How to keep tabs on local traffic using maps and social media
Monday, June 08, 2009
In the pre-internet era of television and radio, news stations could get away with 5-minute traffic reports that may or may not have covered the area the viewer was concerned about. Nowadays, no one has the patience to sit through a broadcast; they want to log on to the web, find the traffic alerts that affect them and be on their way.
Map mashups have made spotting local vehicular traffic as easy as pressing the zoom button. Google Maps itself added traffic information to its site last year, but it is the Maps API that is making traffic maps even more interactive.
iMove, which focuses on the traffic of the Vancouver area, has mashed a Google map with construction and traffic alerts, as well as traffic camera locations, weather alerts and local transit information. Users can select what they'd like to see from a series of drop down menus. The selected data is also viewable in a table below the map.
Similar maps based on various technologies are available for many parts of the world, including France, Colorado, Ottawa and England.
History is the best teacher and there is no better lesson than analyzing the roads where fatal accidents have occurred. Risky Roads, previously featured in this post, uses color-coded markers to illustrate dangerous roads across the United States. The site uses readily available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and has breakdowns for all 50 states.
Triptop NYC is another handy map that, instead of plotting real-time traffic patterns, estimated the commute between any two points in New York City. The map is not only visually stunning, it is also extremely helpful.
Of course, traffic is not limited to cars and trucks traveling on land. MarineTraffic.com maps the real-time movement of ships as they travel around the globe. As one can imagine there can be many ships traveling in any one area, so the site uses quadrants to indicate how many nautical navigators are traveling in a given area. The type of ship can be narrowed down using the checkbox system in the left rail.
The following visualization of Twitter users who have just landed from their airline flights shows that maps don't have to be static to be informative. Find out more about how this video was created here.
Web 2.0 technology means users can share traffic information with each other, creating citizen-fueled traffic reports that rival mainstream media sources. Trapster uses mobile technology to let its users plot speed traps and avoid traffic tickets. Users can submit a speed trap via their cell phone or by calling a toll-free number. By downloading the Trapster application, anyone can be alerted of speed traps in the immediate area.
Commuter Feed harnesses the power of Twitter to get traffic updates for cities around the world. Recent accidents and traffic delays can also be found by searching Twitter for location-based tweets (e.g. "traffic accident near:90018") or from from any of the Twitter accounts dedicated to area traffic reports, including @nyctraffic and @lasvegasweather
Hat tip to Google Maps Mania for the links and inspiration.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• Weather 2.0: Interactive online tools for keeping tabs on Mother Nature
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
• 8 Ways of visualizing the news
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
Map mashups have made spotting local vehicular traffic as easy as pressing the zoom button. Google Maps itself added traffic information to its site last year, but it is the Maps API that is making traffic maps even more interactive.
iMove, which focuses on the traffic of the Vancouver area, has mashed a Google map with construction and traffic alerts, as well as traffic camera locations, weather alerts and local transit information. Users can select what they'd like to see from a series of drop down menus. The selected data is also viewable in a table below the map.
Similar maps based on various technologies are available for many parts of the world, including France, Colorado, Ottawa and England.
History is the best teacher and there is no better lesson than analyzing the roads where fatal accidents have occurred. Risky Roads, previously featured in this post, uses color-coded markers to illustrate dangerous roads across the United States. The site uses readily available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and has breakdowns for all 50 states.
Triptop NYC is another handy map that, instead of plotting real-time traffic patterns, estimated the commute between any two points in New York City. The map is not only visually stunning, it is also extremely helpful.
Of course, traffic is not limited to cars and trucks traveling on land. MarineTraffic.com maps the real-time movement of ships as they travel around the globe. As one can imagine there can be many ships traveling in any one area, so the site uses quadrants to indicate how many nautical navigators are traveling in a given area. The type of ship can be narrowed down using the checkbox system in the left rail.
The following visualization of Twitter users who have just landed from their airline flights shows that maps don't have to be static to be informative. Find out more about how this video was created here.
Web 2.0 technology means users can share traffic information with each other, creating citizen-fueled traffic reports that rival mainstream media sources. Trapster uses mobile technology to let its users plot speed traps and avoid traffic tickets. Users can submit a speed trap via their cell phone or by calling a toll-free number. By downloading the Trapster application, anyone can be alerted of speed traps in the immediate area.
Commuter Feed harnesses the power of Twitter to get traffic updates for cities around the world. Recent accidents and traffic delays can also be found by searching Twitter for location-based tweets (e.g. "traffic accident near:90018") or from from any of the Twitter accounts dedicated to area traffic reports, including @nyctraffic and @lasvegasweather
Hat tip to Google Maps Mania for the links and inspiration.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• Weather 2.0: Interactive online tools for keeping tabs on Mother Nature
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
• 8 Ways of visualizing the news
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
Labels: maps, social networking
New York City, a mecca of multimedia journalism
Thursday, May 07, 2009
New York City...center of the universe. Okay not quite, but there are a lot of great multimedia stories and interactive projects emerging from the City that Never Sleeps.
There is perhaps no better way to take in the many landmarks of Manhattan than an aerial tour of the area. In today's economy, a helicopter ride perhaps isn't the most efficient means of transportation, but thanks to Pixelcase you can still take in magnificent views of the city. The interactive, panoramic photographs let users zoom across the New York skyline, above the noise and traffic. More on how to create similar panoramas here and here.
The following map of a horizonless Manhattan has been circulating around the internet for good reason: it is a unique take on the flat map we are so used to seeing. The map, created by London design studio Schulze & Webb, was created and fine-tuned using 3D imaging software.
The City Concealed, a project of THIRTEEN, explores some of the hidden gems of New York City through a series of online videos. Offbeat locales such as the tombs and catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery and Brooklyn Navy Yard — places likely overlooked by even native New Yorkers — are profiled. (Link courtesy of @fgeorge)
While the sights and sounds of NYC are fascinating, it is the city's more than 8 million residents that bring it to life. Tough Times, a project created by students at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, uses a combination of print stories, Flash, audio slideshows and video to tell the stories of New Yorkers struggling with the current economic crisis.
For example, the harrowing story of Maisha Morales, a single mother from Brooklyn, is detailed in a print story, but her raw emotion emerges from the accompanying video. A thoughtful analysis of Morales' situation is explained in an easy-to-navigate Flash infographic.
Local publication amNY also has a comprehensive collection of interactive photo slideshows and video, including "Young and Muslim in NYC," a series of video interviews complemented by traditional print stories.
Of course, one cannot discuss multimedia in New York City without mentioning the New York Times. The new media powerhouse is known for its captivating projects that explore global and national issues, but some of its most intriguing are those that focus on the city itself.
One such example is One in 8 Million, a series of audio slideshows that explore the lives of average New Yorkers. Stories include those of Melissa Dixson, a painter turned taxidermist and Christian Hubert, a bicyclist who suffers from vertigo.
The project is reminiscent of the Going to the End of the Line photo story featured in this post. The project focused on stations at the end of train lines where most commuters never venture.
The Water Dance, another photo slideshow from the New York Times, takes a simple, often overlooked moment and visualizes it as a metaphor for humanity. The result is one of the most captivating multimedia pieces to emerge this year.
One point should remain clear: While New York attracts creative minds from all over the world, the city does not have a monopoly on multimedia journalism. Large papers like the New York Times may have vast resources, but compelling multimedia projects can be created by anyone anywhere.
Have a multimedia story or project you're proud of? Share it in the comments and it just might be featured here on 10,000 Words.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• Multimedia: Chicago, in Color
• Innovative multimedia centered on the ordinary and everyday
• Exploring the human body through multimedia
• Great online journalism from non-traditional journalists
• Museums as Inspiration: Museum of Modern Art
There is perhaps no better way to take in the many landmarks of Manhattan than an aerial tour of the area. In today's economy, a helicopter ride perhaps isn't the most efficient means of transportation, but thanks to Pixelcase you can still take in magnificent views of the city. The interactive, panoramic photographs let users zoom across the New York skyline, above the noise and traffic. More on how to create similar panoramas here and here.
The following map of a horizonless Manhattan has been circulating around the internet for good reason: it is a unique take on the flat map we are so used to seeing. The map, created by London design studio Schulze & Webb, was created and fine-tuned using 3D imaging software.
The City Concealed, a project of THIRTEEN, explores some of the hidden gems of New York City through a series of online videos. Offbeat locales such as the tombs and catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery and Brooklyn Navy Yard — places likely overlooked by even native New Yorkers — are profiled. (Link courtesy of @fgeorge)
While the sights and sounds of NYC are fascinating, it is the city's more than 8 million residents that bring it to life. Tough Times, a project created by students at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, uses a combination of print stories, Flash, audio slideshows and video to tell the stories of New Yorkers struggling with the current economic crisis.
For example, the harrowing story of Maisha Morales, a single mother from Brooklyn, is detailed in a print story, but her raw emotion emerges from the accompanying video. A thoughtful analysis of Morales' situation is explained in an easy-to-navigate Flash infographic.
Local publication amNY also has a comprehensive collection of interactive photo slideshows and video, including "Young and Muslim in NYC," a series of video interviews complemented by traditional print stories.
Of course, one cannot discuss multimedia in New York City without mentioning the New York Times. The new media powerhouse is known for its captivating projects that explore global and national issues, but some of its most intriguing are those that focus on the city itself.
One such example is One in 8 Million, a series of audio slideshows that explore the lives of average New Yorkers. Stories include those of Melissa Dixson, a painter turned taxidermist and Christian Hubert, a bicyclist who suffers from vertigo.
The project is reminiscent of the Going to the End of the Line photo story featured in this post. The project focused on stations at the end of train lines where most commuters never venture.
The Water Dance, another photo slideshow from the New York Times, takes a simple, often overlooked moment and visualizes it as a metaphor for humanity. The result is one of the most captivating multimedia pieces to emerge this year.
One point should remain clear: While New York attracts creative minds from all over the world, the city does not have a monopoly on multimedia journalism. Large papers like the New York Times may have vast resources, but compelling multimedia projects can be created by anyone anywhere.
Have a multimedia story or project you're proud of? Share it in the comments and it just might be featured here on 10,000 Words.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• Multimedia: Chicago, in Color
• Innovative multimedia centered on the ordinary and everyday
• Exploring the human body through multimedia
• Great online journalism from non-traditional journalists
• Museums as Inspiration: Museum of Modern Art
Databases and polls: When numbers are the news
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Many news organizations have for years culled news stories from analog databases such as police records or census information and most online news media have set up quick polls that are attached to their news stories. Because of the internet and the multimedia tools available to us, we can do more with the facts and figures we might otherwise overlook. The following sites and news sections have taken ordinary numbers and have turned them into extraordinary resources.
SickCity harnesses a simple, but impressive idea: use Twitter to gauge how sick people are in a particular area. Using Twitter to find out if the flu is spreading within 10 miles of New York City, for example, is as easy searching for "flu near:NYC within:10mi." Putting it all together is what SC has done well, compiling information on various diseases as they spread in cities around the world.
Does it feel like there are more traffic accidents than normal happening in your area? Find out for sure with this interactive map that uses colored dots to display the frequency of fatal accidents across the U.S. The genius of this project is that traffic fatality numbers are often readily available to news organizations, but it is when they are displayed in this sort of interactive environment that the gravity of the numbers sinks in.
ZipWho has taken readily available census information and converted it into a database, searchable by zip code or by demographic information. A zip code search of a particular Kansas City neighborhood reveals that of its more than 14,000 residents, the median age is about 30 and 6.5 percent have a college degree. The latter statistic is low compared to the national average, as evidenced in the percentile column on the right.
Police mugshots as a group can be an unintentionally humorous collection which leaves the criminals exposed, which is perhaps why some reacted negatively to the St. Petersburg Times' news project on its debut. The site culls what is already publicly available and brings to light common trends amongst area criminals, something a simple rehash of the police docket could not do. People may be tsk tsking now, but look for similar sites to pop up in the future.
More after the jump
Most mainstream media news sites have incorporated polls either on their front page or on individual stories. Usually they are built with the site's CMS and thus aren't visually interesting. OwnyourC flips the notion of what a poll can be by offering a stunning, Flash-based poll that incorporates animation but still makes the question the focal point. Lest you think the site is all razzle dazzle, the submitted answers can be broken down by age, gender and location.
GoodvBad isn't exactly breaking new ground with its collection of polls, but it is worth noting here. Site visitors are presented with a subject and are asked if something is either good or bad. What's remarkable is the collection of polls in one place and the simplistic manner of eliciting responses.
Knowing whether your neighborhood has a high rate a chlamydia is a little more alarming than knowing if the flu is going around, but if you need such information the Star has made it available. Neighborhoods are broken down into blocks and assigned a color on the heat map: the darker the color, the higher the chance your neighbor is harboring an unwelcome visitor. The map is even searchable by address. Disturbing? Yes. Useful? Absolutely.
Also on 10,000 Words
• Innovative multimedia centered on the ordinary and everyday
• News databases: Turning numbers into knowledge
• Visual and interactive guides to the economic crisis
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 15 Ways to follow the 2008 election online
SickCity
SickCity harnesses a simple, but impressive idea: use Twitter to gauge how sick people are in a particular area. Using Twitter to find out if the flu is spreading within 10 miles of New York City, for example, is as easy searching for "flu near:NYC within:10mi." Putting it all together is what SC has done well, compiling information on various diseases as they spread in cities around the world.
Risky Roads Traffic Map
Does it feel like there are more traffic accidents than normal happening in your area? Find out for sure with this interactive map that uses colored dots to display the frequency of fatal accidents across the U.S. The genius of this project is that traffic fatality numbers are often readily available to news organizations, but it is when they are displayed in this sort of interactive environment that the gravity of the numbers sinks in.
ZipWho.com
ZipWho has taken readily available census information and converted it into a database, searchable by zip code or by demographic information. A zip code search of a particular Kansas City neighborhood reveals that of its more than 14,000 residents, the median age is about 30 and 6.5 percent have a college degree. The latter statistic is low compared to the national average, as evidenced in the percentile column on the right.
Tampa Bay Mug Shots
Police mugshots as a group can be an unintentionally humorous collection which leaves the criminals exposed, which is perhaps why some reacted negatively to the St. Petersburg Times' news project on its debut. The site culls what is already publicly available and brings to light common trends amongst area criminals, something a simple rehash of the police docket could not do. People may be tsk tsking now, but look for similar sites to pop up in the future.
More after the jump
ownyourC.com
Most mainstream media news sites have incorporated polls either on their front page or on individual stories. Usually they are built with the site's CMS and thus aren't visually interesting. OwnyourC flips the notion of what a poll can be by offering a stunning, Flash-based poll that incorporates animation but still makes the question the focal point. Lest you think the site is all razzle dazzle, the submitted answers can be broken down by age, gender and location.
GoodvBad
GoodvBad isn't exactly breaking new ground with its collection of polls, but it is worth noting here. Site visitors are presented with a subject and are asked if something is either good or bad. What's remarkable is the collection of polls in one place and the simplistic manner of eliciting responses.
Toronto Star's sexually transmitted disease maps
Knowing whether your neighborhood has a high rate a chlamydia is a little more alarming than knowing if the flu is going around, but if you need such information the Star has made it available. Neighborhoods are broken down into blocks and assigned a color on the heat map: the darker the color, the higher the chance your neighbor is harboring an unwelcome visitor. The map is even searchable by address. Disturbing? Yes. Useful? Absolutely.
Also on 10,000 Words
• Innovative multimedia centered on the ordinary and everyday
• News databases: Turning numbers into knowledge
• Visual and interactive guides to the economic crisis
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 15 Ways to follow the 2008 election online
Do you have a multimedia emergency plan?
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
A news story that will make national or international headlines is breaking. Quick...what do you do? If you don't have already have a game plan for how to report a crisis online, now's the time to start making preemptive plans. Most newsrooms already have reporters to turn to for print stories and broadcast news coverage, but here are few multimedia components to consider so the internet audience is informed as well.
