Blog Archive

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Google Maps Mania links for 2007-03-31



To the Google Maps Mania faithful: Sorry for the recent radio silence - I've been traveling and not able to get my usual daily posts up.. :)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A list of Google Maps mashup blogs

Google Maps Mania isn't the only blog in the blogosphere providing examples of Google Maps mashups. Here is a list of other Google Maps focussed blogs from around the world:
Other great blogs providing Google Maps content from time to time:
ProgrammableWeb Blog, Google Earth Blog, OgleEarth, The Map Room, All Points Blog, MAPtrix, Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search

Does your Google Maps mashup, tool or application have it's own blog? It's a great way to journal updates you make for your users and also allows you to provide content to your users (links, YouTube videos etc..) that might match the themes of your mashup (eg: news, YouTube clips, commentary etc). Here are some good examples:
Do you maintain a blog with a high level of Google Maps content, or does your Google Maps mashup have its own blog? If so, please post a comment to promote it here!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Italy Google Maps Mashup Roundup Part 2

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Italy Google Maps Mashups!

I'm back with my second Italy Google Maps Roundup post (here is the first). I've listed these new mashups from Italy by multilingual and Italian language to help everyone discover those which are viewable in languages other than Italian. By the way, a new Google Maps themed blog has emerged that describes the Google Maps/Earth scene, in Italian. It's over at Google-Mapping.Blogspot.com

Multilingual:

(Updated Mar.27/07): Roma - An example of the new Google Maps APU KML and GeoRSS features in action!
Google Maps Tour di Pisa - A simple little Google Maps walking tour of Pisa Italy! Presented in English language.

Google Maps + Italy24 - Hotels and destinations in Italy mapped. Languages: English, German or Italian. [via]
Casa Milano - Milan Real Estate Mashup. Languages: Spanish, French, English and Italian.
Parks.it Mapped! - Here is a great information source for Italy's many parks. Languages: Spanish, French, English and Italian. Google Maps is used here and here (I can only seem to find Google Maps examples on the Italian language pages. [via]

Italian Language:

8000 Cities in Italy on Google Maps - each city features a description and demographic data. Users can add markers on the map.
xKasa Italy Real Estate Mashup - A new mashup for housing in Italy. Here is a screencast which acts as a tour of the website.
Mapple Rome Rentals Mashup - Apartments for sale and rent in Rome mapped on Google Maps.
VisitNow.it - See it, show it advertise it.

More Google Maps mashups from other countries here..

Friday, March 23, 2007

Google Maps API now has KML and GeoRSS support

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Attention all Google Maps API developers!

Google Maps team member Nigel Tao has just posted to the Google Maps API Blog to let the developer community know about an exciting new feature that has just been added to the Google Maps API. Using the API you can now make a simple function call in your Google Maps app to KML or GeoRSS data sources and load it directly into your mashup! "This makes it easier for API sites to maintain content in a flexible format that can be accessed via the API or in a number of other tools directly, and makes it simpler to create a rich API site with declarative content, instead of a lot of code.", writes Nigel on this blog post announcing the new functionality.

Hot the heels of this announcement Maiom.com, a Google Maps real estate mashup in Italy implemented this new functionality into their site. Geo developers from Maiom dropped me a line to let me know they now provide GeoRSS feeds for all their listings. Here it is on their site and here is the same listing viewed through Google Maps itself.

To get started with this new functionality, check out the Maps API docs for detailed instruction.

Additional coverage of this announcement:

Google is Supporting GeoRSS - O'Reilly Radar
Google Map + geoRSS - GeoBloggers (shows you how to use Flickr with this new feature)
Google Supports GeoRSS, KML in Maps API - Google Earth Blog

BTW, If you don't already read the Google Maps API Blog, you should be. The posts have increased both in frequency and value with the addition of Pamela Fox to the Geo team at Google and the blog continues to be the central source for announcements pertaining to the API.

Related:
Google Maps News Roundup for March 9th, 2007
Google Maps Creation Tools (Parts 1-12)

Thursday, March 22, 2007

BBC History Google Maps Mashup: Abolition of British Slavery

BBC History has created a great new interactive Google Maps mashup called The Abolition of British Slavery - Interactive Map:



The mashup has been created as part of the commemoration of 200 years since the abolition of slavery in Britain. Here is a description from the site:

The transatlantic slave trade involved the enforced transportation and enslavement of millions. Follow dynamic trails across Africa, the Caribbean and the UK with text, images and audio to explore the abolition of British slavery.

