Abstract

The paper first develops the network paradigm that is currently dominating the way we think about the internet and introduce varieties of social networking that are being fashioned in interactive web environments. This serves to ground our arguments about Web 2.0 technologies. These constitute ways in which users of web-based services can take on the role of producers as well as consumers of information that derive from such services with sharing becoming a dominant mode of adding value to such data.

The post Mapping for the Masses: Accessing Web 2.0 through Crowdsourcing appeared first on Digital Urban.

In this paper we outline and provide working examples a suite of tools which are detailed below, aimed at developing new applications of GIS and related technologies. GeoVUE is one of seven nodes in the National Centre for e-Social Science whose mission it is to develop web-based technologies for the social and geographical sciences. The Node, based at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London has developed a suite of free software allowing quick and easy visualisation of geographic data in systems such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Crysis and Second Life.

These tools address two issues, firstly that spatial data is still inherently difficult to share and visualise for the non-GIS trained academic or professional and secondly that a geographic data social network has the potential to dramatically open up data sources for both the public and professional geographer.

With our applications of GMap Creator, and MapTube to name but two, we detail ways to intelligently visualise and share spatial data. This paper concludes with detailing usage and outreach as well as an insight into how such tools are already providing a significant impact to the outreach of geographic information.

Such tools open up a cornucopia of possibilities for the world of GI Science, especially for geovisualisation and it is high time to embrace the Neogeographer, the data and perhaps more importantly the services they are creating.

Welcome to the new world of geographic information.

Authored by Dr Andrew Hudson-Smith (Digital Urban) and Dr Andrew Crooks (gisagents.blogspot.com)

You can download the full paper The Renaissance of Geographic Information: Neogeography, Gaming and Second Life in .pdf format (9.8Mb).

The post The Renaissance of Geographic Information: Neogeography, Gaming and Second Life: Working Paper 142 appeared first on Digital Urban.

With a focus on Neogeography, Web 2.0 and the emerging techniques for urban visualisation it has been written as a taster of the forthcoming Digital Urban book to be published fourth quarter of 2008.

The booklet should be available to purchase at the below cost price of £9.99 from this blog next Wednesday 26th March (ie after the Easter Closure). Supply is limited so feel free to drop us a email in advance if you would like a copy reserved, world wide postage will be free.

The post Digital Geography: Geographic Visualisation for Urban Environments – The Booklet appeared first on Digital Urban.

They kindly include the code to embed the map, take a look below – each icon indicates a movie to view:

The videos can also be viewed in Google Earth, visit Virtual Tourism for the KML file.

The post Virtual Tourism – Google Maps and Google Earth appeared first on Digital Urban.

They kindly include the code to embed the map, take a look below – each icon indicates a movie to view:

The videos can also be viewed in Google Earth, visit Virtual Tourism for the KML file.

The post Virtual Tourism – Google Maps and Google Earth appeared first on Digital Urban.

Once you have created your MyMap simply click on the ‘Link to this page’ option and the code is available to cut and paste into a website or blog:
Once your code is inserted your MyMaps will appear directly in a blog post – as illustrated below:

While this is a quick and easy route our original ‘Embedding MyMaps into Blogger‘ tutorial is still preferable as it uses MyMapsPlus which allows the sidebar and thus the key to the map to be included in the page.

To be honest we are not sure why Google left out the option to include the sidebar – given that it is a integral part of the map?

The post Embedding MyMaps into a Blog or Webpage Direct appeared first on Digital Urban.

***

With regards the post below, Google have let us know that a fix in the in works – it should take 1-2 weeks before its live.

****

We are big fans of Google’s My Maps, it has allowed any level of user to create their own maps complete with polygons, lines and embedded data. We are however having a lot of difficulty with the embedding video feature.

In our previous post we examined how to embed video into My Maps – by simply cutting and pasting YouTube code. If you take a look at our My Maps page you can see an example of embedding video under the ‘Audio and Perception of Urban Space link’.

We have a series of other videos ready to embed via YouTube, detailing our recent travels, yet try as we may we cannot get the video to embed into My Maps. The problem seems to be with the save function – we can cut and paste YouTube code and view the video on the map but as soon as we save the video and the code is lost. Going back to re-edit the location reveals a blank box where the code was.

The interesting thing is that if we cut and paste the exisiting ‘Audio and Perception of Urban Space’ video this works and saves, the code is only lost if we change the link to a different movie.

It maybe a simple problem but its one that we are lost on… Any ideas?

The post Google My Maps Bug (?) – Update 2 appeared first on Digital Urban.

Pictured above is a walk around Chelsea, London created by Paul Thompson. The walking route takes you on a tour from Sloane Square, across to Partridges – The Queens Bakery – and round to take in a number of sites including where Charles Dickens got married in 1836.

Such routes add a new visual interface to the city and one that up until a few weeks ago would of taken either editing of XML and a Google API key or reliance on the various third party Google Mapping solutions. The ability to create and edit one’s own maps, complete with polygons, lines and embedded media should not be underestimated. Yet in today’s world of increasingly sophisticated, easy to use, and free software it is becoming commonplace to take such functionality for granted.

If you combine such features with hand held devices, such as the Nokia N95, you can automatically create such tours using the GPS features and tagging photographs to each location. See our Tutorial on GeoTagging Photographs on the N95 for more details.

Take a look at the Chelsea Walk in Google’s My Maps.

If you have created a map that you would like included in this new series of posts then let us know.

The post Google My Maps – Map of the Week appeared first on Digital Urban.