Maps
The first multimedia component that should be added to a breaking news story is a map that shows exactly where the incident occurred. This can be as simple as a computer-generated map created with Illustrator or mapping software, like the one included in this BBC News story to illustrate where Burma and its 2007 protests took place. Or it could be an uncomplicated Google Map like the one adjacent to a Record story on a bear attack.
Interactive Google map mashups can be created fairly quickly with a number of online programs, the easiest of which is likely FM Atlas. Addresses and locations can be plotted on a map and made ready to embed within minutes. Just be sure to verify the location before posting it online to avoid the Georgia/Georgia screwups that happened last year.
Flash animation/timeline
If a major catastrophe occurs, people want to know how it happened. A very basic interactive graphic or even a flat infographic should be built to better internet readers understanding of the crisis. Examples include washingtonpost.com's interactive explanation of the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse and the Press & Sun Bulletin's illustration of last week's Binghamton shooting. Flash graphics can be overwrought and complicated if you allow them to be, but sometimes it just takes a simple illustration to communicate a story. The interactive can be embellished later when time is less of a factor.
Audio slideshow
As disasters occur, telling photos come streaming in from staff photographers or from wire services. Creating an audio slideshow that combines these photos with raw or edited audio collected by field reporters is a fast way to showcase both the story and the emotion behind it. Also, interactive slideshows are often the most popular stories on any news site.
A simple slideshow, with or without audio, can be created using a pre-existing template or with slideshow maker Soundslides. Examples include Reuters' slideshow of reporter David Gray's response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and its recent encapsulation of the Italian earthquake.
Resources
Once readers are informed of how a disaster happened, it's up the news outlet to provide resources to victims and their families. Post-Hurricane Katrina, MSNBC put together message boards and useful links, as well as comprehensive list of ways readers could donate to relief efforts. In the midst of the fires that raged through California, the Los Angeles Times created a Google map of evacuation centers that showed exactly where victims could go for help.
Landing page
Most importantly, all the print stories, multimedia, interactive graphics and blog posts should be aggregated on one page to serve as a single destination for those looking for information related to the crisis. Not only does a landing page make content easily accessible but it makes the hunt for the latest news less of a struggle when time may be a factor.
Also on 10,000 Words
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• How to save time when using Flash
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• Landmark moments in citizen journalism
• 7 Eye-popping interactive timelines (and 3 ways to create one)
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
Maps
The first multimedia component that should be added to a breaking news story is a map that shows exactly where the incident occurred. This can be as simple as a computer-generated map created with Illustrator or mapping software, like the one included in this BBC News story to illustrate where Burma and its 2007 protests took place. Or it could be an uncomplicated Google Map like the one adjacent to a Record story on a bear attack.
Interactive Google map mashups can be created fairly quickly with a number of online programs, the easiest of which is likely FM Atlas. Addresses and locations can be plotted on a map and made ready to embed within minutes. Just be sure to verify the location before posting it online to avoid the Georgia/Georgia screwups that happened last year.
Flash animation/timeline
If a major catastrophe occurs, people want to know how it happened. A very basic interactive graphic or even a flat infographic should be built to better internet readers understanding of the crisis. Examples include washingtonpost.com's interactive explanation of the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse and the Press & Sun Bulletin's illustration of last week's Binghamton shooting. Flash graphics can be overwrought and complicated if you allow them to be, but sometimes it just takes a simple illustration to communicate a story. The interactive can be embellished later when time is less of a factor.
Audio slideshow
As disasters occur, telling photos come streaming in from staff photographers or from wire services. Creating an audio slideshow that combines these photos with raw or edited audio collected by field reporters is a fast way to showcase both the story and the emotion behind it. Also, interactive slideshows are often the most popular stories on any news site.
A simple slideshow, with or without audio, can be created using a pre-existing template or with slideshow maker Soundslides. Examples include Reuters' slideshow of reporter David Gray's response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and its recent encapsulation of the Italian earthquake.
Resources
Once readers are informed of how a disaster happened, it's up the news outlet to provide resources to victims and their families. Post-Hurricane Katrina, MSNBC put together message boards and useful links, as well as comprehensive list of ways readers could donate to relief efforts. In the midst of the fires that raged through California, the Los Angeles Times created a Google map of evacuation centers that showed exactly where victims could go for help.
Landing page
Most importantly, all the print stories, multimedia, interactive graphics and blog posts should be aggregated on one page to serve as a single destination for those looking for information related to the crisis. Not only does a landing page make content easily accessible but it makes the hunt for the latest news less of a struggle when time may be a factor.
Also on 10,000 Words
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• How to save time when using Flash
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• Landmark moments in citizen journalism
• 7 Eye-popping interactive timelines (and 3 ways to create one)
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
Labels: audio, flash, maps, photos, site management
5 Interactive maps that connect communities
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Online maps are great tools for bringing together communities, whether they are on the same block or across the world. Here are some examples of how its being done:
The London Olympics may have a hideous logo, but they know how to put together a good map. To prepare the word for the 2012 Games, the site has mashed up geotagged photos, videos, slideshows, and more onto one colorful map.
The Register knows that the net is a haven for sports fans to trash talk and has harnessed the power of maps to make it even easier. Fans of local wrestling teams can submit a "shoutout" for their favorite. The more shoutouts the team gets, the larger the marker on the map.
There are a number of sites that enable netizens to cast their vote for who will be voted off on American Idol, but EW's voting system, incorporates an interactive leaderboard and a nifty map that breaks down the results by state. The project itself powered by Predictify, the site where users make guesses on the future of any number of news topics.
No post on online/interactive maps would be complete without a nod to the Times, which seems to be cranking them out on a consistent basis. This particular map takes the data from a survey of thousands of NYC residents on various social services and creates a fluid, visual interface of the results.
Finally, proof that the New York Times isn't the only player in the city's interactive news game: CrashStat has mashed data of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities with a Google map of the five boroughs.
Also on 10,000 Words
• News databases: Turning numbers into knowledge
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• 5 Online tools for getting more out of maps
London 2012
The London Olympics may have a hideous logo, but they know how to put together a good map. To prepare the word for the 2012 Games, the site has mashed up geotagged photos, videos, slideshows, and more onto one colorful map.
Des Moines Register: Wrestling Fans Map
The Register knows that the net is a haven for sports fans to trash talk and has harnessed the power of maps to make it even easier. Fans of local wrestling teams can submit a "shoutout" for their favorite. The more shoutouts the team gets, the larger the marker on the map.
Entertainment Weekly: American Idol, America's Pick
There are a number of sites that enable netizens to cast their vote for who will be voted off on American Idol, but EW's voting system, incorporates an interactive leaderboard and a nifty map that breaks down the results by state. The project itself powered by Predictify, the site where users make guesses on the future of any number of news topics.
New York Times: What New Yorkers Like and Don't Like
No post on online/interactive maps would be complete without a nod to the Times, which seems to be cranking them out on a consistent basis. This particular map takes the data from a survey of thousands of NYC residents on various social services and creates a fluid, visual interface of the results.
CrashStat
Finally, proof that the New York Times isn't the only player in the city's interactive news game: CrashStat has mashed data of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities with a Google map of the five boroughs.
Also on 10,000 Words
• News databases: Turning numbers into knowledge
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• 5 Online tools for getting more out of maps
Labels: maps
Visual and interactive guides to the economic crisis
Monday, March 02, 2009
As the economy continues to take a turn for the worse, many media organization and citizen journalists are finding creative and innovative ways to explain the complex factors that contribute to the slump.
USA Today uses a Flash-based map to compare homeowners who took on large amounts of debt to purchase a new home in 2000 versus 2007. Viewers of the interactive project can use a scrubber to toggle between the two years and make direct comparisons.
The New York Times also uses a scrubber to illustrate the ups and downs (but mostly downs) of the nation's stocks and commodities in 2008. Along with facts and figures, the interactive also provides a chilling narrative that explains the dwindling numbers.
Nothing's scarier than a sea of red, whether it's tons of edits scribbled in red ink or an indicator of a declining stock market. The S&P 500 Heatmap is a visual representation of the stock index that more cleverly illustrates just how bad things are.
MapLib takes the stock market/mapping idea in another direction with its Google Maps mashup of the world's financial centers. Bad news is it's red all over the world.
CNN has blended video of the everyday people who have been affected by the economic downturn with an interactive map of the unemployment rates, job losses and foreclosure rates in each of the 50 states. The project puts a face on what otherwise would be a series of sobering numbers.
The Crisis of Credit Visualised by Johnathan Jarvis is a unique video that explains one cause of economic woes through motion typography and animation. And because even a global financial meltdown sounds great when put to song, "Mortgage Crisis Blues" aural interpretation of why many homeowners found themselves in more debt than they could afford is depressing, yet catchy.
The New York Times asks "Has your portfolio plummeted? So has ours." It would be funny if it wasn't both serious and true. Nevertheless, the Times' "Calculate Your Financial Comeback" lets users input a set of variables, including current portfolio value, to determine how long it will take to recover from financial lows. The time span can be either heartbreaking or optimistic, depending on the answer returned.
Also on 10,000 Words
•Exploring the human body through multimedia
•8 Ways of visualizing the news
•Where to find the best in Flash journalism
USA Today uses a Flash-based map to compare homeowners who took on large amounts of debt to purchase a new home in 2000 versus 2007. Viewers of the interactive project can use a scrubber to toggle between the two years and make direct comparisons.
The New York Times also uses a scrubber to illustrate the ups and downs (but mostly downs) of the nation's stocks and commodities in 2008. Along with facts and figures, the interactive also provides a chilling narrative that explains the dwindling numbers.
Nothing's scarier than a sea of red, whether it's tons of edits scribbled in red ink or an indicator of a declining stock market. The S&P 500 Heatmap is a visual representation of the stock index that more cleverly illustrates just how bad things are.
MapLib takes the stock market/mapping idea in another direction with its Google Maps mashup of the world's financial centers. Bad news is it's red all over the world.
CNN has blended video of the everyday people who have been affected by the economic downturn with an interactive map of the unemployment rates, job losses and foreclosure rates in each of the 50 states. The project puts a face on what otherwise would be a series of sobering numbers.
The Crisis of Credit Visualised by Johnathan Jarvis is a unique video that explains one cause of economic woes through motion typography and animation. And because even a global financial meltdown sounds great when put to song, "Mortgage Crisis Blues" aural interpretation of why many homeowners found themselves in more debt than they could afford is depressing, yet catchy.
The New York Times asks "Has your portfolio plummeted? So has ours." It would be funny if it wasn't both serious and true. Nevertheless, the Times' "Calculate Your Financial Comeback" lets users input a set of variables, including current portfolio value, to determine how long it will take to recover from financial lows. The time span can be either heartbreaking or optimistic, depending on the answer returned.
Also on 10,000 Words
•Exploring the human body through multimedia
•8 Ways of visualizing the news
•Where to find the best in Flash journalism
Post-Inauguration Wrap Up: High-tech coverage of the tech president
Friday, January 23, 2009Photography
By now you've probably already seen CNN's mind-numbingly detailed photograph created from thousands of user-submitted photos and blended using Photosynth technology. But have you seen the following interactive image created by photographer David Bergman?
Bergman created the high-resolution image by combining over 200 images using Gigapan's stitching software (more on Gigapan here). The Associated Press also has an interactive, high-res image for users to play around with.
Leave it to the New York Times to take an already incredible technology one step further. In its interactive inauguration photo, users can click a name or hover over a person in the photo to identify who they are. The usual suspects, including senators and dignitaries, can be easily spotted.
The Washington Post takes a different approach by composing a mosaic created from thousands of photos shot by citizen journalists and staff photographers from both the Post and the Associated Press.
Sometimes a good photo is just a photo, no interactive whizbang required. The Big Picture has a great collection of inauguration day photos, including the now instantly recognizable satellite photo of crowds gathered to hear Barack Obama's inauguration speech (Click here for an explanation of how the estimated 1 million people in attendance were counted).
Speech/Word Analysis
After the inauguration, 50 million word clouds emerged, most created using Wordle, that analyzed Barack Obama's now historic speech. Once again, the New York Times took the word analysis concept to another level with "Inaugural Words: 1789 to the Present," a historical analysis of commonly recurring words used in presidential speeches, beginning with George Washington.
The real innovation, however, came from sites like ManyEyes, which visualized the speech as an interactive word tree, and Delve Networks which applied its audio search technology to extract not only the words that were spoken, but where they can be found in the address. Give the technology a spin by searching the video below for words like "America" or "hope."
Citizen Journalism
The Washington Post made use of its TimeSpace technology (previously covered here) to create a mapped record of inauguration photos and video. TimeSpace: Inauguration allows anyone to search through the geotagged coverage in a multi-layered interactive environment.
Twitter was a hotbed of exchanges about the excitement surrounding the inauguration and no one knows this better than FlowingData. To visualize the Twitter buzz surrounding the event, the site tracked positive responses to the inauguration all over the world in what, as it progresses, looks like fireworks. (Click image to view project)
To make sure now President Obama sticks to his more than 500 campaign promises, PolitiFact will be keeping tabs on his administration with the Obameter, a digital counter that lists each and every one and whether it has been fulfilled or not. So far Obama has kept seven and 14 more are still in the works.
And finally, proof that print ain't dead (yet). Click the image below to view the hundreds of newspapers around the world on which the inauguration of President Obama is front page news.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 15 Ways to follow the 2008 election online
• Essential resources for panoramic photography
• 7 Eye-popping interactive timelines (and 3 ways to create one)
• Word cloud analysis of 2008 DNC Speeches
Labels: citizen journalism, database, maps, photos, social networking
Sports arenas: How to put a multimedia twist on traditional coverage
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The sports section is often the most popular, yet most homogeneous, part of most online news sites. Most online sports coverage is an unenthusiastic mishmash of stats, photos and blogs, with the occasional podcast thrown in. Online sports fans demand more sophisticated coverage and news organizations can provide it by covering the fans' home base: the sports arena.
Ballena Technologies takes advantage of online technology by offering virtual tours of a variety of American sports arenas — from basketball to hockey and everything in between — including one for the Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland As baseball team (pictured below). In each Flash-based tour, users can hover over a seat and find out the price for that section or click to check out the view from that seat.
The New York Times has taken the idea of a virtual tour and pumped some adrenaline into it with its tour of the Hahnenkamm downhill ski course. The two minute-long computer-animated simulation is narrated by champion skier Doug Lewis and brings some insight into what otherwise is an indescribable experience.
Obviously these web projects take time and money to create, but documenting a sports arena can still be done on a smaller (and less expensive) scale.
Earlier this year, the Sacramento Bee produced a Flash-based interactive guide to the city's public courses. Sports photographer Kari Kuuka snapped some eye-popping panoramic images of the Beijing Olympics, as did the New York Times.
Similar panoramas can be created using a digital camera and stitching software or a specially built panoramic cameras like those available from Gigapan (More on panoramas here).
And of course sports coverage and maps go hand in hand. TennisMaps is an online searchable database of US tennis courts. Some of the world's motor racing circuits are viewable on a map created by Grand Prix Live. And college football fans can find nearby eateries, hotels and more at MapGameDay.com.
Providing a lasting resource to sports fans doesn't have to be a time-consuming endeavor. To demonstrate this, I have built a handy interactive map of the home arenas of every NFL (American football), MLB (baseball) and NBA (basketball) team. The entire process took about a day, but could theoretically last forever. Click the small version below to view the full map.
Ballena Technologies takes advantage of online technology by offering virtual tours of a variety of American sports arenas — from basketball to hockey and everything in between — including one for the Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland As baseball team (pictured below). In each Flash-based tour, users can hover over a seat and find out the price for that section or click to check out the view from that seat.
The New York Times has taken the idea of a virtual tour and pumped some adrenaline into it with its tour of the Hahnenkamm downhill ski course. The two minute-long computer-animated simulation is narrated by champion skier Doug Lewis and brings some insight into what otherwise is an indescribable experience.
Obviously these web projects take time and money to create, but documenting a sports arena can still be done on a smaller (and less expensive) scale.