• How the slave trade worked
• Resistance and abolition
• Olaudah Equiano's adventures
• Back to Sierra Leone
• Facts and figures

[Thanks to Stephen Burch for the tip!!]

Here are some other great History Maps mashups:

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The incredible talking Google Map

The Twitter mashups keep coming! Twitter user DaveTroy has pushed his TwitterMap mashup (see post) one step further and bring us Twittervision Realtime:



Twittervision pulls in posts made in real time to the Twitter service and plots it to a Google Map on the fly. Set Twittervision in motion and watch people from all over the world start twittering away! As the post title reads: It's an incredible talking Google Map! :) As people post, Twittervision centers the Google Map on that Twitter user's location with their message. Very neat! Twittervision reminds me of a Google Maps Chat App I blogged about ages ago.

Funny enough as I was waiting for a cool Twitter post to pop up on TwitterVision (for the screenshot for this post) one user posted: "DaveTroy's Twitter tools are seriously addictive". I couldn't get shot of it quick enough. :) Perhaps a 'pause' or 'back/fwd' is in order DaveTroy? ;)

Related:
What are people 'twittering' about? (San Francisco Chronicle - March 19/07)
Read and watch more about Twitter on... Wikipedia, YouTube, Steve Rubel's bookmarks tagged with Twitter on Del.icio.us and Technorati..



Technorati Tags: ,

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Google Maps Creation Tools - Part 12

More Do-It-Yourself Google Maps Sites:
Google Maps API Resources:
  • HeatMapAPI - Integrate Heat Maps into your Google Maps mashup.
New Posts from the Google Maps API Blog:
..Pamela Fox from the Google Maps API Team is really increasing the post count on the Maps API Blog and bringing some fantastic tips and pointers!
New Posts from GoogleMapsBook.com:
..From the authors of the new Google Maps Book: Beginning Google Maps Applications with Rails and Ajax


Click the 'creationtools' label below for all previous Google Maps Creation Tools posts:

Friday, March 16, 2007

Google Maps Mania links for 2007-03-16


Take a look at ProgrammableWeb for more Google Maps mashups and be sure to tune into Virender Ajmani's Google Maps Blog!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Twitter + Google Maps = TwitterMap

+=TwitterMap

Update (March 19/07): TwitterMap LIVE! --> See TwitterVision Realtime (beta)

Heard of Twitter yet? Check it out.. Twitter is a cool new (read it: addictive) social networking service that allows members of the service let others know what they're up to in very brief fashion. users send messages via SMS or IM, then friends of that user can receive updates via web, RSS, IM or SMS. This isn't a blog or email - it's a micro-snippet of what someone is doing right now. Here is an example taken from a random user appearing on the Twitter front page right now:

Twitter community member DaveTroy has established a Google Maps mashup of Twitter users called, none other than.. TwitterMap! TwitterMap pulls the location and last message of Twitter community members using a public Twitter feed, then plots it to a Google Map. The resulting map lets you discover what geographic area your Twitter friends are from, or you can find new Twitter-folk to interact with in your community. Update: Stefan from Google Karten also suggests: GeoTwitter, another Google Maps + Twitter user mashup.

More on Twitter..

Steve Rubel from the Micro Persuasion Blog (where I first discovered Twitter) points out that there are now New York Times and Google News US Twitter pages which lets you treat the US as a Twitter user and get updates from it in the same way you would a friend. Micro Persuasion also points to US Presidential candidate John Edwards using Twitter. Steve has talked up Twitter in a number of other posts (search in-page for many references) that will let you see how this trend is evolving.. Business 2.0 Magazine also predicts this new web 2.0 concept might be the next Flickr or YouTube: "..It's too early to tell which brand of user-generated content will be the Web 2.0 phenomenon of 2007, but placing an early bet on Twitter might be a good move." - Check out the article here (and do a find in-page for Twitter for the mention or scroll down to: #4 -> A Buddy List That's Always Talking).

More Google Maps Web 2.0 Mashups here..

Technorati Tags: , ,

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Google Maps Movie Mashup: Disturbia Suburbia

Disturbia Suburbia: *These* are the people in my neighborhood??

