Owner: BlinkGeo URL:http://www.blinkgeo.com Join Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:31:51 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The BlinkGeo Blog is a new blog aimed at highlighting relevant information about 'GIS 2.0' and, in some instances, the geospatial community as a whole. Site statistics:Click here
How the 10/20/30 Rule Made Me Rethink GIS Presentations 2007-09-14 13:41:21 Anyone who has had to present on a GIS topic (or GIS-related topic) is aware of the challenges that are inherent in effectively disseminating both technical and non-technical information to a diverse audience. After recently attending a GIS conference, I was reminded of why I strive to abide by Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule for Power Point presentations.
The 10/20/30 rule goes as follows: a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points. Before I delve into the rest of this post, I should provide some context by stating that Guy Kawasaki is a venture capitalist who has to listen to hundreds of business plan pitches by aspiring entrepreneurs.
In his blog post about the 10/20/30 rule, Guy points out that this rule is applicable for any presentation to reach agreement. Thus, in the context of GIS presentations, where the bulk of these presentations are aimed more at sharing information, I would po
Geotagging Toolbox: 10+ Free Geotagging Web Sites 2007-09-13 03:56:04 Looking to geotagg your photos? Check out these free online resources!
Flickr
Flickr now offers geotagging using Yahoo! Maps (Yahoo! Owns Flickr). Drag/drop interface allows you to drag one or more photos on the map. Also includes address and place-name geocoding.
GPS Visualizer
The popular GPS Visualizer web site now includes geotagging capabilities as well. GPS Visualizer can now assign coordinates to time-stamped waypoints that have no latitude and longitude, as long as you provide other valid time-stamped data (such as a tracklog) from which the waypoints’ locations can be interpolated/extrapolated.
GPSTagr
Free service allows you to geotag your Flickr photos using a track file from a GPS device in 3 easy steps: 1) Upload GPX file, 2) Adjust time, 3) Select photos. You need a Flickr account.
Loc.alize.us
Although not a geotagging application, loc.alize.us is a bookmarklet that allows you to view Flickr photos using Google Maps and tags. Very simple to use.
Locr
Free se Read more:Sites
, Toolbox
, Web Sites
How To: Get More Accomplished 2007-09-13 03:52:35 Stay tuned, as BlinkGeo will be adding more content to this category.
The GIS Toolbox of Non-GIS Tools: Part Deux 2007-09-28 14:15:56 Last week I posted a few links to some online tools that could make life a little easier (and perhaps less expensive) for those of us in the geospatial community. Here are some additional “Web 2.0″ tools that may help you or your organization.
If you’re looking to get a Wiki up and running quickly without installing anything, PBWiki offers a great hosted service for free. Wetpaint is also a nice alternative. Speaking of online collaboration, you can use skrbl to create and share a virtual white board (free and paper-free to boot!). Stixy is a collaborative bulletin board that allows you to aggregate all kinds of content (PDFs, images, etc.).
If you’re developing software, you can use RefactorMyCode.com to get help from others. Ticketish offers a hosted online help ticket system for you to interface with your customers. betabug.com offers an online bug tracking system, complete with a widget that you can include on your web site that allows users to repo Read more:Toolbox
, Tools
UpNext Adds Hotspots Feature 2007-09-28 11:04:38 Geospatial startup UpNext, which allows users to explore cities interactively through an immersive 3D interface, announced that it has added a cool new feature called Hotspots
.
From the UpNext Blog: “HotSpots are glowing lights that indicate what’s UpNext in the city. These lights show events, new openings, festivals, and much more. Now you can visually see what’s happening in the city.”
Technorati Tags: upnext, 3d, startup, hotspots
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Google Earth Leads Navy to Spend $600K to Change Building Complex 2007-09-27 13:55:17 Yet another story posted earlier this morning (by yours truly) on BlinkGeo stories is starting to circulate around the blogosphere and newsphere…
A Navy complex built in the late 1960s will soon undergo a makeover to change its aerial footprint. Why, after all these years has the Navy decided to spend $600K on this project? It seems that when seen from above the Navy complex in Coronado, CA look a lot like a swastika. Until recently, not many folks had such widespread access to imagery, but GoogleEarth
has changed all that.
According to the Washington Post, “The navy decided to alter the shape of the buildings, used by members of the Naval Construction Force at the Navy’s amphibious base at Coronado, near San Diego, after requests this year by Anti-Defamation League regional director Morris Casuto and Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-Calif.).”
