WhatWasThere

http://www.whatwasthere.com/

WhatWasThere is an online application created to merge the software of Google Maps, with historical photographs of a given location. Any user can upload and explore different photos of a location, making it beneficial for studying urban sprawl, city development, or simply watching your favorite locations change throughout history. With the added software of Google Maps, the user can simply type in a location that they are familiar with and view different photographs of that location from different periods in time. The purpose of this application is to clearly show the user how locations have changed over time, and give an idea of how time periods or historical events can generate change of particular locations. The user achieves this by adjusting “the fade bar”, which places a historical photograph layered over a contemporary street view map of the same location,  allowing one to fade the historical photograph in and out of the frame. This application is important because its objective is to educate and inform users of the major changes and development of spaces through time by using photographs to illustrate changes. It lets users know how land use has changed by giving information of historical buildings and landscapes. Another objective of this application is to display surroundings from different eras while providing historical information of architecture and the different land uses.

6 months later ...

Its been more than six months since the last update - I'm wondering what developments there have been in Web 2.0 mapping. 

There are a lot of questions to ask:  Are the geospatial applications previously identified still active?  Have there been changes in functionality?  What new applications can be identified?  What evidence is there of  how these applications are being used?  Who is using the geospatial web?  Are some types of applications more useful than others, and for what purposes?

A brief search of recent literature reveals a surge of scholarly articles on the geospatial web, some of which I have included in the updated Reading List page above.

Once again, students in my cartography course will explore online mapping applications and report their findings on this blog later in the fall term.To help get these investigations going again here are a few new map apps on the scene:

     Mapnificent

     Padmapper

     One Bay Area Maps

     Historypin

     WhatWasThere

     Wild Knowledge

     Camineo

MapMyTri

http://www.mapmytri.com/

The geospatial web is a relatively new term that represents the merging of geographical and abstract information that is currently dominating the internet (ESRI par. 1). It has had a profound impact on managing knowledge, structuring facts, and communicating with individuals in virtual communities. The concept was first introduced by Dr. Charles Herring in his 1994 paper “An Architecture of Cyberspace: Spatialization of the Internet”, which kick-started the development GIS with new technologies, concepts, and products (Anders par. 18). Today the internet holds a wide array of geospatial applications to explore, which all carry specific themes and objectives. For example, the MapMyFitness corporation which has created geospatial websites such as MapMyRun, MapMyRide, MapMyMountain, MapMyHike, and MapMyWalk, are all fitness-oriented. By using satellite images provided by Google Maps these applications allow individuals to create specific exercise routes around the world. Users also have the ability to view maps created by others, allowing information like the advantages and dangers of their courses to be seen. Overall, the most dynamic and intricate application created by this company has been MapMyTri, which allows individuals to create their own triathlon route “with just a few mouse clicks” (MapMyTri par. 2). However, even though MapMyTri does have clear benefits for avid athletic enthusiasts, it still carries fallbacks such as pop up advertisements, and poor security. It is because of the obvious strengths and weaknesses of this geospatial website that we found it to be best suited for a critical overview.

Laura Curk

Steven Allison

Ashley Gyori

Olivier Leonard

Erin Gouweleeuw

MapMyRun

http://www.mapmyrun.com/site_map

The subject if this report is the geospatial application www.mapmyrun.com. This website uses mapping technology from Google Maps to provide users with a platform in which they can input personal data and receive accurate, tangible numbers to measure the effects of their exercising. From this perspective, it could be used by any level of athlete, from the weekend cyclist so the seasoned marathoner, to help set goals (in distance travelled, avg. speed and lap times) and give oneself measurable feedback, such as the number of calories burned based on one’s Body Mass Index. Say you are a fitness enthusiast travelling out of town. If the settlement you’re in has been mapped by Google, you could draw a route along the streets of the city you’re in, and MapMyRun will update the route distance as you set waypoints. Also, you have access to Google’s satellite imagery, which allows you to view the surface of the earth via aerial photographs. This way the user can be aware of the terrain they will be travelling through.

