Mashing Up GIS in the World of Web 2.0 or is it Web 3.0


1
Mashing Up GIS in the World of Web 2.0(or is it
Web 3.0)

• Todd M. Pierce
• NEMAC
• UNCA

2
What is Web 2.0

• A recognition that the next wave of web evolution
  is about leveraging collective intelligence
  (crowdsourcing) through two-way interactions
  between sites and users

• Examples
• Wikipedia (users create and edit entries)
• Google Maps (users create maps and tools)
• YouTube/Flickr (users upload content for sharing)

Tim OReilly What Is Web 2.0 2005
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What is Web 2.0 Principles

• Collective intelligence
• Google page rank
• eBay reputation
• Amazon reviews
• Flickr user tags
• The web site or service gets better the more
  people use it

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What is Web 2.0 Principles

• Data is supreme
• Amazons product database
• eBays seller database
• MapQuests maps
• Infoware not software

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What is Web 2.0 Principles

• The perpetual software beta
• Example GMail since 2004
• Users are testers
• Developer not responsible for support or bugs
• Valid to pay for a beta
• Misleading label

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What is Web 2.0 Principles

• Web as a service not an application
• Netscape (1.0)
• Desktop browser application
• Control over content and applications in browser
• Google (2.0)
• Service running in any browser
• Connects users to content online

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What is Web 2.0 Principles

• Support user generated content
• Blogs wikis
• Reviews
• Photo/video sharing
• The audience participates in site creation

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What is Web 2.0 Principles

• Design for hackability
• RSS feeds Atom feeds APIs from
  Google/Yahoo/Amazon
• Allow users to mix and mash data
• Mash-up a web application that combines data
  from more than one source into a single
  integrated tool thereby creating a new and
  distinct web service that was not originally
  envisaged by either source. (Wikipedia)

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What is Web 2.0 Sites

• Web 1.0
• Yahoo
• MSN
• PayPal
• Amazon
• NY Times
• Microsoft
• CNN

• Web 2.0
• Google
• YouTube
• Craigslist
• Wikipedia
• eBay
• Twitter
• Flickr
• Facebook
• Del.icio.us
• Pandora
• Second Life

Information Architects Japan Web Trend Map 2007
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GIS and Web 2.0

• Web 2.0 lets anyone annotate amend and improve
  any map embedded in the Web
• Cartography has gone from spectator art to
  participatory democracy
• Googles My Maps more than 4 million maps have
  been made of diverse subjects
• More than 25 million photos have been geotagged
  on Flickr
• Users are building the geoweb Web 3.0

NY Times With Tools on Web Amateurs Reshape
Mapmaking July 27 2007 M. Helft The Economist
The world on your desktop September 8 2007
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GIS and Web 2.0
Anyone can make a map of anythingincluding
Boudin!
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GIS and Web 2.0

• Lets take a tour of some of the current Web 2.0
  geospatial applications
• Geotagging
• Geoblogging
• Geowikis
• GeoRSS feeds
• Yahoo! Pipes
• Google MyMaps
• map mash-ups

We will NOT be talking about OpenSource GIS GIS
servers or other technologies that require GIS
and/or programming expertise. Rather we will
focus on techniques that web-savvy users can
master in increasing order of complexity.
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Geotagging

• Geotagging links an object to a coordinate
• Example Flickr
• geolat40.758578
• geolon-73.976623
• geotagged
• Add a Mapplet to Google MyMaps and search/view
  photos for a given area

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Geotagging

• Geotagging will be useful for mobile phones and
  car navigation systems
• Lets users get info about shops goods
  restaurants attractions in their immediate
  vicinity
• Could lead to geospam too many geotagged sites
  on your live map trying to sell you unwanted items

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Geowikis

• Map based wiki that lets users add and edit
  entries accuracy depends on users!
• http//wikimapia.org

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Geoblogs

• Lets users annotate maps by adding links to local
  landmarks restaurants shops
• As in real blogs other users can rate and
  comment
• Very popular in tourism
• http//www.grapheety.com

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GeoRSS Feeds

• An RSS Feed publishes information out to an
  application
• Latest blog entries
• Current weather alerts
• News articles
• You can subscribe to RSS Feeds and have items
  pushed to your browser
• http//www.cnn.com/services/rss/

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GeoRSS Feeds
WC3 Geo Format

• RSS Feeds are just XML/HTML files
• You can add coordinate information to make a
  GeoRSS Feed

Simple GeoRSS Format

• You can view GeoRSS Feeds in a special viewer or
  add them to existing map sites

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GeoRSS Feeds

• USGS Earthquakes

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GeoRSS Feeds

• Yahoo! Pipes - Terrorism News Feeds Map Example

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Yahoo! Pipes

• Graphical programming language that lets you
  aggregate multiple feeds and data sources
• Locations can be extracted and put onto a map
• Allow for simple map mash-ups from supported data
  sources (feeds Flickr Yahoo! Google)
• Examples search for businesses using Yahoo!
  Local get latest weather readings using NWS RSS
  feeds
• Pipes can be shared with others

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Google MyMaps

• Simple GIS that lets you add and tag map features
• Maps can be shared with other users

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Google MyMaps

• Maps can also be linked to web pages or blogs

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Map Mash-Ups

• Mash-ups combine data from different sources into
  one display adding value to both sources
• Map mash-ups use Google MS Virtual Earth Yahoo!
  Maps or others with some data source such as
  RSS feeds govt databases Amazon Facebook
  Twitter etc

HeyWhatsThat.com
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Map Mash-Ups
http//216.103.100.65/mapguide/sftrees/index2.aspx

• Example San Francisco Urban Forest (lets you
  enter tree locations - crowdsourcing)

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Google Maps API

• For programmers allow putting Google maps on
  your own web site and linking to data
• Can create sophisticated map mash-ups from any
  local or remote data source
• Examples Katrina log EPA site search

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What Does This All Mean

• For GIS professionals we need to make our
  products more Web 2.0
• Example possible threat database user feedback
• We also need to be aware of the Google effect
• Why doesnt your GIS product look like/act like
  Google Earth Why arent my photos like Google
• For the public more and more opportunities to
  make spatial connections and to map the world
• Downsides privacy concerns geoviruses
• Is a location-based Internet the new Web 3.0