The Motley Fool has more coverage on the story as well…
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Indian GIS Market to Reach $10 Billion by 2017? 2007-09-27 11:50:23 A new story posted on BlinkGeo stories references an article by the Economic Times (India) that states that the Indian GIS market is projected to reach $10 billion in ten years. That’s right, $10 billion.
Also according to the Times: “Annual revenues of the global GIS market are expected to grow from an estimated $4 billion to $150 billion in the next decade.” Explosive growth in the industry, or an inflated figure? Guess it depends on how you define the ‘GIS market.’
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Where Do You Stand on GPS Tracking? 2007-09-27 11:11:58 This blog post will take us on a journey from New York City to Washington State to Guatemala City and back to New York.
If you’re unsure about whether GPS
is becoming ubiquitous and an ‘essential’ part of mainstream society, you may want to click on this link. At present, we are seeing a proliferation of GPS devices, from USB-based GPS to GPS-enabled phones and watches (and even shoes!). While these devices are aimed at making our collective lives ‘better,’ there is growing concern about GPS and whether it can lead to invasion of privacy (both in personal terms as well as institutional ‘big brother is watching you’ terms).
Earlier this month, John Halpin, a carpenter supervisor for the New York City school system, was fired after his GPS-enabled phone was used to verify that he had been falsifying records. Although Halpin argued in court that he was never informed that the cell phone would be used to track him, the judge found him guilty Read more:Stand
, Tracking
Map Mashups at the Enterprise Level: British Petroleum 2007-09-26 13:47:32 Computerworld posted an article this morning that references how BritishPetroleum
(BP) is using a mashup of Microsoft’s VE, weather feeds (web services), and data from a corporate data warehouse to visualize the company’s equipment in the Gulf Coast. In essence, BP is using the mashup for both preventive measures and operation responses for hurricane damage.
This is a great example of how mashups at the enterprise level are becoming part of key business processes. As mentioned earlier, it is likely that the development of enterprise mashups will continue to expand in the near future. In the context of the geospatial industry, this begs the question of how companies will be positioned within the mashup food chain, both in terms of providing content and fulfilling mashup development. Thoughts?
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earthmine Indexes Reality: 3D Panoramas and More for GIS 2007-09-26 11:25:26 Via ZDNet. Geospatial startup earthmine gave a preview of its immersive 3D panorama technology at DEMOfall 07. According to their web site:
“earthmine is creating a new kind of map, a pre-collected, geospatially accurate data set of the world that is accessed through an intuitive panoramic interface. This new map is accessed from the human perspective, making it instantly understandable by anyone that has ever walked around in our world. But earthmine is much more than pretty pictures. Behind every pixel in each high quality image you’ll find highly accurate latitude, longitude and elevation, immediately adding three-dimensional context to existing spatial data, and providing a whole new model for data collection.”
Using a set of calibrated cameras, earthmine vehicles collect data at the street level. Although Google Street View, MapJack, et al, also collect data at street level, earthmine collects 3D panorama data that is more complex and which can be integrated w Read more:Indexes
OpenStreetMap Releases First Complete Country: The Netherlands 2007-09-25 02:15:34 Via the OpenGeoData Blog. A news item that subtly floated by in the blogosphere this past weekend: OpenStreetMap, the “Free Wiki World Map” that allows users to edit geographic data, now has its first complete country available at openstreetmap.org.
Very cool! Congratulations to Steve Coast and the OpenStreetMap team, as well as all of the contributors that made this happen. The availability of a complete country on the Wiki should certainly give the project more visibility, and perhaps expand user participation. Looking forward to seeing the next country come online!
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Google’s Global Privacy Counsel Addresses Street View and Privacy Concerns 2007-09-24 11:06:48 Well, it seems as though the voices of numerous people who voiced concerns about Street
View and privacy have grown loud enough to prompt a more formal response by Peter Fleischer, GlobalPrivacyCounsel
for Google
(via Google LatLong blog). Although Google had previously commented on the matter here, there must have been enough discussion internally at Google to prompt a response from one of its legal folks.
Since the release of Street View, a debate has emerged with regard to whether Street View is too intrusive. From citizens concerned about their cats being captured on camera to Canadians potentially blocking Street View.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out, and what Google’s recourse will be in other countries where the line between ‘public’ and ‘private’ may not be as gray as it is in the U.S.
Some additional reading here.
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Are You on the Enterprise Mashup Bandwagon? 2007-09-23 12:45:04 Question: Do You Believe that Mashup
s Are Just a Passing Fad?
