Blog Archive

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Google Maps adds live traffic for US cities


Google Maps
has today rolled out a new feature: Live Traffic Conditions.


The data is available by clicking the new "Traffic" toggle button to the left of "Map - Satellite - Hybrid":


..When you select this option traffic signals appear for cities which have live traffic available. Click the icons and a zoom option appears:





Color coded routes indicate traffic levels for that city.. Give it a try! :)

This feature is also available on Google Maps for Mobile!

BeerMapping adds Canuck, Kiwi & Proximity Maps

+=

Jonathan Surratt's wildy popular Beer Mapping Google Maps Mashup Project has added Canadian and New Zealand Breweries/Brewpubs to the already present United States Map:

For those of you in the US, BeerMapping.com also has a list of US Cities that you can explore as well. To ensure quality all submissions are personally verified by Jonathon to prevent duplicates as well as every dive bar and restaurant in the US being added to his database. "I don't want to sound like a snob or anything, but if I were to add every location with bud light on tap, we couldn't actually see the map through all the pins" explains Jonathon.

New Epicenter Beer Map Feature:

A cool addition Jonathon feels proud of is the "Proximity Map" (or epicenter map as he likes to call it). The feature will allow a user to find a location (or enter a geocodable address) and create a custom map based on numerical mileage radius outward from that location/address. Example: Clark Street Ale House - Chicago For an example check out More info on this new feature can be found in this BeerMapping.com blog post and if you want to check out the code for it, look here.

Here are the Jonathon's posts for both the Canuck Beer Map and the Kiwi Beer Map additions.. Be sure to also make use of BeerMapping Mobile!

Other Google Beer Maps Mashups:

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Google Maps Sydney, Australia aerial imagery now live

For those of you eager to see if you're famous, the Maps Team in Australia has put the images which were taken on Australia Day live on Google Maps!

Links to Views and Commentary:

Google Map discoveries (SMH Mashup Blog)
Aerial photos put the focus on Sydney (SMH)
Google's Australia Day Flyover now Live (Mibazaar)
L'Australie vue de près sur Google Maps (Zorgloob)

Monday, February 26, 2007

iTunes + Google Maps = MoveTracks

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Here is a cool new tool that lets you make your own Google Maps + iTunes mashup. Movetracks lets you create playlists (or "Movetracks") based on your geographic location and a drive you are planning to take:


Here is a description that was posted on the Playlist Magazine Forum:

"..How does it work? When you visit the site, your iTunes library will magically appear on the left side of the screen. On the right side of the screen, you'll see the all familiar Google Maps application. Once your library has fully loaded, enter a starting and ending address and see your route populate on the map. Now, simply drag and drop songs from your library into the route you've created. Once you are done populating your route with songs, save your MoveTrack so that it's sent to your iTunes library as a playlist. Sync your iPod (or burn a CD), hop in your car and push play at your starting landmark. You are now listening to your MoveTrack."

MoveTracks will require Firefox and iTunes to be installed.

Google Maps Mania category: Music Maps

Google Maps Creation Tools Mega-Post - Part 11

Here again is another (the 11th) roundup of the latest Google Maps Creation (and Viewing) Tools and Resources. I've assemble these lists over the past few years to help you discover the countless sites created by people on the web to assist you with building your own Google Maps mashup or with diving deeper into the Google Maps API. Check out the bottom of this post to learn why this is a "Mega-Post"!

New tools to create your own map:
Google Maps Viewing Tools:
:

Recent posts from The Official Google Maps API Blog:
So why is this a "Mega-Post"? Since updating my blog recently to the latest version of Blogger I now have labeling available for all posts. I've gone back to label all previous Creation Tools posts so all of them can be viewed from one screen:


(For a condensed list,
check here..)

Be sure to click the labels at the bottom of each post to see previous posts on the same topic.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Google Maps Mania links for 2007-02-24



Updated (Feb.26/07): Corrected links to FindByClick Starbucks Coffee Maps..


Updates:

Thursday, February 22, 2007

More News & Media Google Maps Mashups

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(For previous News & Media posts, see links at the bottom of this post..)