Here's a fun movie maps concept to help promote Disturbia, a new film from Paramount Pictures coming out in April. Disturbia Suburbia << ..said in a deep, dark voice :) >> is an interactive Google Map app where you enter your US zip code to find out more about the people in your neighborhood (don't worry.. it's completely fictional!). Peering in on the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan zip code 48301 you learn that 66 year old Joseph Dale, who has been a hardworking janitor at a local Bloomfield Hills high school for over 20 years is "haunted by his memories" and has just turned himself in for killing a woman nearly 25 years ago. Punch up your zip code and find out what deep dark secrets lurk.. (just for fun) then look around the rest of the website for other goodies as well... The movie looks pretty good - Check out the trailer!

Internet Movie Database: Disturbia

Other cool Movie Maps Mashups:
More Movie Maps Mashups can be found here..

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Cricket World Cup Google Maps Mashups

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World cricket fans have their eyes fixed on the West Indies for the next two months as the ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway and runs until April 28th. Here are some Google Maps resources that will help fans watch, and map, the progress of this world sporting event. If you're looking to watch this sport for the first time, read this Wikipedia entry for cricket to learn the rules of the game.

Reto Meier has compiled a great post on his Radioactive Yak Blog featuring all kinds of Google Maps mashups and other Google resources to follow the event:

Live World Cup Match Map:

..See what matches are being played and in what country in the West Indies. This is also available as a Google Gadget for use on your Google Personalized Start Page!

Google Maps views of all World Cup Venues:
Google Maps (KML) viewing
Google Earth
Direct links to Google Maps:
Three Ws Oval, Arnos Vale Ground, Trelawny Stadium, Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium,Kensington Oval, Queens Park, Providence Stadium, Sabina Park, Warner Park, Beausejour Stadium, Queen's Park Oval.

Cricket World Cup Google Calendar - Add to your Google Calendar
Google Coop: The Cricketing Yak - More info here


Virender Ajmani has also mashed up some Google Maps with external feeds for the Cricket World Cup:

World Cup 2007 Team News:

Indian Cricket Team for World Cup Cricket - 2007
World Cup 2007 Schedule Map

Related:
Official Website of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007
YouTube: Cricket World Cup
Wikipedia Entry: Cricket

Technorati Tags: , ,

Monday, March 12, 2007

Google Maps Mania links for 2007-03-12

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Google Maps News Roundup for March 9th, 2007

More blogging on recent Google Maps finds and chatter:
Recent Google Maps Mania Posts:

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Google Maps - Send to BMW

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Take a look at this new feature just rolled out on Google Maps in Germany:

(If video is not visible above - view it here..)

Google Maps Product Manager Thai Tran explains the new feature in this Google Blog Post:
"...As of today, users in Germany can send a business listing found on Google Maps Deutschland directly to cars enabled with the BMW Assist service. Drivers can then set it as the destination for the in-car navigation system, or they can call the business from within the car. No more having to write down the address and re-enter it in the car -- now you can just click and drive!" (Read the full post here)

Make your own Crop Circle Greeting on Google Maps

You might remember a recent post I did for a neat Google Maps greeting site called MapMSG. At the time MapMSG allowed you to send a smoke signal to anyone on the web, using a Google Maps satellite view as a backdrop. Raymond Penners, the clever Google Maps geo-developer behind MapMSG, sent me this message today to let me know about a cool new feature he has added to his fun Google Maps based greeting site: Crop Circles! Position a series of spheres over any field or flat space in the Google Maps world and begin your message. Choose from some neat symbols and enter the message you'd like to send. When you send the message your recipient will see a mysterious space ship circling on that very location with your message spelled out for them moments later..

Related:
Wikipedia: Crop Circles
GeoGreeting.com
Have some more fun with Google Maps Games

Monday, March 5, 2007

US Google Maps Mashup Roundup (5)

Google Map of The San Andreas Fault:

This Google Map shows the approximate trace of the San Andreas Fault as a red line. Zoom in to see houses, bridges, roads and more that are built near the fault. It was created by measuring the latitude and longitude for many points along the fault trace from maps published by the United States Geological Survey, California Geological Survey and other sources (a detailed list of these publications can be seen here)
Other Geology.com Google Maps: Meteor Crater Map, US State High Points Map, Sahara Desert Map, Plate Tectonics Map
More Weather & Earth Mashups here..

My Hotel Room Google Maps Mashup:

My Hotel Room - Here's a cool US Google Maps mashup that will help you quickly find hotels in close proximity to Airports, Landmarks or by City & State or specific Hotel Chain. I like how easy and quick this mashup is to use but for those that are trying to visibly landmark where the hotel is, the option to toggle to satellite view might be a nice user interface addition to consider.

