Past Thinking

Tagged: maps RSS

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  Tom Goskar 2:00 pm on 22 January, 2007 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Geotagging (3), maps, tagmap, yahoo (2)   

  Yahoo Tag Maps 

  Yahoo have just released a service called TagMaps, allowing you to display a tag cloud of the most interesting terms attached to geotagged Flickr photos on an interactive map.

  TagMaps are a new way to visualize text on geographic maps. TagMaps can be used to communicate key characteristics of location-based data in an easy-to-understand way.

  A TagMap can be embedded into into your website (for non-commercial use):

  It’s not as useful as it might first appear though. The only tags that show are the most “interesting” (often just the most tags for an area), hence the above example for Salisbury shows “cathedral, Old Sarum, and Salisbury” and nothing more granular than that. And you have to click the “View on World Explorer” text at the top to actually see the photos. The tag “cathedral” actually disappears when you zoom in closer, for example. There’s some work to go, it seems.

  I like the idea though – it could have some useful heritage applications, which could be especially useful as satellite and aerial photography is improved on the service. Imagine looking at the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape – a big area indeed. Seeing words like “tin” or “copper” or “engine house” etc etc could enable you to explore some photos and narrow down where to go and visit according to your interest.

  One to watch as it develops.

  Link: Yahoo TagMaps
  Seen on: O’Reilly Radar: World Explorer, Explore Your Town With Flickr

  Mor, Russell Hancock, and Tijl are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Tijl 3:26 pm on 22 January, 2007 Permalink

    this might be useful for creating a TagMap: there’s a little application to get GeoRSS feeds for Flickr photos @ http://geothings.ning.com/flicked.php

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    Russell Hancock 5:09 pm on 22 January, 2007 Permalink

    There is a “google earth” feed that lists some of the thousands of mines avaliable on the site http://www.russellhancock.co.uk. A similar idea?

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    Mor 6:44 pm on 22 January, 2007 Permalink

    Thanks for the post – and the deficiencies you point out are absolutely on the mark. The problem is not in the application, though, but in the data (always blame the data…). When more photos are available (more and more people upload and geotag their photos on Flickr), finer details will emerge in higher and higher resolutions all around the world. So, the tagmap that you show on this page might actually be a lot better next time we update our servers.

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  Tom Goskar 10:59 am on 5 September, 2006 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: flickr (3), Geotagging (3), maps, yahoo (2)   

  Flickr does Geotagging 

  I’m a little slow in reporting this since I’ve been away on holiday, but Flickr have announced that geotagging is now one of their built-in features.

  

  This is a great move, since it can be quite daunting if you’re really into knowing (and seeing) where photos were taken, but don’t want to move over to rival Zooomr, or delve into some of the arcane geotagging browser extensions or 3rd party tools. It’s all done within Flickr’s Organizr, and it’s all drag and drop. You can even set levels of accuracy, i.e. associating photos with whole cities, or even down to street level.
  (More …)

  Eduardo Manchon is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    Eduardo Manchon 10:38 am on 6 September, 2006 Permalink

    Flickr geotagging interface is brilliant, but Yahoo Maps coverage for most of the World is very poor. This is a important issue because Flickr’s geotagging interface is not designed for accuracy, but for massive geotagging, what it is perfect for some people, but not for others.

    If you prefer Google Maps for mapping your photos via drag and drop interface and you care about accuracy, our project, Panoramio, may be interesting for you. Btw, you can later watch the photos in Google Earth KML feed, a much better experience than web based maps.

    Eduardo