Samantha Tremmel

Clara Greig

Kayla Jefferson

Thomas Rolf

Cody Bachmann

Foursquare

 http://foursquare.com/

Foursquare is a mobile geospatial application that can be accessed through either a web based browser or a Smartphone. This application allows one to ‘check in’ to specific places, such as restaurants, schools, stores, amusement parks, offices, and much more. By checking in you can automatically get points, tips, and interesting information regarding your location. Upon ‘checking in’ one can see what other friends are at that location, as well as a foursquare history for the location.  When a member ‘checks in’ to a site they can also provide a ‘shout’. A shout is a brief message regarding what is on your mind, it is directed to your foursquare friends. Foursquare is not only a source of geospatial information, but it is also a game in which members can collect points and receive tangible rewards for their dedication. For example if one ‘checks in’ to a place very often, they can become the ‘mayor’ of that place. A mayor can then receive ‘specials’ at their current location; this could include anything from half off drinks to a complimentary gift. Users can also collect badges; they are awarded for following a certain brand and for visiting locations. Foursquare allow members to upload photos whilst at a location. Other friends and members can then view these photos pertaining to a specific location. The purpose of this application is to link social networking with informative geographical data. This application encourages sharing information with your friends, its purpose is to connect people and provide helpful information about the places one frequents.

Matt Polley

Jamie Stewart

Royce Ellis,

Kelsey Pettit

David Paone

Gowalla

http://gowalla.com/

Gowalla Inc. is a geolocation application that functions as a website and mobile service. By using the Gowalla application, users are able to “check in” (see figure 1) to locations and build a passport of all the places they have been. Users can also create trips and follow trips that others have created. Through travelling to different locations and completing trips, users collect pins and build an overall profile where they can upload pictures and other information about their life. Gowalla is mainly used as a location-based social networking site to connect real people to real locations. It can be accessed through Twitter and Facebook. Gowalla’s main purpose is to act as a geospatial web application to connect friends and family. Most users of the application use it mainly for its entertainment value rather than the geospatial function. The Gowalla application is not only useful for social networking for users, but also for geospatial analysis by third-parties. Businesses can analyze the information in order to see patterns and trends among users, including locations and interests. Gowalla is applied on an individual level to create personal projects, such as trips (see figures 2 and 3), so that other users can follow their paths and activities. Larger-scale projects created by third-parties allow users to follow trips that take them to their business locations in order to market their company to a larger audience.  

(Brandon) Scott Conzelmann

Chelsea Deakin

Aishwarya Muralidhar

Rachel Schaus

Polar Bear Tracker

 http://polarbears.wwf.ca/

The WWF-Canada Polar Bear Tracker is a project created by the Canadian World Wildlife Fund that tracks polar bears through the Arctic. Radio collars are placed on the bears’ necks, and their positions are recorded and sent via satellites to researchers, who then plot the movement of the bears on Google Maps.

The Polar Bear Tracker is an important geospatial application for a number of reasons. Firstly, the tracker provides information on how the polar bears are adapting to the changes in sea ice volume. Polar bears are considered indicators of an ecosystem’s health because they are at the apex of the arctic food chain. Thus, a polar bear at risk is an indication that there is something wrong elsewhere in the ecosystem (“Polar Bear Tracker”). Secondly, the tracker provides scientists with information that can be used to improve conservation and management efforts, and also allows them to further understand the global impacts of phenomena such as climate change and habitat loss (“Polar Bear Tracker project areas”). There are several application projects associated with the data provided by the Polar Bear Tracker. For example, using the collected data, the World Wildlife Fund is gaining an understanding of where the polar bears travel, monitoring the health of the bears, and determining their average lifespan (“Tracking Polar Bears”). Organizations outside of the World Wildlife Fund are also using polar bear tracking in predictive science and strategy development regarding arctic wildlife. The Alaska Science Center is using the information concerning the adaptation of polar bears to changes in ice quality and quantity to predict how future polar bear generations will be affected by ice changes. These predictions will allow for the development of strategies to ensure the long-term survival of polar bears in an environment that is vulnerable to changes in sea ice (“Polar Bear-Sea Ice Relationships”).