HeyWhat's That Google Maps Mashup:

A description from the creator: "..You're at a highway rest stop or on top of a mountain. You see distant peaks. What are they? HeyWhatsThat provides panoramic sketches and the names of visible peaks for just about anywhere in the United States. You can browse panoramas that someone else has requested and generate your own. And you can do it via web, email and phone."

HumanServices.Net Google Maps Mashup - This is a great Google Maps enabled Human Services website for people living in Southern Pennsylvania. To see the mashup in action type "addictions" into the search field or expand the tree from the left. Switch over to "Map" view to see results from the community listings database plotted on a nice Google Maps user interface. Users can even plot listings by neighborhood, within their school district or within a 5 minutes walk of a specific busline. The same creators also have 2 other mashups: Outdoor Recreational Activities and After-School Activities for Kids. All of these are great, functional community Maps mashups that serve to benefit these local communities by making this information easier to find.

U.S. EPA Superfund Site Locator - The U.S. EPA's latest release of their Superfund data (in XML format) mashed up with Google Maps to create a Superfund Site Locator. The map creators, terra IMS, is hoping to spread the word to environmental non-profits as well as the public at large about the locator.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Google Maps Mania links for 2007-03-02

The Police World Concert Tour Map

The Lost Tomb of Jesus on Google Maps

Karta Map - GeoNames + Google Maps mashup; mapping placenames, landmarks and geo-locations.

North American Ballpark Map

Do a monster mashup - An article from the Sydney Morning Herald outlining the Aussie Google Maps mashup craze.

FindByClick's Starbucks Coffee Mapper now includes Singapore! - Other countries include Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, Spain, Switzerland, UK and the USA.

Google Base + Google Maps = MainBase - Allows users to search and sort on any attribute as well as plot records on charts/maps/calendars. This YouTube video should help explain things..

Tour Dates Map - Created by taking a list of tour dates (in plain text format) and generating a Google Maps tour map.

New Google Maps Development Book: Beginning Google Maps Applications with Rails and Ajax: From Novice to Professional - There's also a contest on the Book's Blog!

Cool Google Earth-related Links:

Swiss Alps "Fighter" Tour in Google Earth - Frank Taylor of the Google Earth Blog shows just how good the new high-res satellite imagery and terrain is for Google Earth by mirroring a real life fly-through. He shows one YouTube view with a real flight and one that shows his virtual fly-through.

Google Maps/Earth user finds their Land Rover on Namibia - Angola - Similar to Frank's post, this Flickr user shows real imagery in one pane with the Google Earth view to show what great detail there is. A Google Maps view shows the user's Land Rover caught in the satellite photo.

CTO of Google Earth On Adding Web Search - A great interview with Google's Michael Jones. "..Michael describes the search algorithm (a combination of text and geodata) and gives some thoughts on how the Google Earth Web Browser will lead to a geotagged web (hint, it's via KML)."

Thursday, March 1, 2007

New satellite imagery for Google Maps - Mar.1/07


Sagrada Família (Imgs..) in Barcelona, Spain is now visible..

The Google Earth Blog has confirmed updated satellite imagery for Google Maps and has just verified the same imagery is now available on Google Earth. Major world cities such as Cape Town South Africa, Barcelona Spain and ski hotspot Whistler, BC in Canada are all now visible with high res views! Here is an update of specific areas which have enhanced viewing (From this post on the Google Earth community):

The key highlights are:

-- Entire country of Switzerland at 50cm and many Swiss cities at 25cm (thank you, Endoxon)
-- Entire country of Switzerland terrain at 10m, the Swiss Alps are now high-res!
-- Entire country of Denmark at 50cm
-- Australia day flyover
-- Cities of France: Lyon; LeMans; Lourdes; Riems; Nancy; Limoges; Lille; Arles
-- Potsdam and Magdeburg, Germany
-- Barcelona, Belem, CapeTown, Galapagos (Isabella Island), Manaus, Mt Saint Helens, Recife, Rio, Venice)
-- Whistler British Columbia
-- Full state coverage for Wyoming & Utah
-- significant amounts of new Digital Globe data

Get viewing! :)

Australia Day Flyover Cool Views:

As an update to my previous post, two sites have posted great roundups of some of the more interesting views found in and around Sydney on Australia Day.. My personal favorite is the folks playing water ping pong (Does anyone have real photos of this??)!

GoogleSightseeing.com - Australia Day Flyover
Geo-Trotter.com - Australia Day 2007

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