Earlier this year, the Sacramento Bee produced a Flash-based interactive guide to the city's public courses. Sports photographer Kari Kuuka snapped some eye-popping panoramic images of the Beijing Olympics, as did the New York Times.
Similar panoramas can be created using a digital camera and stitching software or a specially built panoramic cameras like those available from Gigapan (More on panoramas here).
And of course sports coverage and maps go hand in hand. TennisMaps is an online searchable database of US tennis courts. Some of the world's motor racing circuits are viewable on a map created by Grand Prix Live. And college football fans can find nearby eateries, hotels and more at MapGameDay.com.
Providing a lasting resource to sports fans doesn't have to be a time-consuming endeavor. To demonstrate this, I have built a handy interactive map of the home arenas of every NFL (American football), MLB (baseball) and NBA (basketball) team. The entire process took about a day, but could theoretically last forever. Click the small version below to view the full map.
News databases: Turning numbers into knowledge
Monday, December 22, 2008
Posting large amounts of data on the web violates the very reason the internet exists. Creating a well-presented news database requires a lot of time and effort, but in the end provides an unmatched service. Here a few news sites that have taken advantage of new media technology to create exceptional databases:
The tales of murder recounted in Jill Leovy's Homicide Report blog were compiled into a database that visually illustrates the city's lethal trend. The figures are sortable by age, race, gender and a number of other factors.
The BBC tells the same story — the startling number of teenagers killed in the country — four different ways with narrative text, a tabled list, a map, and an infographic of the statistics. The entire project is founded on a database of information that otherwise would be a list of faceless names.
Two years of investigative reporting and hundreds of man hours went into creating an index of Florida teachers accused of misconduct. The more than 750 teachers in the database are searchable right down to the street level.
The Sun's interactive map shows the frequency of delayed flights to and from McCarran Airport over a 12-year period. Users can search either for a particular flight route or click a city to discover the number of delays for that airport.
The more than 4,000 U.S. service members who died in the Iraq war can seem like an overwhelming number. This interactive infographic lets users break down that number to determine when and where those deaths occurred.
The Register combined text, photo and video accounts into a chilling, yet awe-inspiring database of the devastation and aftermath of the May 2008 tornado.
Cincinnati.com has created what is sure to be the future of online journalism: multi-level, searchable databases in which users can view layers of information on top of an interactive map. It sounds like a lot because it is, but the service and others like it will be incredibly useful for years to come.
For more information on what makes a good news database, check out Rich Gordon's Data as journalism, journalism as data. Also, be sure to check out the work at EveryBlock and washingtonpost.com.
Previously on 10,000 Words:
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
Los Angeles Times Homicide Map
The tales of murder recounted in Jill Leovy's Homicide Report blog were compiled into a database that visually illustrates the city's lethal trend. The figures are sortable by age, race, gender and a number of other factors.
BBC News: Mapping UK's teen murder toll
The BBC tells the same story — the startling number of teenagers killed in the country — four different ways with narrative text, a tabled list, a map, and an infographic of the statistics. The entire project is founded on a database of information that otherwise would be a list of faceless names.
HeraldTribune.com: Broken Trust
Two years of investigative reporting and hundreds of man hours went into creating an index of Florida teachers accused of misconduct. The more than 750 teachers in the database are searchable right down to the street level.
Las Vegas Sun: Flight Delay Calculator
The Sun's interactive map shows the frequency of delayed flights to and from McCarran Airport over a 12-year period. Users can search either for a particular flight route or click a city to discover the number of delays for that airport.
The New York Times: Casualties of War
The more than 4,000 U.S. service members who died in the Iraq war can seem like an overwhelming number. This interactive infographic lets users break down that number to determine when and where those deaths occurred.
Des Moines Register: Parkersburg Tornado
The Register combined text, photo and video accounts into a chilling, yet awe-inspiring database of the devastation and aftermath of the May 2008 tornado.
Cincinnati.com: CinciNavigator
Cincinnati.com has created what is sure to be the future of online journalism: multi-level, searchable databases in which users can view layers of information on top of an interactive map. It sounds like a lot because it is, but the service and others like it will be incredibly useful for years to come.
For more information on what makes a good news database, check out Rich Gordon's Data as journalism, journalism as data. Also, be sure to check out the work at EveryBlock and washingtonpost.com.
Previously on 10,000 Words:
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
Newspapers on YouTube: Dos and Don'ts
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
As recently as a year ago, very few newspapers had their own YouTube channels. Many media organizations were hesitant to share their content on a site they had relatively little control over. Now more than 150 newspapers are realizing the benefits of posting video on the site, including attracting viewers who would not otherwise see their content.
The following is a map of those newspapers (click here for a larger, interactive view, as well as an interactive table). If your local newspaper does not appear on the map, please send an email to info@10000words.net...and then send them the tips below:
DO customize the look of the channel
By default a YouTube channel is black text on a white background, but the site allows for custom colors and images. Make sure your channel stands out from the pack. For a good example of what a properly branded channel looks like, check out the Las Vegas Sun, the Explorer News (Ariz.) or the Orlando Sentinel.
DO NOT leave the description area blank
A keyword-laden description is essential for SEO purposes and for users who are searching for a specific newspaper's content to actually find it. It should include the full name of the newspaper, a link back to the website and the name or names of the city or area the paper serves. The Randolph County Herald Tribune, for example, lists each of the cities it covers, which is ideal for smaller newspapers trying to reach viewers in those communities.
DO use a custom thumbnail
YouTube automatically extracts an icon from the first video uploaded, which means many icons are random news subjects. Once the waiting period has passed, change the icon to a perfectly square, thumbnail-sized image of your logo or masthead.
DO include bumpers
Establish brand identity by including a logo and web address before and/or after each video posted to YouTube. No long prerolls necessary, just a reminder where viewers can find more excellent content.
DO NOT use a nickname as a username
Ideally, an official newspaper YouTube channel should use the full name of the newspaper as the username for brand recognition and search engine optimization (i.e. TheOaklandPress or WellingtonDailyNews). For example, instead of bcd47448, use BrownCountyDemocrat. This information applies to not-yet-created channels, as YouTube does not allow users to change their existing username.
DO NOT allow videographers to be renegades
A few YouTube channels consist of a single videographer producing content for the newspaper, but are under their own name (and thus are not listed here). Any officially sanctioned videos should be on a channel under the newspaper's name, not the videographer's. This is not only good for search, but establishes authority and brand identity.
DO let users submit video
Simply uploading the newspaper's proprietary video content follows the old media model of having a one-way conversation with readers. YouTube is a social video network, meaning all users should invite and encourage as much interaction as possible.
DO treat YouTube as an extension of the newspaper site
This means checking in often, uploading fresh content (many newspaper channels are sadly inactive) and reading comments. A YouTube channel should represent the quality readers have come to expect from the paper.
Previous video posts on 10,000 Words:
• 15 Tips for shooting online video
• How to edit your video online for free or cheap
• Tips for shooting better video for the web
• What if YouTube died tomorrow?
The following is a map of those newspapers (click here for a larger, interactive view, as well as an interactive table). If your local newspaper does not appear on the map, please send an email to info@10000words.net...and then send them the tips below:
DO customize the look of the channel
By default a YouTube channel is black text on a white background, but the site allows for custom colors and images. Make sure your channel stands out from the pack. For a good example of what a properly branded channel looks like, check out the Las Vegas Sun, the Explorer News (Ariz.) or the Orlando Sentinel.
DO NOT leave the description area blank
A keyword-laden description is essential for SEO purposes and for users who are searching for a specific newspaper's content to actually find it. It should include the full name of the newspaper, a link back to the website and the name or names of the city or area the paper serves. The Randolph County Herald Tribune, for example, lists each of the cities it covers, which is ideal for smaller newspapers trying to reach viewers in those communities.
DO use a custom thumbnail
YouTube automatically extracts an icon from the first video uploaded, which means many icons are random news subjects. Once the waiting period has passed, change the icon to a perfectly square, thumbnail-sized image of your logo or masthead.
 |  |  |  | |
DO include bumpers
Establish brand identity by including a logo and web address before and/or after each video posted to YouTube. No long prerolls necessary, just a reminder where viewers can find more excellent content.
DO NOT use a nickname as a username
Ideally, an official newspaper YouTube channel should use the full name of the newspaper as the username for brand recognition and search engine optimization (i.e. TheOaklandPress or WellingtonDailyNews). For example, instead of bcd47448, use BrownCountyDemocrat. This information applies to not-yet-created channels, as YouTube does not allow users to change their existing username.
DO NOT allow videographers to be renegades
A few YouTube channels consist of a single videographer producing content for the newspaper, but are under their own name (and thus are not listed here). Any officially sanctioned videos should be on a channel under the newspaper's name, not the videographer's. This is not only good for search, but establishes authority and brand identity.
DO let users submit video
Simply uploading the newspaper's proprietary video content follows the old media model of having a one-way conversation with readers. YouTube is a social video network, meaning all users should invite and encourage as much interaction as possible.
DO treat YouTube as an extension of the newspaper site
This means checking in often, uploading fresh content (many newspaper channels are sadly inactive) and reading comments. A YouTube channel should represent the quality readers have come to expect from the paper.
Previous video posts on 10,000 Words:
• 15 Tips for shooting online video
• How to edit your video online for free or cheap
• Tips for shooting better video for the web
• What if YouTube died tomorrow?
U.S. Newspapers pick the president
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The presidential debates are over and the endorsements from newspapers all over the country are pouring in for both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. 10,000 Words is your guide to keeping track of these endorsements and by clicking on the map below, you will be taken to an interactive map so big it needed its own page.
Labels: maps
15 Ways to follow the 2008 election online
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The power of the net to provide more innovative political coverage than what is possible in traditional forms of media has never been more evidenced than in this political season. Major news organizations and citizen journalists alike have harnessed the power of the web to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the US presidential election than has ever been possible. Here are some of the best ways to follow the political landscape online:
If there weren't 14 other sites on this list then perspctv would be the one stop for any election news seeker. The site culls the latest news, blog posts and tweets and provides insightful charts and maps as well as an embeddable widget for keeping track of it all.
We know the candidates are campaigning all over the country, but who are they campaigning in front of? The Christian Science Monitor has the answer. The site's analysis shows both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama spent a good chunk of their time in wealthy suburbs and big cities.
Everyone knows Twitter is abuzz with political views, skews and insights, including the observations of Twitter stars FakeSarahPalin and CNN's Rick Sanchez. Twitter Chatter is one way to wrangle these conversations as well as to see on a map where they are coming from.
FiveThirtyEight.com is the dream of any political statistics hound. The site has the latest polls, the latest news, the latest charts, graphs, statistics, hypotheticals...the latest everything. It's like a political rabbit hole...check it out only if you have time to spare.
"Show me the money!" Okay it's 2008, not 1996, but if you're curious to know where the campaign money is coming from, Political Base has you covered with a well-designed Google map as well as a list of big name contributors and a handy search form.
Tube the Vote strives to provide a balanced view of issues that are affecting this year's presidential election by scouring the web for video, blog posts, Flickr photos and more that celebrate or repudiate either side.
Get to know the presidential and vice presidential candidates a little better by following the milestones of their lives on a Google Map. Anyone can follow the journey of John McCain, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin or Joe Biden.
Voters tired of the spin and searching for the truth will appreciate PolitiFact's analysis of recent campaign assertions. Was Sen. Obama referring to Sarah Palin when he mentioned "lipstick on a pig?" No way, says PolitiFact. Does Sen. McCain support tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas? Not that simple, according to the site.
iPhone users will be glad to know that they don't have to be at a computer to track the latest on the 2008 presidential race. The iPhone application is a great source for tracking the latest polls as long as you don't check to often — Election 08 is sometimes behind in its updates.
To say these two wikis are unbiased would be a big misstatement — the former is run by the DNC, the other is populated by Obama fans. Still, using modern technology to encourage citizen participation is never a bad thing.
This genius bit of citizen participation encourages everyone to not only speak their mind to President Bush, but to presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama as well. Recent responses — which are themselves wholly interesting and telling — are displayed on each page.
This Google map knows where the candidates will be and when and makes that information at the click of a button. Campaign appearances for both candidates are listed in reverse chronological order as well as marked on a map.
Video of campaign speeches from both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are tracked and mapped on these map mashups that incorporate video from YouTube.
Everymoment Now uses a unique graph to chart the number of times a candidate was mentioned on any particular day since August of this year. Clicking on a bar in the chart reveals news stories that were published that day as well as more detailed charts and graphs.
If you plan on voting in the upcoming US election, but still don't know which candidate to vote for, the Match-o-Matic is sure to help. The humorous, interactive quiz gives the user two quotes — one from Sen. Obama and one from Sen. McCain — and the user selects which one they agree with most without knowing who said it. The final tally reveals which presidential candidate's platform the user is more likely to side with.
1. perspctv
If there weren't 14 other sites on this list then perspctv would be the one stop for any election news seeker. The site culls the latest news, blog posts and tweets and provides insightful charts and maps as well as an embeddable widget for keeping track of it all.
2. Patchwork Nation
We know the candidates are campaigning all over the country, but who are they campaigning in front of? The Christian Science Monitor has the answer. The site's analysis shows both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama spent a good chunk of their time in wealthy suburbs and big cities.
3. Election '08 Twitter Chatter
Everyone knows Twitter is abuzz with political views, skews and insights, including the observations of Twitter stars FakeSarahPalin and CNN's Rick Sanchez. Twitter Chatter is one way to wrangle these conversations as well as to see on a map where they are coming from.
4. FiveThirtyEight.com
FiveThirtyEight.com is the dream of any political statistics hound. The site has the latest polls, the latest news, the latest charts, graphs, statistics, hypotheticals...the latest everything. It's like a political rabbit hole...check it out only if you have time to spare.
5. Map of 2008 Presidential Contributions
"Show me the money!" Okay it's 2008, not 1996, but if you're curious to know where the campaign money is coming from, Political Base has you covered with a well-designed Google map as well as a list of big name contributors and a handy search form.
6. Tube the Vote!
Tube the Vote strives to provide a balanced view of issues that are affecting this year's presidential election by scouring the web for video, blog posts, Flickr photos and more that celebrate or repudiate either side.
7. Candidates' life journeys
Get to know the presidential and vice presidential candidates a little better by following the milestones of their lives on a Google Map. Anyone can follow the journey of John McCain, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin or Joe Biden.
8. PolitiFact's The Attack Files
Voters tired of the spin and searching for the truth will appreciate PolitiFact's analysis of recent campaign assertions. Was Sen. Obama referring to Sarah Palin when he mentioned "lipstick on a pig?" No way, says PolitiFact. Does Sen. McCain support tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas? Not that simple, according to the site.
9. Election 08
iPhone users will be glad to know that they don't have to be at a computer to track the latest on the 2008 presidential race. The iPhone application is a great source for tracking the latest polls as long as you don't check to often — Election 08 is sometimes behind in its updates.
10. McCainPedia/Obamapedia
To say these two wikis are unbiased would be a big misstatement — the former is run by the DNC, the other is populated by Obama fans. Still, using modern technology to encourage citizen participation is never a bad thing.
11. What Would You Say to the President?
This genius bit of citizen participation encourages everyone to not only speak their mind to President Bush, but to presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama as well. Recent responses — which are themselves wholly interesting and telling — are displayed on each page.
12. Google Maps (campaign trail)
This Google map knows where the candidates will be and when and makes that information at the click of a button. Campaign appearances for both candidates are listed in reverse chronological order as well as marked on a map.
13. Google Maps (video)
Video of campaign speeches from both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are tracked and mapped on these map mashups that incorporate video from YouTube.
14. Everymoment Now
Everymoment Now uses a unique graph to chart the number of times a candidate was mentioned on any particular day since August of this year. Clicking on a bar in the chart reveals news stories that were published that day as well as more detailed charts and graphs.