Update Feb.23/06: Two new examples to add from the Washington Post and CBC:

In the past week most all posts have contained some reference to a media or news maps mashups. This indicates the continued popularity of Google Maps within news and media sites. These references have included an updated Toronto Star Google Maps gallery, The Boston Globe's Red Sox Spring Training Fan Map, The New York Times Travel mashup, and Fox 5 New York's Weather Map. Continuing with this theme, here is another roundup post that pulls together new examples of how Google Maps is being used online by independent and major news and media outlets all around the world..

Washington Post: Bill Clinton's Paid Speeches Map - The newest Google Maps project from Adrian Holovaty at the WashingtonPost.com allows you to animate the map and move through speeches by date (click "Show Speeches Chronologically") The map accompanies this story: For Clinton, New Wealth in Speeches.

CBC (Canada): Mapping investigative journalism - Thanks to this post by Amber MacArthur I've learned that the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has used Google Maps to create a simple yet informative map of 3 locations where they tested mercury levels in canned tuna. The info-windows display a good amount of graphical information and the pins indicate the city in Canada where the tests took place. The maps implementation accompanies this article.

KQED's "Quest" Google Maps Mashup - Quest is a unique Google Maps, Flickr and GPS data mashup which utilizes all of Public Broadcaster KQED's media platforms. The interactive science and nature mashup uses Google Map and Flickr mashups to present high-quality television programs, radio spots, blog postings, education guides, and map-based "explorations" for the San Francisco Bay Area, USA.

Citizen Reporting Google Maps, YouTube Mashup - iCommunity.TV is a collaborative broadcast network for local news, built with the intention to promote video as a media for citizen reporting. As an aggregation platform iCommunity.TV ties into the popular video-sharing service Youtube.com, extends its offering by letting a broad audience geo-reference and sort video clips in news categories and offers multiple convenient ways to watch and subscribe to these custom channels (e.g. “Politics in Berlin, Germany”). All news clips on the site are geo-referenced with a Google Map showing their location next to them, as well as a World News Map. iCommunity.tv is also making use of Google Earth which Frank Taylor from The Google Earth Blog describes here..

Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida Tornado Maps

These maps from the Orlando Sentinel are powered by FMAtlas. Here are more examples of online publishers using FMAtlas:
News.com.au (Australia) World News Map:

..Mashes up News.com.au stories with Google Maps. More info here..

Other recent examples:
Blogs and News on this topic:

Previous Google Maps Mania News & Media blog posts:

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

UK Google Maps Mashup Roundup Part 7

"England Rocks" Music Map:

England Rocks is a unique "music map" project produced by Enjoy England, the domestic marketing arm of VisitBritain - the national tourist office for Britain. It's one fantastic music map too! It points folks to Music Venues, Artist Locations, Gig Venues and much more throughout England. A cool jukebox directory lets you flip through locations and musical notes will let you listen to great tracks that are associated with each location.. This is seriously one that needs to be visited and played with.. Check it out! :)
[Via Mapperz Blog]

BBC News Map (for the last 12 hours):

(Powered by BBC Backstage)

UK Government Technology Suppliers (Supplier Example: Google):

The UK Government has used the Google Maps API to show which suppliers products are in use, where. The above link Google as the technology vendor and the map displays where products like Google Earth, the Google Search Appliance and the Google Maps API are in use. This list shows all vendors.. click on the link to "Map of LA usage" beside each supplier to link to the maps. The same government organization is using KML to plot office locations on Google
Earth
as well..

Google Maps BTOpenzone WiFi Hotspot Mashup - Zoom in far enough on this new BT Google Maps mashup and Openzone hotspots and Payphones are displayed. A search box on the left allows you search for specific cities/towns and types of businesses that have hotspots at the current location you're zoomed into. The Payphone map markers even indicate old, classic style of phone booth or modern. A nice touch. :) You can also download the wifi hotspot locations to a TomTom satnav device, details here..

National Museums Liverpool 'Figures of 08' Google Map - From the mashup's creator: "..We've got a Google Maps Flickr project at National Museums Liverpool. It draws photos from Flickr that show unintentional images of the numbers '08'. 2008 is a big year for Liverpool as it is European Capital of Culture and '08' is the logo for the year. There's an explanation of the project on our blog."
Check out UK Roundups (Part 1 - 6) on the Countries Page..