Earlier this week, the EPA made news by selecting Microsoft Virtual Earth for its geospatial and mapping application needs. The announcement led some of us to speculate on whether this is the beginning of a new trend in the adoption of the Microsoft and Google flavor of geospatial offerings, and what role ESRI may have had in the EPA decision. There seems to be some ambiguity in terms of how much of a role ESRI may have had, but that’s a story for another day.
The EPA essentially will be using Virtual Earth to develop a variety of enterprise mashups. And it does seem that enterprise mashups are part of a growing trend within the geospatial industry, and in a broader context within the technology sector as a whole.
If you’re unsure about the potential growth of enterprise mashups, a recent article in eWeek.com points to an estimate by Anthony Bradley, a Gartner analyst, who anticipates that 30 percent of com Read more:Bandwagon
Google Earth Hacks Releases GEboards 2007-10-03 01:26:03 Mickey over at GoogleEarth
Hacks has informed me about a new Google Earth
message board that exists entirely within Google Earth.
GEboards is a KML package that allows users to start, contribute to, and read threads on a variety of subjects and themes. (more…)
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An Interview with a Geospatial Startup: UpNext 2007-10-02 07:24:11 I recently had the opportunity to grab an interview with Danny Moon (CEO) and the rest of the UpNext team to discuss their technology. UpNext is an up-and-coming geospatial startup that provides a fully-interactive 3D immersion experience for major metropolitan cities in the U.S.
Give us the equivalent of your 30-second elevator pitch.
UpNext is a 3D cityscape for local exploration and discovery. We create dynamic, interactive 3D maps to show you what’s UpNext in your city. Your city is alive, our maps are alive.
(more…)
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Geospatial Imagery Increasingly Being Used for Social and Environmental Activism 2007-10-01 11:27:11 Last week’s news about how Google Earth (in part) has led the U.S. Navy to spend $600K to revamp a building complex in California was greeted with mixed feelings. It seems that a good chunk of the blogosphere chimed in on whether Google Earth is leading us to become too politically correct in such instances.
While I will leave the decision about political correctness to others, it’s worth pointing out that two stories that were published over the weekend highlight the importance of how geospatial imagery (provided in tools like Google Earth) is proving to be valuable for social and environmental activism throughout the world.
In Burma, high-resolution satellite imagery is being used to assist with evidence gathering for the Burmese government’s crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations. According to the article, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has requested imagery from GeoEye and Digital Globe. The AAAS carried out a similar effort i Read more:Imagery
, Social
, Activism
Extending Rich Internet Applications to the Desktop: AIR, Silverlight, and GIS? 2007-10-01 10:30:03 A recent post on TechCrunch on the release of additional Adobe AIR apps got me thinking about whether anyone is using Adobe AIR or Microsoft Silverlight to extend existing web-based GIS/geospatial solutions to the desktop?
A quick search yielded a few results, including a few blog posts by MapWrecker, Jithen Singh, Morten Nielsen (SharpGIS), and the BostonGIS Blog, as well as some preliminary applications that incorporate Google Maps or VE (funny how the AIR Gallery and Silverlight Gallery show Google Maps and Virtual Earth respectively). However, I didn’t find much information on specific GIS/geospatial applications or tools developed with these two technologies.
Wondering if anyone out there is doing much work with either AIR or Silverlight? Seems to me that there is a lot of potential for integration and extension of existing/future web-based apps using either technology. Do you have any thoughts on whether one is better or more suitable than the other?
*A related note: E Read more:Internet
, Applications
, Desktop
Saturday Link Karma 2007-09-29 10:02:02 Live Maps/Virtual Earth Blog chimes in with a little post on FedEx and its enterprise mashup of dropoff locations. A heads up: the first two results from a quick search are ZDNet articles on enterprise mashups: “Enterprise Mashups: A lesson from history” and “Here come ‘enterprise mashup services’.”
Chris Spagnuolo gets some inspiration for product evangelism from Guy Kawasaki.
GPSTracklog includes some good summaries and links on a weekly basis.
Nate Irwin chips in to the emerging discussion on Amazon’s S3 web service and he provides some input on using it as a backup solution.
Older but interesting news. Petter Batty, former CTO of Intergraph, gets things going with a new ‘Where 2.0′ startup called “Spatial Networking.“
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New Mapquest in Beta 2007-10-12 18:15:39 Via Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch. According to the MapQuest Blog, the company has just announced the release of MapQuest Beta, its next generation mapping site.
Following the Google Maps, VE, Yahoo! Maps, etc. AJAX-based functionality, the new MapQuest (more…)
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Help Me Evangelize RSS to Other Geo Folks 2007-10-12 03:17:41 Before we go any further, if you are not familiar with RSS, please visit this link and this link, and then come back.