15. ABC News' Match-o-Matic
If you plan on voting in the upcoming US election, but still don't know which candidate to vote for, the Match-o-Matic is sure to help. The humorous, interactive quiz gives the user two quotes — one from Sen. Obama and one from Sen. McCain — and the user selects which one they agree with most without knowing who said it. The final tally reveals which presidential candidate's platform the user is more likely to side with.
Labels: citizen journalism, database, maps, mobile, photos, social networking, video, widgets, wiki
How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
Monday, September 01, 2008
As recently as a year or two ago, coverage of a natural disaster simply meant a reporter in a wet slicker being whipped around by gale-force winds.
Today's news audience demands immediate and hyperlocal coverage and the internet is here to give it to them. A recent study shows that people are more likely to turn to social networks like Twitter and Facebook than traditional news sources in the event of an emergency.
There have already been a number of blogs created exclusively for coverage of Hurricane Gustav, which was only on the radar a little over a week ago. These include the Hurricane Gustav Online Newsroom created by the Red Cross and Hurricane Gustav Resources maintained by OneStorm.
However, we are now living in a digital world where even blogs can't beat the immediacy of Twitter. There already a number of feeds on the microblogging service dedicated to Gustav, including news from the Red Cross, the SunHerald based in Mississippi's Gulf Coast, and the Chicago Tribune's GustavReporter.
Because of the fast breaking news happening on Twitter, major news media have already started to reference incoming tweets on their broadcasts, as evidenced in this story by Mike Elgan. You can follow updates about the hurricane by searching Twitter for "gustav" or joining the conversation by including the hastag #gustav in your tweets.
As recently as a year ago, many news outlets were reluctant to add their content to public video sharing sites like YouTube, but now those mainstream organizations are often ahead of the pack. The Associated Press has already posted a number of video clips to YouTube, which fit right in with the citizen journalist-created videos that exist on the site.
The way to show the path of a hurricane on a news broadcast used to be a relatively simple graphic that highlighted a large swirling cloud on a colorful map. The net has extended the possibility of what this map can be. MSNBC's Hurricane Tracker is a user-friendly interactive map that not only shows where Gustav is headed, but a host of other data to accompany it. The Palm Beach Post also has a Gustav tracking map, this one showing the hurricane as it relates to the southeast portion of the US.
CNN's iReport has also made use of maps, but in a different way. Photos and video from "iReporters," or citizen journalists who are in the middle of the storm, are geotagged and posted on the map where others can view by area and leave comments.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has gone all out and provided every type of news coverage imaginable, including video, a variety of maps, constantly updated blogs, archival footage and more, in addition to its traditional print stories.
Other useful online tools that likely wouldn't have existed a few years ago include a Google Maps mashup of evacuation destinations and the HurriCam, a live streaming webcam stationed in southernmost Louisiana. And because average Joes are no longer content to sit around and wait for mainstream media to report on the news that matters to them, the Ning-based social network Gustav Information Center has been setup to provide a forum for Hurricane Gustav-related news. Credentialed reporters and citizen journalists alike will also find the social network Storm Tools for Journalists incredibly useful.
Finally, there has been a recent trend in newsrooms to provide links to organizations that provide aid to those devastated by natural disasters. After the recent cyclone in Myanmar, many online news sites like the New York Times streamlined the donation process.
Today's news audience demands immediate and hyperlocal coverage and the internet is here to give it to them. A recent study shows that people are more likely to turn to social networks like Twitter and Facebook than traditional news sources in the event of an emergency.
There have already been a number of blogs created exclusively for coverage of Hurricane Gustav, which was only on the radar a little over a week ago. These include the Hurricane Gustav Online Newsroom created by the Red Cross and Hurricane Gustav Resources maintained by OneStorm.
However, we are now living in a digital world where even blogs can't beat the immediacy of Twitter. There already a number of feeds on the microblogging service dedicated to Gustav, including news from the Red Cross, the SunHerald based in Mississippi's Gulf Coast, and the Chicago Tribune's GustavReporter.
Because of the fast breaking news happening on Twitter, major news media have already started to reference incoming tweets on their broadcasts, as evidenced in this story by Mike Elgan. You can follow updates about the hurricane by searching Twitter for "gustav" or joining the conversation by including the hastag #gustav in your tweets.
As recently as a year ago, many news outlets were reluctant to add their content to public video sharing sites like YouTube, but now those mainstream organizations are often ahead of the pack. The Associated Press has already posted a number of video clips to YouTube, which fit right in with the citizen journalist-created videos that exist on the site.
The way to show the path of a hurricane on a news broadcast used to be a relatively simple graphic that highlighted a large swirling cloud on a colorful map. The net has extended the possibility of what this map can be. MSNBC's Hurricane Tracker is a user-friendly interactive map that not only shows where Gustav is headed, but a host of other data to accompany it. The Palm Beach Post also has a Gustav tracking map, this one showing the hurricane as it relates to the southeast portion of the US.
CNN's iReport has also made use of maps, but in a different way. Photos and video from "iReporters," or citizen journalists who are in the middle of the storm, are geotagged and posted on the map where others can view by area and leave comments.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has gone all out and provided every type of news coverage imaginable, including video, a variety of maps, constantly updated blogs, archival footage and more, in addition to its traditional print stories.
Other useful online tools that likely wouldn't have existed a few years ago include a Google Maps mashup of evacuation destinations and the HurriCam, a live streaming webcam stationed in southernmost Louisiana. And because average Joes are no longer content to sit around and wait for mainstream media to report on the news that matters to them, the Ning-based social network Gustav Information Center has been setup to provide a forum for Hurricane Gustav-related news. Credentialed reporters and citizen journalists alike will also find the social network Storm Tools for Journalists incredibly useful.
Finally, there has been a recent trend in newsrooms to provide links to organizations that provide aid to those devastated by natural disasters. After the recent cyclone in Myanmar, many online news sites like the New York Times streamlined the donation process.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, news on the news, photos, social networking, video
10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
Thursday, August 28, 20081. Panedia
Panedia has combined two great online technologies — panoramas and maps — to create an annotated virtual tour of some of Australia's most beautiful sites.
2. terraSound
TerraSound has found another great multimedia combination — this time maps and sound — to create the sense of a walking down a city's sidewalk while monitoring your position on a map.
3. Twitter Weather Map
The weather map parses tweets about climates in the United States and with a little bit of math displays the information on a simple map.
4. 2itch
2itch answers a simple question "What is open 24 hours a day in my neighborhood?" with an interactive Google maps mashup.
5. Ride the City
New Yorkers who prefer two wheels to taxis and trains can input their starting and stopping points and get the safest route for biking through the Big Apple.
6. World News Map
While there are several sites that display current news on a map, maplandia.com displays geotagged news going back to 2005, which is an impressive feat.
7. Olympic medalists map
If you're still in Olympics withdrawal, this comprehensive map of the hometowns of Olympic medalists around the world should do the trick.
8. OnionMap
Many maps may be mind-blowing, but at the same time are also mind-numbingly flat. OnionMap puts a new angle on things by showcasing a map that is both visually striking and, through its search features, incredibly useful.
9. Breaking News Map
Another news map, except this one has filters for viewing particular topics such as business, politics or entertainment.
10. 08 DNC Events
To all the journalists hanging around Denver this week for the Democratic National Convention, be sure to take a little time to enjoy yourself by attending any of the mapped events held this week in The Mile-High City.
And the 3 ways to create them:
1. UMapper
UMapper has a simple interface for creating map mashups and allows for importing data feeds as well as creating lines, labels and shapes. The finished map can be exported to Flash ActionScript 3.0 or KML.
2. Yahoo! MapMixer
Now that maps are all over the internet, it's time to bring some uniqueness to the party. MapMixer is a simple way to overlay an existing map on top of a Yahoo! Map, thus giving an image the functionality of a map mashup.
3. map a list
The latest in mashup technology lets users create a map from a Google Spreadsheet. And, like the best things in life, the service is free.
Also on 10,000 Words
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to create a Google Map in about 30 minutes
• 8 Beautifully Designed Maps
Olympics 2.0(08): The ultimate guide to online coverage of the 2008 Games
Thursday, August 07, 2008
There have been a number of technological advances in journalism in the four years since the last Summer Olympic Games so this year promises to be a breakthrough in how the Olympics are covered. News organizations, citizen journalists and corporations have been gearing up for some time now to present the best in multimedia, print and online coverage as well as advertising and social networking. Here is some of the best of what to expect:
Blogs
One of my biggest dreams is to attend the Olympics games, but I opted out this year for two reasons 1) I was concerned about the restrictions on journalists and 2) I have a strong aversion to Chinese food. That said, I'll see you in London in 2012. In the meantime, there are a number of other media and interested parties that will be covering the Olympic Games:
Google also has an interesting way of keeping tabs on the Games. Just enter the name of the event you are interested in plus the word 'olympics' in the search field and Google will return a schedule of upcoming events. You can also get updates from a number of Twitter users.
For those journalists reading from Beijing, PopPhoto has some advice for navigating around China and the Olympic atmosphere.
Video
In addition to offering more than extensive coverage of the Olympic Games in the US, NBC will make an additional 2,200 hours of streaming video available online at NBCOlympics.com. On the other side of the world, CCTV.com and Adobe have partnered up to offer more than 5,000 hours of streaming video to mainland China and Macau via CCTVOlympics.com
In countries where NBC doesn't have exclusive rights to Olympic video, the games will be broadcast online on YouTube. This includes 77 territories in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
US residents who are unable to watch the Games either on television or online have the option of downloading Olympics on the Go, a Tivo-like service that will download selected events straight to their computer. Best of all, the service is free.
Multimedia
The New York Times, that stalwart exemplar of multimedia, has some pretty comprehensive coverage, including two awesome Flash-based interactive projects: Olympic Medal Count Map, which uses expanding circles to illustrate the number of medals won over the years by various countries, and Passing the Torch, a visual history of the Olympic torch.
The Chicago Tribune's photo gallery "Olympic athletes you can root for" is a compelling look at Olympians who may not be household names. Some of the venues where the athletes compete and visitors will tour, including the Olympic Sports Centre and Tiananmen Square can be viewed in 3D by clicking here.
Print
Text is the foundation of journalism and there have already been a number of feature stories published online that are worth a read.
From BBC News: The Olympic torch's shadowy past
From Sportingo: The top ten greatest Olympic moments
From mental_floss: What happens to Olympic facilities after the games are over?
From WebUrbanist: 8 Pivotal Olympic Villages And Venues Then And Now
Widgets
Left to right: USA Today, NBC , Google Gadgets, Widgetbox
Mobile
When you just got can't make to the television in time to catch your favorite Olympic event, be sure to turn to any of the following mobile sites offering Olympic coverage:
Yahoo!
Sky
NBC
New York Times
Sports Illustrated/SI.com
USA Today
Times Online
Advertising
Coca-Cola wasn't yet invented at the first Olympic Games, but the beverage corporation and a number of other companies are making up for lost time by plastering their image all over Beijing and the web.
Lenovo, a similarly ubiquitous sponsor of the Olympiad, has put together Voices of the Olympic Games, an online site in which real Olympic athletes share their stories and experiences. Olympians like Peter Lopez, a member of the Peruvian taekwondo team, seem genuinely excited to blog about Beijing, and — good news here — he and others are blogging in their native language.
As Panasonic will gladly tell you, the electronics giant has been sponsoring the Olympic Games for 20 years. This year is, of course, no different. It's Japanese site offers Olympic-themed video/ads and other goodies like desktop wallpaper. In the U.S., the Panasonic Mobile Tour is already underway. A huge rig equipped with the latest in television technology is traveling around the country to show off the Olympic Games in high definition.
McDonald's will be feeding many visitors to Beijing in the Olympic Village, and, in some selected countries, will offer its "China Menu" which includes a burger topped with sesame seeds, chop suey and ginger sauce. And finally you can catch Olympians in all their glory in a visually arresting set of ads for Powerade by clicking here (SFW).
You can check out my personal contribution to Olympic fever at Entertainment Weekly. How are you covering the Olympic Games? Or, if you are a fan, how will you be following them? Share your plans in the comments.
One of my biggest dreams is to attend the Olympics games, but I opted out this year for two reasons 1) I was concerned about the restrictions on journalists and 2) I have a strong aversion to Chinese food. That said, I'll see you in London in 2012. In the meantime, there are a number of other media and interested parties that will be covering the Olympic Games:
- The New York Times Olympics blog
- Los Angeles Times: Ticket to Beijing
- BBC Sport Olympics 2008
- ESPN Olympics Blog
- Indian Olympic Blog
- San Jose Mercury News Olympic Games Blog
- Beijing Olympics Fan
- Reuters
- FanNation Beijing Olympics Blog
- Reuters
- Times Online: Barnes in Beijing
Google also has an interesting way of keeping tabs on the Games. Just enter the name of the event you are interested in plus the word 'olympics' in the search field and Google will return a schedule of upcoming events. You can also get updates from a number of Twitter users.
For those journalists reading from Beijing, PopPhoto has some advice for navigating around China and the Olympic atmosphere.
In addition to offering more than extensive coverage of the Olympic Games in the US, NBC will make an additional 2,200 hours of streaming video available online at NBCOlympics.com. On the other side of the world, CCTV.com and Adobe have partnered up to offer more than 5,000 hours of streaming video to mainland China and Macau via CCTVOlympics.com
In countries where NBC doesn't have exclusive rights to Olympic video, the games will be broadcast online on YouTube. This includes 77 territories in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
US residents who are unable to watch the Games either on television or online have the option of downloading Olympics on the Go, a Tivo-like service that will download selected events straight to their computer. Best of all, the service is free.
The New York Times, that stalwart exemplar of multimedia, has some pretty comprehensive coverage, including two awesome Flash-based interactive projects: Olympic Medal Count Map, which uses expanding circles to illustrate the number of medals won over the years by various countries, and Passing the Torch, a visual history of the Olympic torch.
The Chicago Tribune's photo gallery "Olympic athletes you can root for" is a compelling look at Olympians who may not be household names. Some of the venues where the athletes compete and visitors will tour, including the Olympic Sports Centre and Tiananmen Square can be viewed in 3D by clicking here.
Text is the foundation of journalism and there have already been a number of feature stories published online that are worth a read.
From BBC News: The Olympic torch's shadowy past
From Sportingo: The top ten greatest Olympic moments
From mental_floss: What happens to Olympic facilities after the games are over?
From WebUrbanist: 8 Pivotal Olympic Villages And Venues Then And Now
Left to right: USA Today, NBC , Google Gadgets, Widgetbox
When you just got can't make to the television in time to catch your favorite Olympic event, be sure to turn to any of the following mobile sites offering Olympic coverage:
Yahoo!
Sky
NBC
New York Times
Sports Illustrated/SI.com
USA Today
Times Online
Coca-Cola wasn't yet invented at the first Olympic Games, but the beverage corporation and a number of other companies are making up for lost time by plastering their image all over Beijing and the web.
Lenovo, a similarly ubiquitous sponsor of the Olympiad, has put together Voices of the Olympic Games, an online site in which real Olympic athletes share their stories and experiences. Olympians like Peter Lopez, a member of the Peruvian taekwondo team, seem genuinely excited to blog about Beijing, and — good news here — he and others are blogging in their native language.
As Panasonic will gladly tell you, the electronics giant has been sponsoring the Olympic Games for 20 years. This year is, of course, no different. It's Japanese site offers Olympic-themed video/ads and other goodies like desktop wallpaper. In the U.S., the Panasonic Mobile Tour is already underway. A huge rig equipped with the latest in television technology is traveling around the country to show off the Olympic Games in high definition.
McDonald's will be feeding many visitors to Beijing in the Olympic Village, and, in some selected countries, will offer its "China Menu" which includes a burger topped with sesame seeds, chop suey and ginger sauce. And finally you can catch Olympians in all their glory in a visually arresting set of ads for Powerade by clicking here (SFW).
You can check out my personal contribution to Olympic fever at Entertainment Weekly. How are you covering the Olympic Games? Or, if you are a fan, how will you be following them? Share your plans in the comments.
