Part 1

Google Map of Best LA Wine Shops

Great Wine Shops in LA:

Dr. Vino (AKA Tyler Colman) is at it again creating great wine mashups. This time he has created a new map for Wine Shops in LA! You can use this mashup to find out which shop Pamela Anderson buys her Screaming Eagle and Bryant Family wine in Malibu! Informative pushpins provide a brief description of the shop, contact info and store hours. Readers can click and drag, zoom or pull back. View as a map, or even with the satellite view!

Check out some of Dr. Vino's other Google Maps mashups and his blog:
More Wine Mashups here..

Monday, December 4, 2006

Google Map Creator makes thematic mapping simple



Quoting from this blog post from Digitally Distributed Environments:

Google Map Creator is a freeware application designed to make thematic mapping using Google Maps simpler. The software is part of the GeoVUE project at CASA, sponsored by the ESRC as a node in the National Centre for e-Social Science.

Available as a free download the software enables a user to import a .shp files and export the data overlayed on Google Maps. Using Google Map Creator it is a simple three step process to go from raw data to visualization on your own webserver. Differing considerably from other similar .shp convertors, the software is available as freeware and aimed at ease of use.

In the pre-release stage a variety of thematic map for different parts of the world were produced to test the viability of the application with real data on production web servers. A complete set of help documentation is provided as well as a worked example providing a step by step guide to creating your first Google Map from .shp data.


Example maps created using this app:
Download Google Map Creator and view online documentation here..

America's Safest States for Driving on Google Maps

With festive parties now in full swing, this is the time of year when drinking and driving incidents increase. Business Week Magazine recently pulled together a list of the Top 10 Drunk Driving States, as well as the Safest. The list of 20 is spread across two separate mashups created by Virender Ajmani over at Mibazaar.com:



Saturday, December 2, 2006

New imagery update for Google Maps

GoogleSightseeing points to a cool new discovery on Google Maps: A Firefox Crop Circle in an Oregon field! (Zoom in to take a closer look!) - Here is the original post from Google Sightseeing.

They also have the scoop on the imagery update that started with Google Earth and which has now made its way over to Google Maps. Here are the highlights from their original post:

Be sure to switch to satellite view and zoom in..


Other cool new Google Maps Sights:

Is that a flying saucer in The Netherlands? - Victoria Falls in Zambia - Top 10 Naked People on Google Maps/Earth - Mark Cuban's Mansion - John Travolta's "Jumbolair" (Zoom in to see his jumbo jet garage!) - Helicopter Downwash - Dolphin Island - Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Friday, December 1, 2006

A Google Maps & Earth Christmas Wishlist

Are you a Google Maps and Google Earth nut? If so, you might want to add the following items to your Christmas wishlist and tell your friends and family about them. If you're shopping for someone who seems to dig Maps & Earth.. these are the perfect gifts:

Books:


Off the Map - The Most Amazing Sights on Earth as Seen by Satellite - This is a brand new book from James Turnbull and Alex Turnbull over at GoogleSightseeing.com! They've assembled a great book of some the most amazing sights from Google Maps and Earth. Although I haven't yet had the chance to look through the book Frank Taylor from the Google Earth Blog does a nice job reviewing it in this YouTube video review:


Google Maps Application Development - Written by Michael Purvis, Jeffrey Sambells and Cameron Turner of Waterloo, Ontario (okay, Jeff is from Milton) this is a great book for someone that wants to start creating Google Maps mashups using PHP and AJAX methods. The authors have also set up a great blog that expands on the chapters contained in the book. Book Reviews: All About Linux and SlashDot.

Other Book Titles:
Other Items:

Space Navigator for Google Earth - This is a VERY cool mouse-like controller that is designed especially for Google Earth viewing. To check out the details click the link above and watch this video review by Frank Taylor. Frank also reviews the product here:


Buy the Space Navigator from Amazon:
3DconnexionSpaceNavigator SE (Standard Edition)
3DconnexionSpaceNavigator PE (Personal Edition)

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