11 New U.S. Google Maps Mashups

New York State Traffic Map - The New York State Transportation Federation has put together a great Google Maps mashup that displays "real-time transportation status" throughout the state. Map markers plot traffic cameras, roadworks, critical incidents, weather alerts/forecasts and present traffic speeds. To get a close-up view of metropolitan areas, zoom in for more detailed conditions and data points.

Fox5 New York Heavy Snow & Ice Risk Map [Via The Google Earth Blog]

MTBA Transit Planner:

Boston's MTBA Transit system (commonly referred to as "The T") has integrated Google Maps into their official website. In a special "Trip Planner" section T users are asked to: "..Enter an address, intersection, station or landmark below and we'll supply the best travel routes for you." Simply click on your start and end point, departure time, bus or rail, what you'd like to minimize along the route (transfers, time or walking) and if you'd like accessibility built into your route. The Google Maps powered trip planner will then provide a full itinerary (or more than one) for the journey, complete with price. The tool itself seems to work well but only T riders can put it through the true test! :) Elsewhere on the site Google Maps is being used in the 'T Stations' tab of the Rider Tools page to display a map pane within each individual station page.

Also: MTBA Station Map - A user created station map.
  • Morgan Stanley Branch Locator - Search by city, state or zip code and plot locations on a Google Map, with the option to get driving directions as well.
  • This Hiking Trail (LA) - The weekend warrior's Hike Finder for Los Angeles and surrounding areas
  • VisitCarmel - Uses the Google Maps API to display listings from the MLS database using a RETS compliant client. Check out the real estate search pages and the area information pages for dynamic uses of the API.
  • DC Condo Prices - Condo Sales Statistics for the Washington DC Area
  • Walking Tours for US cities - Includes Boston, New York City and Las Vegas
  • 2007 College Football Recruiting Map - Showcases college football recruits by town and University
  • GooTube - Real Estate videos from YouTube, Google mapped.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Singapore Google Maps Mashup Roundup

Since streets, roads and points of interest were added for Singapore back on December 20th, 2006 that country has seen a huge number of Google Maps mashups created for all kinds of things to do in Singapore by blogger SinGeo. The following list could help those living in Singapore as well as tourists who are traveling there to visit:


As I mentioned above all of these maps come courtesy of the SinGeo Blog which is doing a fantastic job pointing Singaporeans and travelers to great Singapore mashups and Google Earth content for that country. Be sure to keep an eye on that blog if you're a Singapore resident or ex-pat. SinGeo is also our newest country correspondent! :)

Canada Google Maps Mashup Roundup Part 5

+ :
Royal Bank ATM/Branch Locator - The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has adapted Google Maps for their website by providing mapped results for ATM and Branch Locator searches. The tool lets you search by your present address or specific transit number (if you know it). RBC is also now Google mapping results for travel agencies that are offering their travel insurance products. French links: ATM/Branch Locator, Travel Insurance.
(Other Canadian businesses using Google Maps on their websites: Canadian Tire, The Keg Steakhouse and Bar, Pizza Pizza) Related: Google Maps for Enterprise
:
Toronto Star Google Maps Page - The Toronto Star has long been a global media innovator when it comes to using the Google Maps API. Their online team have dropped me a line to let me know that all maps they are displaying online have been centralized to this one page. These maps include: Toronto Traffic Cameras, Toronto Homicides, Afghan War Casualties, Toronto Marijuana Grow Ops. Another great Toronto Star Google Map (although not mapped from this page is: Toronto's Art Galleries.

See past Canadian Roundups (4 other posts) linked from the Google Maps Mania Countries Page..

Boston Red Sox Spring Training Google Map


Boston.com (The Boston Globe) is using Faneuil Media's Atlas Google mapping tool on their site to help Boston Red Sox fans navigate Fort Myers, Florida during Spring Training this year. What makes this mapping app cool is that it's completely user driven. Red Sox fans upload their own photos of City of Palms Park to the map and review local attractions.

(Read more about the Atlas mapping tool here..)

Saturday, February 17, 2007

New York Times Google Maps Travel Guides (Worldwide)

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= The Ultimate Travel Mashup!

The New York Times is no stranger to using the Google Maps API to map stories or issues. They've mapped everything from crime to transit strikes but the area they have used it the most is in the Travel section of the NYTimes.com website. I've blogged about the 36 Hours Column Map and more recently the Where to go in 2007 Map as a few examples of how maps have been put to use.