Labels: blogging, citizen journalism, maps, mobile, social networking, video, widgets
Multimedia: Chicago, in Color
Friday, July 25, 2008
As part of the "Multimedia Shootout" held at this week's UNITY conference, I created a project called "Chicago, in Color" aimed at celebrating diversity in Chicago. I knew the obvious story would be to go to Chinatown and barbershops to interview local residents, but I wanted to give a voice to those who couldn't speak for themselves: the monuments and statues of the Windy City. The entire project was created in a span of 48 hours.
Here's how I did it. There was no easily accessible existing resource on Chicago public art so I went to Flickr and searched for "Chicago statues" and "Chicago monuments." I whittled down the list to four: The Chicago Mural, The Spearman/The Bowman, Benito Juárez and Willie Dixon's Blues Garden. All four are mapped on an interactive Flash map (download FLA here). The accuracy of the map was created by using Photoshop to trace over an existing Google Map which was created in 5 minutes with MapBuilder (download PSD here). The icons were also silhouetted in Photoshop.
1. Chicago Mural
All the photos for the project were taken with an iPhone. Although the mural seems like one seamless photo it is actually several stitched together in Photoshop using layers and the cloning tool. The sliding element was created in Flash (download FLA here) using one of my favorite tutorials from kirupa.com on interactive image panning.
2. The Spearman/Bowman
The rotating effect used in this interactive image was created by taking one photo at a time with the iPhone and taking a step to the left or right to create the intervals. Because the photos didn't line up accurately, all of them were layered on top of each other in Photoshop (download PSD here) and resized and color corrected to ensure continuity. All the photos were then imported into Flash and distributed over several keyframes (download FLA here).
3. Benito Juárez
The Flash slideshow of the Mexican leader was perhaps the easiest facet of the project. The photos were taken with the iPhone, only one of which was (badly) color corrected, and uploaded into Flash (download FLA here). The audio was recorded with a $450 Olympus recorder in an empty room in my hotel, but could have just as easily been done with an El Cheapo recorder. The track was edited for pauses, ums and ahs in about ten minutes using Adobe Audition.
4. Willie Dixon's Blues Garden
The backlighting in this photo project could have been corrected with a more high end camera, but one was not available so I simply used the same technique I had used for The Spearman...click, step, click, step. The photos were also aligned in Photoshop and imported into a simple Flash slideshow (download FLA here). The music (and this is a big NO NO) was stripped from YouTube using online file converter Zamzar. It was then edited in Audition and uploaded into Flash. This is a likely violation of copyright law (even though the clip is less than 30 seconds), but in this case was only used for demonstration and will likely be pulled some time in the very near future.
Design
The design was created in Photoshop and exported as one big background image with a hole for the Flash projects (a big design no no, but less time-consuming than coding the necessary CSS). The menu on the right is actually a Flash project with transparent buttons overlaid on top of the Photoshopped background (download FLA here). The whole thing was cobbled together in Dreamweaver.
Needless to say, this was the only project of its kind submitted for the Multimedia Shootout which was both a blessing and a curse. The project, which mirrors what a mainstream news outlet is likely to produce, stood out from the other 20 entries that were simply slideshows or video. I acknowledge that everyone doesn't have such a varied skilled set, but this type of project can be put together with the right team and the right tools.
Here's how I did it. There was no easily accessible existing resource on Chicago public art so I went to Flickr and searched for "Chicago statues" and "Chicago monuments." I whittled down the list to four: The Chicago Mural, The Spearman/The Bowman, Benito Juárez and Willie Dixon's Blues Garden. All four are mapped on an interactive Flash map (download FLA here). The accuracy of the map was created by using Photoshop to trace over an existing Google Map which was created in 5 minutes with MapBuilder (download PSD here). The icons were also silhouetted in Photoshop.
1. Chicago Mural
All the photos for the project were taken with an iPhone. Although the mural seems like one seamless photo it is actually several stitched together in Photoshop using layers and the cloning tool. The sliding element was created in Flash (download FLA here) using one of my favorite tutorials from kirupa.com on interactive image panning.
2. The Spearman/Bowman
The rotating effect used in this interactive image was created by taking one photo at a time with the iPhone and taking a step to the left or right to create the intervals. Because the photos didn't line up accurately, all of them were layered on top of each other in Photoshop (download PSD here) and resized and color corrected to ensure continuity. All the photos were then imported into Flash and distributed over several keyframes (download FLA here).
3. Benito Juárez
The Flash slideshow of the Mexican leader was perhaps the easiest facet of the project. The photos were taken with the iPhone, only one of which was (badly) color corrected, and uploaded into Flash (download FLA here). The audio was recorded with a $450 Olympus recorder in an empty room in my hotel, but could have just as easily been done with an El Cheapo recorder. The track was edited for pauses, ums and ahs in about ten minutes using Adobe Audition.
4. Willie Dixon's Blues Garden
The backlighting in this photo project could have been corrected with a more high end camera, but one was not available so I simply used the same technique I had used for The Spearman...click, step, click, step. The photos were also aligned in Photoshop and imported into a simple Flash slideshow (download FLA here). The music (and this is a big NO NO) was stripped from YouTube using online file converter Zamzar. It was then edited in Audition and uploaded into Flash. This is a likely violation of copyright law (even though the clip is less than 30 seconds), but in this case was only used for demonstration and will likely be pulled some time in the very near future.
Design
The design was created in Photoshop and exported as one big background image with a hole for the Flash projects (a big design no no, but less time-consuming than coding the necessary CSS). The menu on the right is actually a Flash project with transparent buttons overlaid on top of the Photoshopped background (download FLA here). The whole thing was cobbled together in Dreamweaver.Needless to say, this was the only project of its kind submitted for the Multimedia Shootout which was both a blessing and a curse. The project, which mirrors what a mainstream news outlet is likely to produce, stood out from the other 20 entries that were simply slideshows or video. I acknowledge that everyone doesn't have such a varied skilled set, but this type of project can be put together with the right team and the right tools.
8 Beautifully Designed Maps
Friday, June 06, 2008
With so many websites using Google Maps to create mashups, a lot of online maps are starting to look the same. But there are a few who are addressing both form and function to create maps that are both eye-catching and useful.
Get London Reading has mapped more than 400 books about or set in the city, using book covers as markers. The surrounding image, a pair of hands holding a book, heightens the creative design of the map.
Also illustrating the beauty of London is this map of the London Tube system. It is remarkable in that is so much more visually interesting than the flat map Londoners are used to seeing. The 3D rendering includes landmarks like the London Eye, Big Ben and London Bridge.
It's no secret that Capitol of Punk is more than your average map. The Museum of Modern Art recently included it in its Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition along with 13 other map mashups.
The zip codes of the United States never looked better than they do at zipdecode. The interactive map lets users type any zip code and as each one of the five digit numbers number is entered, the star-like dots fade away to reveal the intended area.
Wilshire Boulevard, like Sunset Boulevard and many other streets in Los Angeles, is a long stretch of road whose character changes many times within a short drive. Curating the City captures the essence of the avenue in its illustrated and interactive map.
MappedUp has been referenced here before as an innovative way of visualizing the news, but its bold color scheme and clever animations make its design worth reemphasizing.
Stamen Design, whose Trulia Hindsight and Oakland Crimespotting maps have been featured this week, is clearly on to some something with their unique design approach to maps.
And to close out this week of maps, the following video is one of my favorite maps since I was young and my gift to all the 10,000 Words readers around the world:
Also on 10,000 Words
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to create a Google Map in about 30 minutes
Get London Reading has mapped more than 400 books about or set in the city, using book covers as markers. The surrounding image, a pair of hands holding a book, heightens the creative design of the map.
Also illustrating the beauty of London is this map of the London Tube system. It is remarkable in that is so much more visually interesting than the flat map Londoners are used to seeing. The 3D rendering includes landmarks like the London Eye, Big Ben and London Bridge.
It's no secret that Capitol of Punk is more than your average map. The Museum of Modern Art recently included it in its Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition along with 13 other map mashups.
The zip codes of the United States never looked better than they do at zipdecode. The interactive map lets users type any zip code and as each one of the five digit numbers number is entered, the star-like dots fade away to reveal the intended area.
Wilshire Boulevard, like Sunset Boulevard and many other streets in Los Angeles, is a long stretch of road whose character changes many times within a short drive. Curating the City captures the essence of the avenue in its illustrated and interactive map.
MappedUp has been referenced here before as an innovative way of visualizing the news, but its bold color scheme and clever animations make its design worth reemphasizing.
Stamen Design, whose Trulia Hindsight and Oakland Crimespotting maps have been featured this week, is clearly on to some something with their unique design approach to maps.
And to close out this week of maps, the following video is one of my favorite maps since I was young and my gift to all the 10,000 Words readers around the world:
Also on 10,000 Words
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to create a Google Map in about 30 minutes
Labels: maps
Driving Google Maps into high gear
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Google Maps helps you drive, but have you ever driven on a map? There are a number of driving simulators that use online map technology to provide a 2D driving experience. Map Channels' Street View Driver lets users get a first person perspective of driving down any of the cities mapped by Google Street View. It's obviously not the same sensation of driving, but users can accelerate and decelerate and turn left or right down any mapped street.
Geoquake turns the concept up a notch by adding a virtual steering wheel and letting drivers pick their own car for a fast-paced drive through a number of cities, including Tokyo, Las Vegas and Manhattan. GoogleDrive is comparatively underwhelming, but it's still fun to zip the little car through any street mapped by Google.
For those who are better spectators than they are drivers, this mashup of a YouTube video of the recent Big Wheel Race in San Francisco with a Google Maps widget shows viewers the actual race while plotting its course on the adjacent map. The result is, dare I say, genius and the technology has practical applications in journalism.
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race may be traveling the globe, but its impressive map remains in one place. The paths of competing yachts are tracked in real time on a Google Map with stats available for each vessel. As of this writing, the yachts are headed from New York to Nova Scotia and Team New York is narrowly ahead of Team Uniquely Singapore followed by Team Glasgow: Scotland with Style. It's exciting, kind of like watching a carnival's water pistol horse race.
The more literary-inclined will enjoy We Tell Stories: The 21 Steps, a continuous story that unfolds over one map. The "digital fiction" work is inspired by The 39 Steps by John Buchan, written a century before the advent of Google Maps. The story itself is a good read and breathes new life into a well-worn medium.
If it's between 5:30 and 8:30 a.m. Central Time, you can find AirFox Live hovering over the virtual skies of Google Maps. Most TV stations have a news helicopter, but Fox News Chicago is making the most of theirs by streaming live video shot from the copter as it cruises the Illinois skies. When the cameras aren't rolling, the site has a live skyline cam and a slideshow of some of the best aerial views of the city.
This post is the fourth in a five-part series on maps. Previously: Online tools for getting more out of maps, Exploring the Earth, Tracking down criminals with crime maps
Geoquake turns the concept up a notch by adding a virtual steering wheel and letting drivers pick their own car for a fast-paced drive through a number of cities, including Tokyo, Las Vegas and Manhattan. GoogleDrive is comparatively underwhelming, but it's still fun to zip the little car through any street mapped by Google.
For those who are better spectators than they are drivers, this mashup of a YouTube video of the recent Big Wheel Race in San Francisco with a Google Maps widget shows viewers the actual race while plotting its course on the adjacent map. The result is, dare I say, genius and the technology has practical applications in journalism.
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race may be traveling the globe, but its impressive map remains in one place. The paths of competing yachts are tracked in real time on a Google Map with stats available for each vessel. As of this writing, the yachts are headed from New York to Nova Scotia and Team New York is narrowly ahead of Team Uniquely Singapore followed by Team Glasgow: Scotland with Style. It's exciting, kind of like watching a carnival's water pistol horse race.
The more literary-inclined will enjoy We Tell Stories: The 21 Steps, a continuous story that unfolds over one map. The "digital fiction" work is inspired by The 39 Steps by John Buchan, written a century before the advent of Google Maps. The story itself is a good read and breathes new life into a well-worn medium.
If it's between 5:30 and 8:30 a.m. Central Time, you can find AirFox Live hovering over the virtual skies of Google Maps. Most TV stations have a news helicopter, but Fox News Chicago is making the most of theirs by streaming live video shot from the copter as it cruises the Illinois skies. When the cameras aren't rolling, the site has a live skyline cam and a slideshow of some of the best aerial views of the city.
This post is the fourth in a five-part series on maps. Previously: Online tools for getting more out of maps, Exploring the Earth, Tracking down criminals with crime maps
5 Online tools for getting more out of maps
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Maps, video and geotagging are all coming together at Seero, a new video mapping site that aggregates citizen journalist-created video on a Google Map. Users can submit their geotagged video for archiving or broadcast it live. Casual visitors can browse video from all over the world, including footage of the Wailuku River in Hawaii and the Taj Mahal in India. The site is a little sparse right now, but shows great promise.
GPSed is also making use of geotagging by facilitating a place where users can upload photos onto a Google Map that corresponds to the exact location it was taken. A series of photos creates a mapped chronological line of the course of travel that others can later follow. Use of the site requires a GPS-equipped mobile device such as a Blackberry or Windows Mobile smartphone.
If you haven't had enough of geotagging, MetaCarta takes stories from news sources like Reuters and the Associated Press and plots them on an interactive Google Map. Clicking a link in the map markers directs users to a full version of the story with a small inset map of locations mentioned in the story. MetaCarta also suggests stories within the same region or of similar interest. Stories can be searched for by moving the map around or entering a specific location or keyword.
Geotagging stories is a growing trend in journalism, though honestly I have yet to completely wrap my head around the process. Click here for a primer on geotagging and be sure to read this thought-provoking editorial by Martin Stabe that questions the ethics of the process.
Away from the visuals and onto the audio. MyVox's API makes it less complicated for developers to integrate user-generated audio onto a map. Its Voice Map application lets users create a map and then provides a call-in number to add voice recordings to each marker(click here for a demonstration).
Lastly, the Static Map Wizard allows for creation of a Google Map without the need for messy JavaScript. Customizing the map only takes a few steps and the result is a map that can be embedded into any web site with just an URL and an <img> tag. A Google Map API key is required to embed the map and be obtained here.
This post is the third in a five-part series on maps. Previously: Exploring the Earth, Tracking down criminals with crime maps
GPSed is also making use of geotagging by facilitating a place where users can upload photos onto a Google Map that corresponds to the exact location it was taken. A series of photos creates a mapped chronological line of the course of travel that others can later follow. Use of the site requires a GPS-equipped mobile device such as a Blackberry or Windows Mobile smartphone.
If you haven't had enough of geotagging, MetaCarta takes stories from news sources like Reuters and the Associated Press and plots them on an interactive Google Map. Clicking a link in the map markers directs users to a full version of the story with a small inset map of locations mentioned in the story. MetaCarta also suggests stories within the same region or of similar interest. Stories can be searched for by moving the map around or entering a specific location or keyword.
Geotagging stories is a growing trend in journalism, though honestly I have yet to completely wrap my head around the process. Click here for a primer on geotagging and be sure to read this thought-provoking editorial by Martin Stabe that questions the ethics of the process.
Away from the visuals and onto the audio. MyVox's API makes it less complicated for developers to integrate user-generated audio onto a map. Its Voice Map application lets users create a map and then provides a call-in number to add voice recordings to each marker(click here for a demonstration).
Lastly, the Static Map Wizard allows for creation of a Google Map without the need for messy JavaScript. Customizing the map only takes a few steps and the result is a map that can be embedded into any web site with just an URL and an <img> tag. A Google Map API key is required to embed the map and be obtained here.
This post is the third in a five-part series on maps. Previously: Exploring the Earth, Tracking down criminals with crime maps
Tracking down criminals with crime maps
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
There has been an explosion in crime maps since the creation of the venerated Chicago Crime some years ago, now a part of hyperlocal news site EveryBlock. Average Joes are also getting in the game with the creation of PostaCrime.com which solicits user-generated reports of crime around the country.