Erik Paige

Lauren Knowles

Brett Mullen

Dallas Cotterell

Karli Allen

Cabspotting in San Francisco

http://cabspotting.org/

For our geospatial web application case study we have chosen to examine a project called Cabspotting. It is a part of San Francisco Exploratorium’s Invisible Dynamics initiative. Cabspotting traces San Francisco’s taxi cabs as they travel throughout the Bay area. The collected data is used to create live and constantly changing maps of city life.

This initiative is attempting to investigate alternate views of the Bay area’s infrastructure. The maps created expose economic, social, and cultural trends and relationships that are otherwise invisible. Artists and researchers use Cabspotting data to create projects to reveal larger trends or focus on specific events.

Cabspotting data can be used in many projects, examples include:

- correlating cab rides with zip codes and average income to show the relationship between socioeconomic status and use of cabs

- tracking individual rides and documenting it with photos, drawings, sound recordings, or video

- examine points where cabs rarely or never visit and investigate why this is

- examine places most frequently visited and investigate why this is - showing all cab rides that pass in front of a specific place during one day or time period

- using data to warp Bay area mapto show a ‘cab-centric’ view by distorting the landscape

- highlighting the most eccentric paths, such as very short, long, or circuitous

 

 Alyson C

Amy M

Chanel F

Hilary B

Kaileigh B

California Road Kill Observation System

http://www.wildlifecrossing.net/california/

California Road kill observation system (CROS) is a program for storing information on road kill in California. Currently over 300 volunteers scour the California landscape looking for incidents of collisions with animals, they fill out a species identification form (Taking a picture to be double checked by a professional later) this picture is also geotagged, with a time and date so information is stored for timing, seasonality and location of the animal. The creator is looking to put together an iPhone application to allow further ease of access to uploading information for volunteers. These volunteers could then just download the application onto their phone and take geotagged pictures with their smart phones. The program was created in response to the millions of animals are struck down by vehicles in the United States a week, the purpose being to create more known hotspots for animal activity. This is in hopes of preventing collisions by using mitigation techniques like fences and sings to warn drivers.

Michael Goddard-Duncan

Kristen McGeown

Lindsay Taylor

Sarah Hardholt

Chris Barth

Facebook Places

http://www.facebook.com/places/

Facebook Places is an application designed to keep users connected with their social networks on a geospatial scale. It provides users with the time-stamped locations of their Facebook friends who have the application as well, and mutually provides friends with the user’s own location. Places can be downloaded onto iPhones, Blackberries, and other smart phones equipped with GIS software. It is especially relevant to the geospatial revolution because it allows people to stay spatially aware of one another and electronically connected constantly, which is of utmost importance in modern times (Green 2003). Simply checking one`s cell phone enables users to see where their friends are in order to connect with them. Places aids in planning such get-togethers by cross-referencing the users’ locations. If a friend is nearby, one can follow a map designating their two relative locations, or send an electronic message to alert friends of their proximity to plan a meeting place together. Places removes the barriers that had prevented people from being able to locate their friends instantly in relation to themselves. The application is also helpful in capturing and preserving memories, by archiving the places and events attended by users and recording them on a timeline. People can view their past locations, remembering each place and the people that were there, and review the comments that were made about that particular event. People are now able to share a critical component of their lives through this application and can feel closer than ever to their friends on Facebook by using Places (Michael, “The Facebook Blog”). The following is a descriptive video created by Facebook which illustrates the idea behind the application: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfX_ZQag1BM

Christine Jennings

Leslie Chamberlain

Erin O’Neill

Erin White

Shelby Betschel

Google Maps bike routes

http://maps.google.com/

The geospatial web application we have chosen to examine is bike routes on Google maps. A bike route is a section in the Google maps application that allows users to locate a bike route or path. This is an important aspect of the application because in towns with universities especially, students use bikes as a major method of transportation. This allows users to ensure there is a safe bike route that can take them to their destination and tell them how long it should take from the starting point to their destination. This is not only important for students as more and more people everyday are using bikes as a method of short distance transportation because it is the greener option of travel. As an example of this application, below is a photo showing popular bike routes right here in Waterloo.

