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Google Maps in Wordpress and other thoughts
While I was surfing, (A client of mine asked to check some stuff on templating), I found this recent post on Wordpress.com, announcing they integrated GoogleMaps by Platial MapKit: now you can easily add a googlemap on your blog and put markers on it.
As you check my delicious, you'll see I recently tagged a lot of services offering these things.
It all started by C. asking me how to implement such thing in her blog.
But then I kept on going.
I truly think mapping is the browsing of the future.
We already saw these nice implementations where something got pinpointed on a map (like photoblog users and their locations). But there was ne real functionality added to it.
When at the IT Pro days of Microsoft, I was stunned to see the live photo stitching (photosynth), allowing you to see a place on the map being created photorealistic, due to the input of the users, adding pictures of places.
Imagine all these nice restaurant reviews of gent.blogt (or resto.be for that matter) being tagged on a map. (hey guys, using the platial mapkit, you would easily be able to set that up.)
Would have solved our problem of yesterday in seconds: where to eat in the neighborhood, and what's good?
Or as a traveller: instead of googling hostels, going straight on a map to the city you're about to visit, and choose a layer of 'hostels', so all the hostels pop up. Allowing you to check those hostels, in the neighborhood you prefer.
With of course web2.0 features (meaning, user input, such as rating, and reviews) but also direct skype/AIM/MSN/ mail/contact with the hostel of preference. Thus giving the extra features needed.
Localization and visualisation of your services will certainly become key in the near future.
Update: GigaOm posted something on the matter too
Technorati Tags: maps, visualization
Posted on April 5, 2007
in Limit of my knowledge, Technical stuff
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Comments (2)
Comments
Er beginnen wat middenstanders te zweten als ze dit lezen vrees ik :-)
Posted by kristof | April 5, 2007 12:13 PMYou know, we've had maps up and running t Gentblogt since somewhere in June last year.
There was an issue with getting relevant information in the pop-up thingies without doing *way* too many queries (damn you WordPress and you crappy code!), and I just sort of gave up on them.
But I do indeed still think it'd be a good idea: we could not only have a restaurant map, but also maps for the "foto van de dag" and, say, the Gentse Feesten activities... I'll look into it this weekend.
Posted by Michel Vuijlsteke | April 6, 2007 9:09 AM