So far SpotCrime has done an even better of job aggregating crimes from around the nation in one convenient site, but there are a number of newspapers, TV stations, police agencies and community organizations that maintain far more detailed accounts of crime in their area. Here is a list of cities around the world whose criminal activity is currently tracked on a map.
The technology used to create the aforementioned crime maps varies from Google Maps mashups, some with databases attached, Flash animation, or proprietary software. Whichever avenue is chosen to document crime, it is destined to be better than the black and white police blotter hidden in the recesses of most newspapers.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 5 Interactive maps that connect communities
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• How to explore the Earth without leaving your computer
So far SpotCrime has done an even better of job aggregating crimes from around the nation in one convenient site, but there are a number of newspapers, TV stations, police agencies and community organizations that maintain far more detailed accounts of crime in their area. Here is a list of cities around the world whose criminal activity is currently tracked on a map.
- Anchorage
- Anniston, Alabama
- Arizona
- Atlanta
- Bakersfield, Ca.
- Baltimore
- Berkeley
- Boston
- Copenhagen
- Córdoba, Argentina
- Dallas
- Delaware
- Evanston, Ill.
- Fresno
- Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Houston
- Kansas City
- London
- Los Angeles
- Memphis
- Napa Valley, Ca.
- Nashville
- The Netherlands
- New Orleans
- New York City
- Newark, NJ
- Oakland
- Orlando
- Paso Robles, Ca.
- Philadelphia (here and here)
- Richmond, Va.
- Sacramento
- San Joaquin County, Ca.
- Seattle
- Spokane
- Tampa
- Toronto
- Washington D.C. (here and here)
- Wichita, Kansas
- Ypsilanti, Michigan
- Zurich
The technology used to create the aforementioned crime maps varies from Google Maps mashups, some with databases attached, Flash animation, or proprietary software. Whichever avenue is chosen to document crime, it is destined to be better than the black and white police blotter hidden in the recesses of most newspapers.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 5 Interactive maps that connect communities
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• How to explore the Earth without leaving your computer
Explore the Earth with online maps
Monday, June 02, 2008
Judging by the number of map-related posts at 10,000 Words, it has become increasingly clear that they are essential tool in the multimedia journalist's arsenal. Plus "cartographer" looks good on anyone's résumé.
One cannot talk about online maps that explore the Earth without first discussing Flash Earth, an online, virtual satellite that lets the user zoom in and out to any location in the world. Site visitors can also toggle between a number of different maps from sources like Google Maps, Yahoo! and Ask.com in a wonderfully fluid interface.
GeoGarage has mashed up NOAA nautical charts and a Google map to create a visual directory of the waters of most of North America. Most importantly, the map allows for toggling between the two layers for greater reference.
WeatherMole plans to put weathermen out of business with its map that plots any given location on a map and then gives the area's five-day weather forecast in a few seconds. An even more detailed two-day forecast is available in a click.
If you're waiting for some daylight surfing in Biarritz or plan on capturing the sunset in Cameroon, DaylightMap will help by illustrating where the sun is shining around the world. Google Maps Nighttime! is perhaps the site's opposite and shows the world as it appears at night. The map is actually kind of magical, with the lights shining brightest in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia.
Most maps were created to illustrate where we, and the others around us, live and online maps are no different. Potential home buyers and renters have made great use out of HousingMaps which plots craigslist listings on a more user-friendly interface. USA Today recently mapped home foreclosures in Denver, illustrating a national problem. Real estate site Trulia has incorporated Google Street View to give home buyers a better sense of the neighborhood surrounding their potential home. It bears mentioning that more than 40 cities are now covered in Street View. Click over to Listropolis for a complete list of links to each city.
World maps are more than just for oohs and aahs. My noxon has mapped a large number of the world's radio stations into clickable points from which users can actually listen to each station's broadcast. Gas Buddy's National Gas Temperature Map illustrates the continuing crisis of rising gas prices here in the U.S. If you're living on the East or West coast where gas prices are highest, you might want to consider a move to Wyoming. At least with the aforementioned sites, you'll be able to find it on a map.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 5 Interactive maps that connect communities
• 4 Sites for viewing panoramas (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
One cannot talk about online maps that explore the Earth without first discussing Flash Earth, an online, virtual satellite that lets the user zoom in and out to any location in the world. Site visitors can also toggle between a number of different maps from sources like Google Maps, Yahoo! and Ask.com in a wonderfully fluid interface.
GeoGarage has mashed up NOAA nautical charts and a Google map to create a visual directory of the waters of most of North America. Most importantly, the map allows for toggling between the two layers for greater reference.
WeatherMole plans to put weathermen out of business with its map that plots any given location on a map and then gives the area's five-day weather forecast in a few seconds. An even more detailed two-day forecast is available in a click.
If you're waiting for some daylight surfing in Biarritz or plan on capturing the sunset in Cameroon, DaylightMap will help by illustrating where the sun is shining around the world. Google Maps Nighttime! is perhaps the site's opposite and shows the world as it appears at night. The map is actually kind of magical, with the lights shining brightest in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia.
Most maps were created to illustrate where we, and the others around us, live and online maps are no different. Potential home buyers and renters have made great use out of HousingMaps which plots craigslist listings on a more user-friendly interface. USA Today recently mapped home foreclosures in Denver, illustrating a national problem. Real estate site Trulia has incorporated Google Street View to give home buyers a better sense of the neighborhood surrounding their potential home. It bears mentioning that more than 40 cities are now covered in Street View. Click over to Listropolis for a complete list of links to each city.
World maps are more than just for oohs and aahs. My noxon has mapped a large number of the world's radio stations into clickable points from which users can actually listen to each station's broadcast. Gas Buddy's National Gas Temperature Map illustrates the continuing crisis of rising gas prices here in the U.S. If you're living on the East or West coast where gas prices are highest, you might want to consider a move to Wyoming. At least with the aforementioned sites, you'll be able to find it on a map.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 5 Interactive maps that connect communities
• 4 Sites for viewing panoramas (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
How to create a Google Map in about 30 minutes
Friday, April 25, 2008
I was driving around Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon and had some time to kill, so I made a detour to the UCLA campus with the intention of driving home soon after. I quickly realized I was near the westernmost part of world-famous Sunset Boulevard. I decided to travel the entire length of the winding road and take a photograph every time I stopped at a red light. Always a multimedia journalist, I decided I would later create a Google Map of the resulting photos and locations.
So in an unintentional finale to College Week at 10,000 words, here is my road trip from UCLA to Olvera Street near Downtown L.A.:
And now creating the map...
I wrote previously about quick ways to create a Google Map but now I will break down the process for a quick tutorial and demonstrate how easy it really is.
I take the images out of the iPhone, crop them for focus and upload them to the web. Because I did not geotag any of the 26 photos, I have to retrace my steps and catalog unfamiliar intersections. Once I have a handwritten list of locations that correspond to my photos, I am ready to start building.
I choose Google My Maps because it is easy to use and simple to draw lines on a map.
I give the map a title and a description. I decide to make it public so everyone can check it out.
I begin drawing lines to represent my trip down Sunset Blvd. The street is very curvy in parts so it takes a little more effort than I expected.
I place my first marker on the map at Cesar Chavez & Lyon in East L.A. and add a photo. It was the last stop on my trip and because I ended up listing the points in reverse order, I will work backwards to create the map.
As I'm placing the points I realize some of the lines are not exactly on Sunset, so I fix them along the way using the handles that appear when I rollover them.
28 points later, I'm done!
I click "Link to this page" to embed the map. I change the default size settings and set the zoom.
I copy the resulting code and place it into a new Blogger post. Voila! New Google Map!
Also on 10,000 Words
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• 8 Beautifully Designed Maps
So in an unintentional finale to College Week at 10,000 words, here is my road trip from UCLA to Olvera Street near Downtown L.A.:
And now creating the map...
I wrote previously about quick ways to create a Google Map but now I will break down the process for a quick tutorial and demonstrate how easy it really is.
I take the images out of the iPhone, crop them for focus and upload them to the web. Because I did not geotag any of the 26 photos, I have to retrace my steps and catalog unfamiliar intersections. Once I have a handwritten list of locations that correspond to my photos, I am ready to start building.
I choose Google My Maps because it is easy to use and simple to draw lines on a map.
I give the map a title and a description. I decide to make it public so everyone can check it out.
I begin drawing lines to represent my trip down Sunset Blvd. The street is very curvy in parts so it takes a little more effort than I expected.
I place my first marker on the map at Cesar Chavez & Lyon in East L.A. and add a photo. It was the last stop on my trip and because I ended up listing the points in reverse order, I will work backwards to create the map.
As I'm placing the points I realize some of the lines are not exactly on Sunset, so I fix them along the way using the handles that appear when I rollover them.
28 points later, I'm done!
I click "Link to this page" to embed the map. I change the default size settings and set the zoom.
I copy the resulting code and place it into a new Blogger post. Voila! New Google Map!
Also on 10,000 Words
• 5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• 8 Beautifully Designed Maps
Labels: maps
5 Ways to create a Google Map in minutes
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Breaking news stories are greatly enriched when paired with Google Maps. Car accidents, natural disasters, rallies and speeches, celebrity sightings and more all benefit from a small map that indicates their location. The Google Maps API is a great tool if you'd had experience using it, but there are a number of third-party applications that streamline the map-building process and facilitate and quicker move to the web when time is a factor. Below are some of the best tools for creating worry-free Google Maps.
Map Builder | www.mapbuilder.net
Special Features: Address search, Upload multiple locations (CSV file), Editable HTML code, customized controls
Atlas | www.fmatlas.com
Special Features: Novice-friendly simplicity, Address, business and Wikipedia search, Bulk uploader (CSV),
CommunityWalk | www.communitywalk.com
Special Features: Create paths, Color-coded or custom markers, Bulk upload (Excel), Export points, audio capabilities, social networking
Google My Maps | maps.google.com
Special Features: Create custom markers, lines and polygons, Add HTML, photo and video to pop up balloons, collaborate and share with others, Overlay additional content
YourGMap | www.yourgmap.com
Special Features: Novice-friendly simplicity, Export markers to CSV file, Customized controls and markers, Embed final map
If none of the aforementioned services floats your boat, Mashable has a list of 50+ Tools and Resources for Online Maps.
Also on 10,000 Words
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to create a Google Map in about 30 minutes
• 8 Beautifully Designed Maps
Map Builder | www.mapbuilder.net
Special Features: Address search, Upload multiple locations (CSV file), Editable HTML code, customized controls
Atlas | www.fmatlas.com
Special Features: Novice-friendly simplicity, Address, business and Wikipedia search, Bulk uploader (CSV),
CommunityWalk | www.communitywalk.com
Special Features: Create paths, Color-coded or custom markers, Bulk upload (Excel), Export points, audio capabilities, social networking
Google My Maps | maps.google.com
Special Features: Create custom markers, lines and polygons, Add HTML, photo and video to pop up balloons, collaborate and share with others, Overlay additional content
YourGMap | www.yourgmap.com
Special Features: Novice-friendly simplicity, Export markers to CSV file, Customized controls and markers, Embed final map
If none of the aforementioned services floats your boat, Mashable has a list of 50+ Tools and Resources for Online Maps.
Also on 10,000 Words
• 10 Mind-blowing maps (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to create a Google Map in about 30 minutes
• 8 Beautifully Designed Maps
Labels: maps, social networking
Sports fans are the new citizen journalists
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Sports journalism has an intrinsic fan base, so it only makes sense to parlay that readership into online sports communities.
Takkle, an offshoot of Sports Illustrated, is hooking them while they're young. The site has an active network of high school athletes and fans who can submit photos and video of their favorite teams or participate in throwdowns on just about any topic.
Impressively, the site ranks the top 25 basketball players and top 100 football players from high schools across the country. Takkle users can rate each player as over or underrated, view stats and debate the player's cred in the comments section.
Elsewhere on the site, SI.com's College Football's Greatest Rivalries video series is well-packaged and is sure to get football fans talking. All the greats are there including University of Florida v Florida State, USC v UCLA and Army v Navy. The opportunity to debate the prowess of one's home team exists elsewhere on the site at FanNation, but it would have been nice to have a comment section or direct link to each rivalry's discussion board to make the debate more immediate.
Bleacher Report is perhaps the best citizen journalism sports site not tied to a mainstream media outlet. In the vein of Associated Content, users can register and write their own sports-related articles, which, when posted, can be reviewed and rated by other users. Writers are free to speak their minds and throw unbiasedness out the window (especially today's front page story "ESPN: The Ultimate Hypocrite". Totally valid argument, but wow what a headline.) Bleacher Report covers most of the major sports, including football, basketball and soccer and its thriving community is making it one of the best on the web.
And because no post is complete without a good map, soccermap.net takes soccer league tables and plots them on a user-friendly map. The site is Europe-centric, but is very comprehensive and is RSS-enabled for news on any specific league. The site's stats can even be embedded as a widget on any webpage.
Read more about tackling the online sports section in this previous post.
Takkle, an offshoot of Sports Illustrated, is hooking them while they're young. The site has an active network of high school athletes and fans who can submit photos and video of their favorite teams or participate in throwdowns on just about any topic.
Impressively, the site ranks the top 25 basketball players and top 100 football players from high schools across the country. Takkle users can rate each player as over or underrated, view stats and debate the player's cred in the comments section.
Elsewhere on the site, SI.com's College Football's Greatest Rivalries video series is well-packaged and is sure to get football fans talking. All the greats are there including University of Florida v Florida State, USC v UCLA and Army v Navy. The opportunity to debate the prowess of one's home team exists elsewhere on the site at FanNation, but it would have been nice to have a comment section or direct link to each rivalry's discussion board to make the debate more immediate.
Bleacher Report is perhaps the best citizen journalism sports site not tied to a mainstream media outlet. In the vein of Associated Content, users can register and write their own sports-related articles, which, when posted, can be reviewed and rated by other users. Writers are free to speak their minds and throw unbiasedness out the window (especially today's front page story "ESPN: The Ultimate Hypocrite". Totally valid argument, but wow what a headline.) Bleacher Report covers most of the major sports, including football, basketball and soccer and its thriving community is making it one of the best on the web.
And because no post is complete without a good map, soccermap.net takes soccer league tables and plots them on a user-friendly map. The site is Europe-centric, but is very comprehensive and is RSS-enabled for news on any specific league. The site's stats can even be embedded as a widget on any webpage.
Read more about tackling the online sports section in this previous post.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, rss, social networking, video
How to take Twitter to the next level
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
So you're tweeting. Now what? It's time to take a look at sites that are making the most out of Twitter's ability to instantly transmit the news.
Instead of waiting for traffic updates online or via radio, some internet users are turning to Commuter Feed. The site lets Twitter users send updates about local traffic around the country directly to the site, where the feeds are searchable by city or metropolitan area.
Politweets tracks the political discussion happening in the Twitterverse by aggregating tweets about political candidates. The most recent tweets about Democratic candidates are on the left and Republicans are on the right. In the middle is a list of candidates positioned by how much they are being discussed (Barack Obama is currently at the top of the pile).
Because the web is all about citizen journalism, truemors is made up of news submitted by the average Joes and Janes of Twitter. It's kind of like a micro social news networking site that aggregates the content that people care about from a variety of news sources. Twemes is also a great way of indexing what people are talking about online. The site is useful for searching tagged tweets on any subject, like, for example, John McCain.
Twitterers are already discussing major news events, including Super Tuesday and Sunday's Academy Awards; it's just a matter of major news organizations grabbing the opportunity and creating their own news hubs.
Did you know Twitter isn't just for sending text? TwitPic and Twixtr both allow users to send photos either online or via mobile phone through Twitter. So instead of simply including links to new stories, anyone can add photos to accompany their tweets (and we know photos are a great visual attraction).
Twittervision combines Twitter and Google Maps to create a real-time visual idea of where tweets are coming from. The only requirement to appear on the site is a location and an image defined in your Twitter post. The 3D version is also worth a look, if only for the coolness factor.