Ashley Kennedy

Alexander Troop

Drew Melnyk

Gabriella Gomes

Matthew Salsbury  

Family Watchdog

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

The Family Watchdog application is used as a means to view registered sex offenders all over the United States. There are multiple ways to search for offenders one being by name and the other by neighbourhood. The neighbourhood view is displayed on Yahoo Maps. According to US law all sex offenders residing in any state must be registered with that particular state. Family Watchdog is a website that allows anyone with internet access to view locations and information of every registered sex offender. This application is important because it helps members of society to be aware of the dangers in and around their neighbourhoods. The objective of Family Watchdog is simply put on their ‘about us’ link, “Our goal at Family Watchdog is to provide you with the information you need to protect your loved ones.” (familywatchdog.us). This website exists because of The Sexual Offender Act of 1994 and Meghan’s Law. The Sexual Offender Act of 1994 requires sex offenders to register with a national and state database while Meghan’s Law requires that this information be available to the public. Due to Meghan’s Law, applications similar to Family Watchdog are able to exist for the purpose of informing the American public on the issue of sex offenders.  

Nicole Berube

Meghan McIntosh

Robert Quinlan

Jackie Smith

Poynt

 http://www.poynt.com/

Poynt is an easy to use all-in-one geospatial application for the Blackberry smart-phone, Iphone,  Ipod touch and Android. The free application utilizes GPS and WiFi (or 3G network) capabilities to give accurate and relevant connections to the outside world. This highly advanced technological application connects the user to businesses, retailers, and services while providing various amounts of information regarding movie information and guides, restaurant locations and reviews, gas stations in close proximity and best prices available and is even able to track and locate friends, colleagues or relatives. Images of Poynt are shown in Appendix A. Overall Poynt’s easy accessibility to the geospatial network gives the user a variety of options to make everyday activities much easier.

Sarah Williams

Jasmine Folger-Laronde

Jordan Drexler

Michael Finn

Dustin Dubiel

Map Quest’s Bar Locator

http://www.mapquest.com/

When it comes to geospatial applications, MapQuest is definitely one containing a great amount of information. Www.mapquest.com is a website/ geospatial application that allows you to view the world. The purpose of MapQuest is to help people, wherever they are, locate places, generate directions, and know the approximate time it will take to travel between destinations.. For the purpose of our assignment, we have decided to go into greater detail on the bar locating application that MapQuest offers to its users. The top menu bar of the map contains a scroll bar with many different search applications that make it possible to find hotspots easily. To locate and apply the bar finding application, you scroll through the list until you find the martini glass icon, then click on it. After clicking the icon numerous numbered bubbles pop-up on the current map you are viewing. The bars have been tagged so that if you place your mouse over the bubbles, the address of the chosen bar will appear in what resembles a speech bubble. Along with the bubbles appearing on the map, a legend is generated on the left side that allows you to see all the tagged bars. From the legend you can generate a route and directions to and from bars.