It now appears that the New York Times Travel has hit the mother load of Google Maps integrations by mashing up almost all of their Travel Guide pages (1000 +) and nearly all the hotels, restaurants and such for each guide (tens of 1000's?) which are plotted on the respective maps for each location.

..A great example of this is the New York City Guide:


..And here are more for other world cities:
To determine if a Google Maps guide is available for the location you're viewing, check the left side of the city's page and look for the "Map" link under the "Overview" heading. Great map markers on that city map will link you off to Hotels, Restaurants, Attractions, Shopping, Nightlife to help you plan your trip. The New York Times Travel has done a fantastic job of combining a huge database of listings, reviews and articles to create a new (mapping) dimension to their online travel guides. This is definitely one to add to your list of Google Maps Travel Mashups!

Technorati Tags: Travel, Google Maps

Friday, February 16, 2007

Google Maps Mania links for 2007-02-16


New Mashups and Tools:
News/Blogs/Updates/Sights:

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Google Maps News - Transit, Rail, Buildings, Businesses

If you've taken a look at Google Maps in the U.S. this past week, you might have noticed some changes to the base "Map" layer which shows streets and roads:

Shaded, 3D building outlines in "" view:

Google Maps has added some fantastic detail to the central areas of many US cities. This detail includes building outlines and in many cases a compact 3D representation that will help you to identify the structure, building or sports stadium (Think Sketchup for Google Maps). It's a great addition and really allows you to better identify the surroundings you are viewing, without switching over to satellite view. I would think this would be especially helpful when plotting directions or addresses. While these visual outlines don't cover the entire city, they're a welcome addition to the most structurally concentrated areas of large US cities.

Transit stops marked for some cities - US cities with an extensive transit network (Chicago, New York, Boston etc..) will now notice blue transit markers on Google Maps. The markers aren't able to be clicked upon but do provide station name and in New York for example will show the lines which that station serves. Train (Amtrak) or commuter rail stations are also now marked with a small train icon. In this case the station name is labeled. Most all cities will show these new train/rail station markers, even if a transit network is not established. This should help visitors to a new city who are using Google Maps to plot directions. Google Transit can be used to get more detailed directions (making use of the transit system) in cities where this service is available. These cities include: Burbank, Orange County, Tampa, Honolulu, Duluth, Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Pittsburgh.

What about the Google Maps API? Sorry Google Maps masher-uppers.. these features aren't yet available to those of you using the Maps API.. Keep an eye on the Google Maps API Blog for an announcement though! :)

For some interesting feedback and comments on these new features, check out this blog post from the Washington Post (see comments area). It contains an interesting cross-section of thoughts from people sounding off on the evolution of online mapping, and Google Maps specifically.

[Thanks to: Mike Gilligan, Ted Timmons and Matt King for these tips!]

In other Google Maps News:

Google Maps stickers in the UK are getting noticed - The stickers Google provides to businesses who have listed themselves on Google Maps UK to display in their shop windows have begun to get noticed around the blogosphere. Googlified first mentioned this back in September while Greg Sterling over at SearchEngineLand takes notice recently. Several images of these exist on Flickr.

Businesses can report incorrect data - The D’Technology Weblog (Long a source of interesting Google Maps info) has found a way for businesses to report incorrect data for their listing. Each business listing contains a link (see this one for example) that will let business owners add corrections to the listing. (For more interesting Google Maps posts from the D'Technology Weblog, check out the "Related Posts" at the bottom of this post)

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Valentine's Day Google Maps Mashups

+ = Maps for Valentine's Day

Jared Cosulich of Wedding Mapper has created a batch of Google Maps mashups specifically for Valentine's Day:


Send a Valentine's GeoGreeting - GeoGreeting.com is a virtual greeting site that lets you send a message to others on the web using buildings that are in the shape of letters and punctuation. In this recent tv news piece where GeoGreeting's creator Jesse Vig was profiled he put out a call to help find a heart shaped building in time for the anticipated traffic rush to his site for Valentine's Day.. Take a look at the site to find out where the discovered heart shape calls home on the earth's surface and send a geo-greeting to someone you know using it!

Other Maps:
Technorati Tags: Valentines Day, Valentine's Day

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