Twittermap creates a visual display of geotagged tweets and can also be used to find Twitterers by location. Those familiar with data mashup editor Yahoo! Pipes can use geo twitter to get a geotagged feed of your Twitter posts, which can be displayed on a Yahoo or Google map.
There are a lot of interesting and useful sites based on Twitter and with the Twitter API up for grabs, there is no reason that journalists can't be a part of the next evolution in news.
Also on 10,000 Words
• The top 7 mistakes new Twitter users make
• Twitter is...
• How to analyze your Twitter followers and friends
• 10 Journalists you should follow on Twitter
Instead of waiting for traffic updates online or via radio, some internet users are turning to Commuter Feed. The site lets Twitter users send updates about local traffic around the country directly to the site, where the feeds are searchable by city or metropolitan area.
Politweets tracks the political discussion happening in the Twitterverse by aggregating tweets about political candidates. The most recent tweets about Democratic candidates are on the left and Republicans are on the right. In the middle is a list of candidates positioned by how much they are being discussed (Barack Obama is currently at the top of the pile).
Because the web is all about citizen journalism, truemors is made up of news submitted by the average Joes and Janes of Twitter. It's kind of like a micro social news networking site that aggregates the content that people care about from a variety of news sources. Twemes is also a great way of indexing what people are talking about online. The site is useful for searching tagged tweets on any subject, like, for example, John McCain.
Twitterers are already discussing major news events, including Super Tuesday and Sunday's Academy Awards; it's just a matter of major news organizations grabbing the opportunity and creating their own news hubs.
Did you know Twitter isn't just for sending text? TwitPic and Twixtr both allow users to send photos either online or via mobile phone through Twitter. So instead of simply including links to new stories, anyone can add photos to accompany their tweets (and we know photos are a great visual attraction).
Twittervision combines Twitter and Google Maps to create a real-time visual idea of where tweets are coming from. The only requirement to appear on the site is a location and an image defined in your Twitter post. The 3D version is also worth a look, if only for the coolness factor.
Twittermap creates a visual display of geotagged tweets and can also be used to find Twitterers by location. Those familiar with data mashup editor Yahoo! Pipes can use geo twitter to get a geotagged feed of your Twitter posts, which can be displayed on a Yahoo or Google map.
There are a lot of interesting and useful sites based on Twitter and with the Twitter API up for grabs, there is no reason that journalists can't be a part of the next evolution in news.
Also on 10,000 Words
• The top 7 mistakes new Twitter users make
• Twitter is...
• How to analyze your Twitter followers and friends
• 10 Journalists you should follow on Twitter
Labels: blogging, maps, photos, social networking, widgets
Google Street View adds more cities
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Congratulations to Albany and Schenectady, New York; Boise, Idaho; Juneau, Alaska; Kansas City, Missouri; Manchester, New Hampshire; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina; San Antonio, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah. You are the latest additions to Google Street View! These locales join the more than 20 other cities to be invaded by the Google street team.
Google Street View provides 360° panoramic, street-level views with just a click, but it isn't the only service on the block. Gigapan users can upload panoramic images using pricey equipment or just an ordinary digital camera and a whole lot of patience. There is some exceptional photography on the site, including this photo of Burning Man and this one of the Sonoma County, Calif. coast.
Liebenthal, Kansas photographed by Gigapan user Ron Schott.
Immersive Media is proving panorama doesn't always mean long, flat images. The combination of video and 360° lets users experience a ski race from every possible angle, join a whale watching expedition, or experience the big game as the players see it.
For tips on creating panoramic images, check out this previous post.
Google Street View provides 360° panoramic, street-level views with just a click, but it isn't the only service on the block. Gigapan users can upload panoramic images using pricey equipment or just an ordinary digital camera and a whole lot of patience. There is some exceptional photography on the site, including this photo of Burning Man and this one of the Sonoma County, Calif. coast.
Liebenthal, Kansas photographed by Gigapan user Ron Schott.
Immersive Media is proving panorama doesn't always mean long, flat images. The combination of video and 360° lets users experience a ski race from every possible angle, join a whale watching expedition, or experience the big game as the players see it.
For tips on creating panoramic images, check out this previous post.
Super Tuesday Live!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Craving Super Tuesday results? Keep up with the latest totals below, courtesy of MSNBC.
Also on 10,000 Words
Also on 10,000 Words
- Super Tuesday Coverage Around the Web (Cybernet)
- Google Trends Predict Super Tuesday Outcome (Advertising Lab)
- Keeping Tabs on Super Tuesday (ReadWriteWeb)
- Google teams up with Twitter to make Super Tuesday geomap (Webware)
Weather 2.0: Interactive online tools for keeping tabs on Mother Nature
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Poor weather. The size of the weather page is shrinking in newspapers across the country and the meteorological report is almost always at the end of the television newscast. Many radio stations still read the weather at the top of the hour, but that's been happening since Marconi pushed the on button. However, there are a group of online sites that are bringing a new twist to an old phenomenon.
Old standby The Weather Channel/weather.com is also a vibrant social network. Users can post photos and video of good and bad weather happening around them and discuss local climates on the site's message boards. In addition to its hour by hour, weekend, 10-day and monthly forecasts, Weather.com boasts interactive maps, a bookmark-worthy blog written by weather experts and meteorologists and other weather-related tidbits that are too numerous to mention.
By now you're familiar with the broadcast TV weather map that has the temperature of an area overlaid on a map of that area (i.e. 75° in Miami, 32° in Seattle). Weather Bonk has scaled that map down and made it available with just a click. Regional temperatures across the globe are plotted on an interactive Google Map, along with storm warnings and embedded webcams.
WunderCam and EarthCam also take advantage of webcams stationed around the country to display local weather condition. While the sites' individual coverage doesn't exactly blanket the United States, there are many webcams to choose from.
Do you love a good sunset? Wish the natural splendor of the sun setting on the horizon would last forever? Well, Eternal Sunset took this idea and ran with it. The site is collection of 266 webcams around the world, all facing west to capture the sun set in 48 different countries. Eternal Sunset also has two maps that assist in determining where the sun is setting at any given moment.
Sunset at 9 am PST, 6 pm Central European Time. From left, Carro, France, Santa Ponsa, Spain, Riederalp, Switzerland
Eternal Sunset Realtime Global Map
Several sites, including WeatherBug, RSS Weather and the aforementioned Weather Channel, are taking advantage of RSS technology to make up-to-the-minute weather alerts available through RSS feeds. Distributing something as useful as weather predictions through RSS is a great way to encourage users to subscribe to your content and is also a great branding tool.
Old standby The Weather Channel/weather.com is also a vibrant social network. Users can post photos and video of good and bad weather happening around them and discuss local climates on the site's message boards. In addition to its hour by hour, weekend, 10-day and monthly forecasts, Weather.com boasts interactive maps, a bookmark-worthy blog written by weather experts and meteorologists and other weather-related tidbits that are too numerous to mention.
By now you're familiar with the broadcast TV weather map that has the temperature of an area overlaid on a map of that area (i.e. 75° in Miami, 32° in Seattle). Weather Bonk has scaled that map down and made it available with just a click. Regional temperatures across the globe are plotted on an interactive Google Map, along with storm warnings and embedded webcams.
WunderCam and EarthCam also take advantage of webcams stationed around the country to display local weather condition. While the sites' individual coverage doesn't exactly blanket the United States, there are many webcams to choose from.
Do you love a good sunset? Wish the natural splendor of the sun setting on the horizon would last forever? Well, Eternal Sunset took this idea and ran with it. The site is collection of 266 webcams around the world, all facing west to capture the sun set in 48 different countries. Eternal Sunset also has two maps that assist in determining where the sun is setting at any given moment.
Sunset at 9 am PST, 6 pm Central European Time. From left, Carro, France, Santa Ponsa, Spain, Riederalp, Switzerland
Eternal Sunset Realtime Global Map
Several sites, including WeatherBug, RSS Weather and the aforementioned Weather Channel, are taking advantage of RSS technology to make up-to-the-minute weather alerts available through RSS feeds. Distributing something as useful as weather predictions through RSS is a great way to encourage users to subscribe to your content and is also a great branding tool.
Politics as (un)usual
Monday, January 28, 2008
There are a number of sites that will help you determine who you should vote for based on your stance on a number of political issues, including The Candidate Match Game from USA Today, Connect2Elect and glassbooth.
Wired ran a great story about how event sharing site Eventful helped bring John Edwards to Kentucky, a state oft neglected by presidential candidates. Sounds like the web is working, but Mashable points out that presidential candidates aren't actually personally invested in social media.
For those who want to take politics into their own hands, the good people at THUP have created an online game that lets users pick their candidates and the team behind them and campaign their way across the country, staking out political territory.
The Associated Press asked some of the presidential candidates their favorite and least foods (with amusing results). This naturally led Chow, a site for all things food previously mentioned here, to create an "Eat Sheet" that compared the candidates' tastes in one nifty chart. Mitt Romney loves hot dogs and Barack Obama loves chili. A match made in heaven?
Are you registered to vote? Are you sure? VotePoke will help anyone confirm if they are registered to vote for the upcoming election. I am newly registered after moving to a new home and the site did not have my information up, so I cannot verify if it actually works or not, but its worth a try.
Need more politics? Check out this previous post on tracking the presidential candidates online.
Wired ran a great story about how event sharing site Eventful helped bring John Edwards to Kentucky, a state oft neglected by presidential candidates. Sounds like the web is working, but Mashable points out that presidential candidates aren't actually personally invested in social media.
For those who want to take politics into their own hands, the good people at THUP have created an online game that lets users pick their candidates and the team behind them and campaign their way across the country, staking out political territory.
The Associated Press asked some of the presidential candidates their favorite and least foods (with amusing results). This naturally led Chow, a site for all things food previously mentioned here, to create an "Eat Sheet" that compared the candidates' tastes in one nifty chart. Mitt Romney loves hot dogs and Barack Obama loves chili. A match made in heaven?
Are you registered to vote? Are you sure? VotePoke will help anyone confirm if they are registered to vote for the upcoming election. I am newly registered after moving to a new home and the site did not have my information up, so I cannot verify if it actually works or not, but its worth a try.
Need more politics? Check out this previous post on tracking the presidential candidates online.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps
How to tackle the online sports section
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Many of web editors cite the sports section as the hands down most popular section of their news site. Because of the power of the internet, sports can be a lot more than box scores and comments sections.
The Dallas Morning News' Cowboys Blog is a shining example of everything a blog should be. Its in depth coverage is complemented by stellar photographs, RSS feeds, and up to the minute scores. A handy calendar in the rail makes the blog searchable by date and visitors can receive Cowboys updates on their mobile device.
RUWT? (Are you watching this?) cuts through the 50 million sports channels and alerts you know when your game is getting good. Games are ranked Guarded, Elevated, High and Severe, which indicates a soon to be classic sports moment.
Totally Scored keeps track of the entire football/baseball/hockey/soccer/basketball game through RSS feeds. Users can select a feed dedicated to a sport or to a particular team. There a hundreds of teams to choose from which would satisfy any sports fan.
CollegeFanz puts sports into an interactive environment, which includes a virtual stadium and a customizable "dorm room." The site looks great and has some great features but those features aren't integrated into the site very well. Read a full review at Mashable.
NASCAR fans will get a real kick out of the Formula One Grand Prix Circuit map that shows satellite images of racetracks around the world.
The Dallas Morning News' Cowboys Blog is a shining example of everything a blog should be. Its in depth coverage is complemented by stellar photographs, RSS feeds, and up to the minute scores. A handy calendar in the rail makes the blog searchable by date and visitors can receive Cowboys updates on their mobile device.
RUWT? (Are you watching this?) cuts through the 50 million sports channels and alerts you know when your game is getting good. Games are ranked Guarded, Elevated, High and Severe, which indicates a soon to be classic sports moment.
Totally Scored keeps track of the entire football/baseball/hockey/soccer/basketball game through RSS feeds. Users can select a feed dedicated to a sport or to a particular team. There a hundreds of teams to choose from which would satisfy any sports fan.
CollegeFanz puts sports into an interactive environment, which includes a virtual stadium and a customizable "dorm room." The site looks great and has some great features but those features aren't integrated into the site very well. Read a full review at Mashable.
NASCAR fans will get a real kick out of the Formula One Grand Prix Circuit map that shows satellite images of racetracks around the world.
Elections 2.0: Tracking the Presidential candidates (Part 2)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Many candidates are courting the young vote even more so than 2004's Vote or Die campaign. Mitt Romney has invited Jumpcut users to create his official campaign TV ad. So far the Romney camp has received more than 100 submissions, some of which are pretty good like this one and this one.
It seems like every candidate has a MySpace or Facebook page but kudos to Barack Obama for his presence on LinkedIn, the more professional social network. You can also find out who in your network supports Obama.
Yahoo! has partnered up with the Huffington Post and Slate to create a make-your-own debate that lets the user choose the candidates that they want to see go head to head on a particular issue. The site also incorporates Yahoo! Answers technology to let users post and answer election-related questions.
And because inspiration is knows no boundaries, check out Google's Australian election coverage which includes a Google map embedded with photos and other political content as well as the YouTube channels of various Australian political parties and RSS feeds.
Labels: maps, rss, social networking, video
Elections 2.0: Tracking the Presidential candidates
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
It's not to early to start pumping out 2008 election coverage. There are a number of sites cropping up all over the web that can be used as both inspiration and as a resource. The PrezVid blog picks up the slack where the YouTube debates left off by collecting videos of the candidates' speeches and public appearances. 2decide's interactive table makes finding a candidate's position on a variety of issues a little more simple, even if the candidates haven't quite figured it out themselves.
What would election coverage be without a few great maps? Map the Candidates tracks the location of presidential wannabes from both sides of the aisle. The site is comprehensive and frequently updated. This Google Map shows where Democratic candidate John Edwards' campaign spots are airing around the country and contains embedded YouTube videos.
TechPresident keeps tabs on election-related issues, but more importantly keeps a running tally on Democratic and Republican candidates' Facebook supporters, MySpace friends and YouTube views. In case you're curious, Senator Obama leads the pack in all three categories with Senator Clinton coming in a close second.
The Hitwise Election 2008 Data Center takes this methodology a step further by calculating the top Democratic and Republican websites (Obama and Ron Paul respectively). The site also gauges the top political websites and search terms.
According to a Read/Write Web post, Web 2.0 tools like Facebook and Digg favor Democratic candidates. Democrats outnumber Republicans 5-to-1 on Facebook and 3-to-1 on MySpace, according to the site. Speaking of which, be sure to catch the now delayed Republican YouTube debates November 28. Should be informative if not entertaining.
What would election coverage be without a few great maps? Map the Candidates tracks the location of presidential wannabes from both sides of the aisle. The site is comprehensive and frequently updated. This Google Map shows where Democratic candidate John Edwards' campaign spots are airing around the country and contains embedded YouTube videos.
TechPresident keeps tabs on election-related issues, but more importantly keeps a running tally on Democratic and Republican candidates' Facebook supporters, MySpace friends and YouTube views. In case you're curious, Senator Obama leads the pack in all three categories with Senator Clinton coming in a close second.
The Hitwise Election 2008 Data Center takes this methodology a step further by calculating the top Democratic and Republican websites (Obama and Ron Paul respectively). The site also gauges the top political websites and search terms.
According to a Read/Write Web post, Web 2.0 tools like Facebook and Digg favor Democratic candidates. Democrats outnumber Republicans 5-to-1 on Facebook and 3-to-1 on MySpace, according to the site. Speaking of which, be sure to catch the now delayed Republican YouTube debates November 28. Should be informative if not entertaining.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, social networking, video
Food 2.0: Interactive restaurant reviews and recipes
Monday, August 27, 2007
Every mainstream newspaper and food magazine has a treasure trove of restaurant reviews and/or recipes that are, at the most, archived or stashed in a shoe box by some homely octogenarian. Its time to dust off those clips and put them to good use.