Dave Drago

Cory Hudson

Allyson Oliphant

Catherine Reining

Taylor Wright

Glympse

 http://www.glympse.com/

Glympse, a geospatial application developed to share your location with friends, family and business associates . Glympse is an application which uses smart phone technology to track real time locations and make them available for others to view. With Glympse, security features permit you to choose who is able to see your current location. These features allow for you to post your location to the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter or merely send it to the phone of a selected individual. The technology of real time location sharing provided by Glympse is an important tool in communicating with others and an alternative to texting or talking while driving . Because the program displays a real time location of your whereabouts it is easier for people to locate you and know of your safety. Glympse is an application that can be used for numerous purposes with the main objective to share your geographical location, routes and destinations. Location sharing applications are not only available with Glympse but through different programs such as Loopt, Gowalla and Foursquare. The program Loopt allows you to use your current location to find friends, places and activities nearby . Gowalla is another program which is designed to share your location with others as well as share your experiences through photos and recommendations . This application also provides ‘badges’ for explored locations like Foursquare. Foursquare is the application which simulates a game, encouraging people to explore new spaces for point collection . Although Glympse does not provide features such as nearby attractions, location recommendations and photos or a game like experience, it is an ideal program for simple location communication. Before getting into more details about Glympse, here is a video describing this geospatial application:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg-MsCQJ6n4

Mathew Cart

Alexa Lupinacci

Phil Reid

Graeme Singleton

Nicole Smith

Cycling the Alps

http://www.cyclingthealps.com/

The geospatial web application www.cyclingthealps.com is a Google Earth and Google Maps based website, used to familiarize cyclists with various possible cycling routes. This is beneficial for cyclist enthusiasts, as it allows them to navigate the Italian alps from the comfort of their home. Not only is the website a convenient source of detailed information regarding cycling routes in the Alps, but it also allows one to personalize their adventure based on skill level, intensity of the route and scenery. The website offers tourists from around the world the chance to experience multiple trails suited to their needs, just by the click of a button. By using GIS data collected and distributed by Google, this website demonstrates that it is no longer necessary to spend money on maps and travel guides, as users can simply plan their own trips (Roxanne Nelson, 1999). Not only does the user have access to the experiences of previous cyclists, but they can view their chosen route in 3D, as if they are already there. This geospatial application is the first of its kind, covering every aspect required for planning an unforgettable trip. Applications like these will soon be cropping up everywhere, for uses from hiking trails, canoe routes and skiing paths, to cross country road trips. Because of Google, online mapping has exploded into a phenomenon that gives ‘being there’ a whole new meaning (National Geographic, 2010).

Lauren Boutilier

Jennifer Hickman

Colin Donoghue

Shinead Macfarlane

Kayla Cressman

Twitter as a Geospatial Tool

http://twitter.com/

Twitter  is a social media tool use for expressing a user’s message in a form of micro-blogging called tweets. Tweets can be seen publically and be forwarded which is known as re-tweeting, it can also be linked to various applications and social networking sites like Facebook  and Pikchur . This ability enables an acceleration of the spread of information concerning environmental and geographic issues. Many smart-phones are Twitter compatible, with this ability; users can transmit crucial data to a global audience within minutes of an environmental disaster or updates of ongoing issues. Although the current user base in approximately 175 million many mainstream media outlets such as Al Jazeera , CBC  etc. use Twitter collect and spread information to an even wider audiences.  An example of how Twitter can spread information about geographic and environmental issue is the Haitian Earthquake in 2010. British Red Cross  aid workers on the ground were able to provide information to relief workers enroute via Twitter. This information was used to coordinate relief efforts. While Twitter is limited to a 140-computer character message Twitter also provides the ability to instantly tag photographs with GPS coordinates. In the case of the Hungarian Aluminum  smelter slag spilling into the Danube this function allowed for instant damage assessment.  The ability to transmit both text and images from any internet connection including smart-phones makes twitter an important tool in the arsenal of geographers and environmentalist. For these reasons, it is likely that the importance of Twitter will increase to the fields of geography and environmentalism.

Terry Eckmeier

Sean Pollock

Annemarie Petejan

Sarah Penner

Courtney Jones

EveryTrail

 http://www.everytrail.com/

The application that we decided to review is EveryTrail. EveryTrail is a geospatial application that provides a way to share trips, connect with other travelers and find great new things to do.