Just so you know, I am declaring today ‘Let Others Know about RSS Day.’
It all started out with a friendly conversation with some ‘non-geo’ friends a while back (an electrical engineer, a product designer, and a carpenter). We were discussing the web and talking about some of the sites/blogs that we like. Of the three friends standing around me, two of them (carpenter and designer) gave me the ‘what-hell-are-you-talking-about’ look when I brought up RSS feeds.
So a brief discussion ensued, (more…)
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U.S. GAO Uses Google Earth to Highlight Environmental Justice Concerns Related to U.S. EPA Rule 2007-10-10 19:54:02 According to OMB Watch, the U.S. EPA came under some pretty intense scrutiny at a House hearing in which the U.S. GAO testified that the “EPA did not follow guidelines to ensure that scientific, economic, and policy issues are addressed at appropriate stages of rule development.” The hearing focused on how an EPA rule could reduce availability of toxic chemical information used to assess environmental justice.
(more…)
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Thoughts on Authors, Synthesizers, and Consumers in the Geospatial Landscape 2007-10-10 18:23:07 After revisiting some posts/articles about users as authors, synthesizers, and consumers and the hierarchical structure of ‘Web 2.0′ users, I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around some changes that are occurring (rather quickly) in the geospatial landscape. Now before I delve into this post, I will shamelessly qualify my statements by saying that I am not attempting to make any definitive assertions or somehow trying to reinvent a wheel of knowledge that is out there, but rather I am trying to articulate some ideas and get a discussion going…any feedback on this diagram (first cut) or my thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
What Was: It seems that the traditional hierarchy associated with various ‘actors’ in the geospatial landscape may not be as relevant anymore? (more…)
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BlinkGeo Stories Is Sick… 2007-10-09 11:19:31 Yup. Unfortunately, it appears that the ‘experiment’ that I set up about three months ago is not doing so well…in essence, BlinkGeo Stories
is sick, and it seems that it may be dying a slow death. Traffic is tapering down, participation is way down, and subsequently the number of stories being published is down.
If you’re unfamiliar with BlinkGeo Stories, it’s like Digg, but for the geospatial community.
If you have ideas about how to rehabilitate BlinkGeo Stories, please chime in on the comments section or drop me a line. Feel free to chime in with any criticism you may have of the site as well. Either way, I plan on keeping this blog up, but I would hate to see BlinkGeo Stories continue to wither, or even (gulp) die…
Perhaps it is an idea ahead of its time or a model that doesn’t transfer well into smaller, niche communities?
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Monday Link Karma 2007-10-08 11:47:36 Via the WHERE Blog, an interesting article about how Open Source is Coming to GPS.
Di-Ann Eisnor over at Platial (go Portland startups!) chimes in and gives some thoughts on Why the Geoweb Will Dominate Local Search. A key thought:
“Part of what’s driving companies to build the technology we want is the $11b by 2011 in online local ad spending which is predicted to fuel this movement.”
An interesting little post via the Dash blog about how search for the web may not be as effective when used in a car.
It looks like Plazes will be changing (evolving) some more…apparently the “social object focus is going to change.”
And the UpNext blog links to two relevant posts about virtual worlds and 3D immersion.
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LeadDog Data in Use in Google Maps 2007-10-07 21:13:19 Congratulations to Jim Anderson and the LeadDog Consulting team. I was checking out some stuff in Google
Maps the other day, when I caught the text at the bottom of the map.
(more…)
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An Interview with a Geospatial Startup: WeoGeo 2007-10-06 13:05:17 Amazon’s S3 and EC2 web services are starting to garner more attention as a viable means for companies/organizations to leverage Amazon’s robust infrastructure to store and deliver content via the web. I first came across WeoGeo via this post on BlinkGeo Stories. WeoGeo is a Florida-based startup that has tapped into these two web services to host/deliver various types of geospatial content in a promising new way. Many thanks to WeoGeo’s two founders, Dr. W. Paul Bissett and Dr. David D.R. Kohler, who were kind of enough to provide the following information about their new venture.
Give us the equivalent of your 30-second elevator pitch for WeoGeo?
WeoGeo is a platform for the hosting, discovery, and marketing of geospatial content. At its heart is technology that matches people with geocontent in a way that eases the process of customizing and delivery high bandwidth digital products.
The technology is used in two distinct, yet linked, ways. WeoGeo Market Read more:Startup
A little Friday morning humor… 2007-10-05 12:05:48
Technorati Tags: google+earth, geospatial, gis, humor
Site Search Tags: google+earth, geospatial, gis, humor
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