Instead of forcing readers to recall a restaurant they read some time ago, create an online database of your restaurant reviews. Maps would come in handy here especially if they are searchable by location and categorized by food type, atmosphere, price, etc. Yelp does this quite well (better than most media outlets anyway) for restaurants across the country. Both include both editorial and user reviews as well as photos and maps.
While we're on the subject of food, the tons and tons of recipes that have been written over the years are often sitting in the news library somewhere. It's time to put them online, and because this a multimedia world, why not show your readers how to make those recipes? The L.A. Times building includes a test kitchen where all the recipes were cooked before they were printed. If you have such a space, or even a presentable kitchen, get a camera in there and show em how its done. Chow.com uses video to show its visitors how to butterfly a chicken, poach an egg and pimp a burger (?)
A great YouTube cooking lesson from Cooking with Kids in the video below:
Foodieview tackles both restaurant reviews and recipes in an elegant, well-organized way. The site also features a blog and makes use of widgets and Google Maps.
Instead of forcing readers to recall a restaurant they read some time ago, create an online database of your restaurant reviews. Maps would come in handy here especially if they are searchable by location and categorized by food type, atmosphere, price, etc. Yelp does this quite well (better than most media outlets anyway) for restaurants across the country. Both include both editorial and user reviews as well as photos and maps.
While we're on the subject of food, the tons and tons of recipes that have been written over the years are often sitting in the news library somewhere. It's time to put them online, and because this a multimedia world, why not show your readers how to make those recipes? The L.A. Times building includes a test kitchen where all the recipes were cooked before they were printed. If you have such a space, or even a presentable kitchen, get a camera in there and show em how its done. Chow.com uses video to show its visitors how to butterfly a chicken, poach an egg and pimp a burger (?)
A great YouTube cooking lesson from Cooking with Kids in the video below:
Foodieview tackles both restaurant reviews and recipes in an elegant, well-organized way. The site also features a blog and makes use of widgets and Google Maps.
How to embed Google Maps without the API
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
You've seen some great maps, now its time to create your own. Google recently announced the ability to embed Google Maps in your own site by simply cutting and pasting HTML. The embed code uses an iframe tag to streamline the process. To grab the code, click "Link to this page" in the top right corner and select "Paste HTML to embed in website."
So extracting this code from the Google Maps site
will give you an embedded map like this:
View Larger Map
The new feature ends the need to use a third-party application to embed Google Maps, though such applications make the creation of custom maps much easier. Also, if you extract the URL from the embed code, you can create a full-screen Google map (example here).
So extracting this code from the Google Maps site
<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=colorado
+springs,+colorado&ie=UTF8&ll=38.956205,-104.754639&spn=0.469337,
0.933838&z=10&iwloc=addr&om=1&output=embed&s=AARTsJrvR8_nCDEAdyll
dYZydg5i0rq0Pw"></iframe>lt;br/>lt;a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=colorado+
springs,+colorado&ie=UTF8&ll=38.956205,-104.754639&spn=0.469337,
0.933838&z=10&iwloc=addr&om=1&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left;font-size:small">View Larger Map</a>
will give you an embedded map like this:
View Larger Map
The new feature ends the need to use a third-party application to embed Google Maps, though such applications make the creation of custom maps much easier. Also, if you extract the URL from the embed code, you can create a full-screen Google map (example here).
Labels: maps
How to quickly track natural disasters online
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The need to be able to spot a coming natural disaster became more evident after a tornado ripped through Brooklyn last week. The Weather Channel does an excellent job providing up to date information in different formats (radio, TV and online). But to track more specific weather events instantly, check out these sites.
Stormadvisory.org mashes data from the National Hurricane Center with a Google map to show current hurricane activity in the Atlantic and Caribbean. The site also tracks past major storms in a step by step visual, like this map of Hurricane Wilma.
The US Geological Survey is the best way to find out if a sudden shake was an earthquake or an errant airplane. The USGS site offers a simple map that displays location and magnitude of recent earthquakes.
Ask.com has a similar, more easy on the eyes database, though the source of the data is unclear. Ask also gives users the option of searching for recent activity near them, rather than having to scan a map.
The University of Michigan's tornado tracker displays current and historical data on a Google map.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 5 Interactive maps that connect communities
• 4 Sites for viewing panoramas (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
Hurricanes
Stormadvisory.org mashes data from the National Hurricane Center with a Google map to show current hurricane activity in the Atlantic and Caribbean. The site also tracks past major storms in a step by step visual, like this map of Hurricane Wilma.
Earthquakes
The US Geological Survey is the best way to find out if a sudden shake was an earthquake or an errant airplane. The USGS site offers a simple map that displays location and magnitude of recent earthquakes.
Ask.com has a similar, more easy on the eyes database, though the source of the data is unclear. Ask also gives users the option of searching for recent activity near them, rather than having to scan a map.
Tornadoes
The University of Michigan's tornado tracker displays current and historical data on a Google map.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 5 Interactive maps that connect communities
• 4 Sites for viewing panoramas (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to quickly track natural disasters online
Labels: maps
Radio: Mapped, social and interactive
Monday, August 13, 2007
The advent of interactive radio sites such as Pandora and radio-meets-social-networking sites like last.fm have created online communities that are several steps above traditional radio. Yes is pushing online radio one step further by mapping what songs are playing on radio stations across the country. Yes users can also select a specific radio station, for example KFGY in Santa Rosa, and see what song is currently playing as well as watch a YouTube video of the song. To top it all off, the site's visitors can also rank each song, view other stations that are playing that artist (ex: Beyonce) and purchase the song from either iTunes and Amazon.
That is a lot of features packed into one incredible website but any radio station can incorporate these features, if you are not doing so already. Start by letting listeners be the music/program director. After all, they know better than you do what songs they want to hear. Try partnering with online music vendors to generate advertising to support your online presence. Or if you want to go for broke, incorporate all of Yes' features to make your site more dynamic and attract a loyal following. After all, uniting a community is what radio is all about.
Four new cities get the Google Street View treatment
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Google Maps Street View has added Orlando, Houston, San Diego and Los Angeles to its street-level viewing tool. The cities will accompany Las Vegas, Denver, San Francisco, Miami and New York for which panoramic views have been available for some time.
As reported earlier, camera-equipped Google cars have been spotted all over the country. The addition of street-level views of the four cities is useful for journalists and those seeking to explore the area, but the release is not without controversy. A recent Los Angeles Times article points out that many believe that, though legal, Street View maps are an invasion of privacy. In the article paparazzo Francois Navarre called Street View "an interesting and useful tool" for any journalist.
Labels: maps
Why didn't I think of that? 20 Useful Websites that Inspire
Thursday, August 02, 2007
To prevent their imminent demise, news organizations are working to offer online services to readers that cannot be offered through broadcast or print products. Here are a few sites with unique offerings worth emulating:
Farecast predicts whether flight prices are going up or down and aggregates some of the cheapest air fare available on the net.
Ready for a good scare? This Google Maps mashup charts infectious disease outbreaks around the world.
Yahoo! Answers is a community of users that ask and answer questions that typically can't be answered simply by a search engine.
Flagxo lets users rate airports around the world on such things as wi-fi and outlet availability, lounges and transportation. Very useful information to know before traveling.
Half.com is the place for people to come together and buy or sell used books, music, movies and video games at a much lower price than retail.
Facebook rivals Myspace as one of the premier social networking sites. With the addition of Facebook applications the service will continue to grow.
Pandora suggests music that users may like based on their current faves. Best of all the service is free.
This social shopping community makes bookmarking chic clothes and decor a group effort.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. My last search: Anna Sophia Robb.
Allmusic is like an encyclopedia of music. Find track listings for virtually any album, reviews and music clips.
TVGuide's television listings are presented in an easily scannable online format.
Weather.com is the most easy-to-use meteorological sites and has more weather-related information than anyone will ever need.
Yelp is the place for user-generated reviews for restaurants, clubs and more.
Rotten Tomatoes is a repository for movie reviews and showtimes. Films are rated "fresh" or "rotten" which makes its simple to determine instantly whether a movie will be good or bad.
WebMD provides valuable health information, tools for managing your health, and support for medical issues.
Buying a new car is tough. Auto Trader makes it a lot easier by allowing users to search for cars by ZIP, make, model, price, etc. and compare prices.
This site answers life's most important questions like how to cure a hangover, lie persuasively or convert to Buddhism.
There are a lot of compare and shop sites out there, but Mpire may be the most streamlined and easy to use.
Users can discover statistics about a nearby school, library or college. Simple, yet very informative.
Farecast predicts whether flight prices are going up or down and aggregates some of the cheapest air fare available on the net.
Ready for a good scare? This Google Maps mashup charts infectious disease outbreaks around the world.
Yahoo! Answers is a community of users that ask and answer questions that typically can't be answered simply by a search engine.
Flagxo lets users rate airports around the world on such things as wi-fi and outlet availability, lounges and transportation. Very useful information to know before traveling.
Half.com is the place for people to come together and buy or sell used books, music, movies and video games at a much lower price than retail.
Facebook rivals Myspace as one of the premier social networking sites. With the addition of Facebook applications the service will continue to grow.
Pandora suggests music that users may like based on their current faves. Best of all the service is free.
This social shopping community makes bookmarking chic clothes and decor a group effort.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. My last search: Anna Sophia Robb.
Allmusic is like an encyclopedia of music. Find track listings for virtually any album, reviews and music clips.
TVGuide's television listings are presented in an easily scannable online format.
Weather.com is the most easy-to-use meteorological sites and has more weather-related information than anyone will ever need.
Yelp is the place for user-generated reviews for restaurants, clubs and more.
Rotten Tomatoes is a repository for movie reviews and showtimes. Films are rated "fresh" or "rotten" which makes its simple to determine instantly whether a movie will be good or bad.
WebMD provides valuable health information, tools for managing your health, and support for medical issues.
Buying a new car is tough. Auto Trader makes it a lot easier by allowing users to search for cars by ZIP, make, model, price, etc. and compare prices.
This site answers life's most important questions like how to cure a hangover, lie persuasively or convert to Buddhism.
There are a lot of compare and shop sites out there, but Mpire may be the most streamlined and easy to use.
Users can discover statistics about a nearby school, library or college. Simple, yet very informative.
Labels: citizen journalism, maps, social networking
Google Street View, coming to a city near you?
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Google Maps Street View offers 360° panoramic street-level views of just a few American cities but that may change soon. A fleet of Chevy Cobalts mounted with camera-ready vertical extensions were photographed recently in the parking lot of Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The outfitted Cobalts, in addition to Google-owned VW Beetles and vans, have been spotted in Boise, Idaho; Chicago; Whitemarsh, Maryland; Southern California; Evanston, Illinois; and Redwood City, California. If Google is indeed documenting these cities, they will join Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami and New York in the Street View network.
There is no official word from Google on whether these cities are actually next in line for the Street View treatment or when Street View become an embeddable application.
(Photo source: Gizmodo)
Labels: maps
How to produce a Google Map in minutes with FM Atlas
Sunday, July 22, 2007
When breaking news happens, it helps to have a map that points out where the incident happened. FMAtlas is one of many third-party applications that allows users to simply plot points on a Google Map and embed it in any website. In addition, the site also has wiki functionality so users can add and edit points on the map (optional). A complete tutorial on using FMAtlas after the jump:
Setting up the map
To begin, go to fmatlas.com and click "Create an account" and create a username and password. After the form is completed, a map will appear. Before plotting points, click on "Edit Map Properties." A window will appear that offers several options including enabling user contributions, which can also be moderated, enabling wiki-style editing and moderating user contributions.
Another option is to show or hide the sidebar, which is a list of the headlines of points that are plotted on the map. Whether it is turned on or off depends totally on the project.
The next step is define the width and height of the map. By default, FMAtlas pads the map with 25 pixels. So if you want a map with a width and height of 400 x 300, you should enter 375 x 275.
You can also input values for the info window width and height. This controls the size of the balloon that pops up when a point is clicked. Ideally, these dimensions should be large enough for the window to be legible, but small enough so the window doesn't cover the entire map.
FMAtlas offers a number of icons to be used on the map. Smaller icons should be used for small maps or maps with numerous points. You can create different icons on the same map by plotting the first point(s) and then clicking "Edit Map Properties" again and changing the icon.
Another important option is "Zoom Control." The "large" option enables a slide tool to zoom in and out of the map. The small control uses + and - as controls.
Once you are done with the map settings, click save.
Plotting points
You can zoom in or out, move the map and plot points simply by clicking on the location you desire. If you are not sure where the point should be or want to add a specific address or intersection, type the location into the input box near the top of the screen. Latitude and longitude can also be plotted in this box ex: (37.874881, -122.259730)
Points can also be plotted in FMAtlas using a CSV file. To create this file, create an Excel spreadsheet that contains the addresses to be plotted. In the file menu, click "Save as..." and select CSV.
In FMAtlas, click "Bulk Upload" above the map. Give the map a name and in the second field, locate the CSV file to be uploaded. Select "Add."
FMAtlas also allows the user to search by business name, but as there are billions of businesses in the world, some with the same, this is a less reliable option. Even less reliable is the Wikipedia option which allows the user to search Wikipedia entries and plot them on the map.
Embedding the map
Periodic saving is encouraged. Give the map a name and click save near the bottom of the screen. When the map is finished, click Embed. FMAtlas offers an URL and a KML (Google Earth file) that you can link to. Most importantly, the service offers an embed code that can be placed into an HTML file.
The map can be changed and updated at any time without changing the embed code, unless the dimensions of the map are changed.
YouTube channels are the latest journalism tool
Sunday, July 22, 2007
YouTube, the source of all things funny and under 30 seconds, is not only a great source of entertainment but is also an easy way to reach new readers/users. Most news websites now feature some sort of video that cannot be found on any other site. Why not share that unique or interesting video with the rest of the world? Several news organizations, including the Houston Chronicle, New York Times and CBS, already use the "channels" feature of the YouTube as a vehicle for sharing their content. For those concerned with maintaining brand identity, YouTube now offers a custom video player that can be tailored to suit your design needs. The company logo can also be added to right of every video produced. Video quality on YouTube can be less polished than proprietary video players. Luckily, Crunch Gear offers tips on optimizing your video for the web.
Labels: maps, social networking, video
Google Street View debuts
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Google Maps recently launched its Street View component that allows users to experience 360° panoramic street-level views of Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami and New York. If you're hoping to embed Street View in your site, you may have to wait awhile. Unlike the original Google maps, scraping images from Street View is prohibited by Google's terms of service. Of course a few developers figured out how to hack their way into the system, but were quickly issued cease and desist orders by Google. No word on when a Street View API will be released, but in the meantime check out this view of Times Square and the Tour de France Live Checker.
Labels: maps
Online virtual worlds bring history to life
Sunday, July 15, 2007
UC Berkeley Journalism professor and recent Knight News Challenge grant recipient Paul Grabowicz and the students of UC Berkeley are on to something big. Their online video game, "Remembering 7th Street," is a virtual recreation of 1940s and 50s Oakland that will allow users to explore the city as it existed during the jazz and blues era. Read Grabowicz' interview with Anthony Wojtkowiak of Poynter here.
A similar project, Virtual Lower East Side, allows users to create avatars and take a virtual tour of the neighborhood. Users can chat with others, upload blog entries and upload music and photos.
Recreating a virtual city takes time and a lot of research. Consider creating a virtual tour on a less grand scale such as the animated (and pixelated) Flash-based worlds of Postertronic or the even simpler Google Maps-based Virtual Tourism (check out this Google Map mashup of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Regardless of how it is done, a tour of a neighborhood or city is better enhanced by user contributions and social interaction.
A similar project, Virtual Lower East Side, allows users to create avatars and take a virtual tour of the neighborhood. Users can chat with others, upload blog entries and upload music and photos.
Recreating a virtual city takes time and a lot of research. Consider creating a virtual tour on a less grand scale such as the animated (and pixelated) Flash-based worlds of Postertronic or the even simpler Google Maps-based Virtual Tourism (check out this Google Map mashup of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Regardless of how it is done, a tour of a neighborhood or city is better enhanced by user contributions and social interaction.