The following can be done on this application:

•            Map a trip route with your phone or GPS

•            Add trip photos to your map instantly

•            Add maps & photos to your blog or website

•            Explore and share in the EveryTrail community

EveryTrail provides multi-dimensional benefits. These benefits include mobile travel guides that are paperless and location- aware. These guides are written by experts and are constantly updated with new points of interest. In addition, EveryTrail also provides guides on using different EveryTrail applications such as “EveryTrail Audio Guide”. Furthermore there is a blog where members can share their maps, routes and photos.

 EveryTrail applications are available for iPhone and Android phones for free. Some features are not available on the free application and require you to purchase the full application for a fee of $3.99.

Lastly, what would an application be if it was not able to social network? EveryTrail allows you to post a map on your website or blog, share on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites, e-mail your trip, and share in the EveryTrail community.

Erin Bradley

Rabia Chaudhari

Tracy Swierenga

Justin Wall

Brandon Wilkinson

EveryTrail

http://www.everytrail.com/

EveryTrail is a GPS based web and phone application that is used to create tours, road trips, day trips, and even small sight-seeing pathways.  Users can upload their own GPS files to the website, add pictures and commentary, and make their own personal route available for others to use, enjoy and improve.  Not only can this application be used to create trips for other members of the community, but it can be used as an extremely effective way of sharing your adventure with other people (sort of like a Facebook application dedicated to travel).  For example, say you’ve planned a trip to see New York City, but you’ve never been before and you’d like to take in some of the local culture, see the sights, and enjoy a little exercise.  Using EveryTrail you may search something such as “Brooklyn Bridge,” and a guide will appear in the search pertaining to what you want to see.

The thumbnail view of the guide gives you an idea of difficulty, the time involved in taking the route, the distance traveled, and a short synopsis.  Click on the thumbnail and it will bring you to the guide.  This guide includes step-by-step instructions from a firsthand viewpoint, a synopsis of the trip, some basic tips, photos of the area being toured, and an audio guide.  The application also provides you with a weather forecast in the side bar.  As for the map, there is an interactive map built off of a base map from Google that shows all of the various steps or stops on the trip and reveals the locations where the photographs were taken.  The route is easy to see on this map at it is drawn in red, and the sites are labeled clearly with numbers, and there is a key at the side to show which number corresponds to which site:

Overall, this application provides a user friendly, web based source of firsthand data from all over the world for people looking for adventure or people who want to share their adventures with their peers.

Michael Winters

Trevor Heyd

Sarah Pitzen

Natalie Garbutt

Mark Bullard

TravelPod

www.travelpod.com

TravelPod (www.travelpod.com) is a geospatial web application that allows users to post blogs, images and videos of travelling experiences on the web. The application then takes location information and places marks on a global map so viewers can see where the travelling experiences took place. It is an important and relevant geospatial web application as viewers can gain understanding and experience of different locations around the globe by simply viewing other peoples’ blogs. An additional purpose to this is that viewers can plan their own travels based on experiences posted by other travellers. People can find the trip and the activities to do during their trip that are perfect for them. We discovered a Travel Blog posted on Travelpod outlining a trip to Cairo, Egypt that we found extremely helpful and interesting in a number of different ways. The blog included a map (provided by Google Maps) with a placemark on Cairo, Egypt so we could see exactly where these travel adventures were taking place. The blog also included images of pyramids that the traveller saw when they were there, which we found very interesting. Along with the map and images, the blogger posted recommendations of places to see in Cairo such as Al-Azhar mosque. The blogger also included information about travelling to the mosque – such as women having to wear long dresses and something to cover their hair. The blogger then recommended Egyptian pizza and recommended that travellers avoid the use of trains within Egypt as they are not very clean. From one blog, the viewer has information on what to eat, what to see and what to stay away from when travelling to Cairo as well as understanding exactly what to expect there!

Aryana Heit

Allison Rohacek

Brett Walker

Tyler Curtis

Jordan Temple