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NAVTEQ VP: "Indian Map data quality is not up to the mark"

Posted: January 7th, 2009, 12:29pm CET

Tags: navteq

Silicon India's headline included the term "sucks" but Vice President, Partner and Developer Program Marc Naddel, who gave the keynote, didn't apparently say that. The statement above was made at during a panel discussions on LBS at COMSNETS-09, an international conference on communication systems and networks, being held in Bangalore.

Microsoft chose NAVTEQ for its Live Search, just last month. So, I guess Microsoft finds NAVTEQ's data works for that company. NAVTEQ owner Nokia got into a PR "situation" last month when outdated maps caused protests because of mobile map's depictions of Kashmir.

Naddel went on to say that there is great opportunity, but if he did talk about how NAVTEQ/Nokia will be capturing better data, Silicon India didn't report it.
Google Earth Enterprise Hits the Road

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 5:36pm CET

Tags: google

Update 1/6/09 5:10 pm EST

Google's folks got right back to me with answers (Thanks!), so here you go:

As I understand it, you are not just putting some data on the mobile deployment, you are putting the whole server and all the data on it?

That's correct. The mobile drive would have a Google Earth server plus the customer's data. One thing to point out - what differentiates Google Earth Enterprise from the publicly available Google Earth is that, in the Enterprise version, the customer utilizes only their own data (which is the case with this portable technology).

Continue reading "Update: Google Earth Enterprise Hits the Road"
Patent Watch: Has Apple Patented Touchscreen Mapping?

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 2:21pm CET

Tags: google

The patent filed with the World International Property Organization (WIPO) is titled: "Touch Screen Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Providing Maps, Directions, and Location-Based Information."

Unwired argues that "most of the features used in its [sic, Google] mobile navigation app" are owned by Apple, not Google.

MacNN also chimes in.
All 43 Police Forces in England and Wales offer Online Crime Maps

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:40pm CET

Tags: Crime

They've all been published online as of today per the Home Office said today. The plan to put the maps online was the result of the publication of a Cabinet Office report noting citizens felt 'cut off' from the justice department. The effort to put the maps online began last summer.

It seems they all use different technology (that's fine by me) but I can't find an index of them. I think that'd be a valuable addition. You can see a comparison of offenses by local authority with the Instant Atlas.

- Guardian
SanFran Solar Map Patterns

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:01pm CET

Tags: Environment/Sustainable Development

I just had a chance to look at San Francisco's new Solar Map created by CH2M Hill. The Google Maps-based website shows the location of installed solar panels and the power company that provided the installation. And Time Magazine had a fairly comprehensive story about the plans by CH2M HILL to map 25 cities for their solar potential as well as an audio interview with SF Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Since this was relatively old news, I was looking to see if I could discern any patters to the existing solar installations. I noticed an interesting grouping of solar panels in a neighborhood south of I280 and east of James Lick Freeway which has been designated as "environmental justice program" installations. I created a average income thematic map of the area that showed it to be a low-income area which Newsom cited were "under-served neighborhoods."

If you type in a local address you will receive information on the current energy use and the potential savings by installing solar power. San Francisco is offering incentives to install solar energy solutions.
Suggestions to Online News Map Producers

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:00pm CET

Tags: media & maps

Dear Charlotte Observer,

Today I found, via a search, your map of the homicides in Charlotte in 2008. I applaud the use of interactive map in news coverage.

I was a bit "lost" when contemplating this map because there was:

- no article to which it was linked
- no legend
- no link for information on the map itself (who made it, why, source information, etc.)

With some effort, I did find the article in the Sunday edition that linked to the map. It was sadly about the first homicide of 2009. The article did reference the map, but alas didn't provide any further information.

I did find, quite by accident that clicking the "view larger map" took me to the MyMaps source of this smaller map. There I found a descriptive legend (what the blue and yellow teardrops meant and what pushpins meant) and more about the source information.

My suggestions:

- If a map is on a stand-alone page, consider adding a "stories that link to this map" list. Remember many readers will come to this map from outside the paper thus have "no context."
- Perhaps rename the "view larger map" link to state that more information is available there, too. That link might made more prominent, too.
- Include a legend if at all possible with the embedded map.

Thanks for your time.

Adena
Camden Complaint Map Causes....Complaints

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:00pm CET

It seems the issue with the "interactive map of the city allowing anyone to post anonymous concerns" is that it's not being updated, leaving resident to feel their concerns are not being addressed. Hopeworks 'N Camden designed the map at the direction of the Camden District Council Collaborative Boards.

So far, 1,092 concerns have been filed. As of Friday, the average acknowledgment for an abandoned home was 200.5 days. Graffiti isn't far behind at 184.5 days. The site lists 378 reports -- more than one in three issues -- as outdated.

The issue seems to be interoperability, though the local paper doesn't use that term.

The problem has been software, city officials said. The city uses an internal program to monitor constituent complaints called Contact Camden. As complaints from the Web site are filed, each must be transferred into the system individually. In order to respond to both types of concerns, the city is considering updating the map to integrate it with the other software.

Alas the person working on connecting the systems was let go due to budget issues. I have to agree with Rev. Jeff Putthoff, a DCCB member and executive director of Hopeworks, who points out the map is more than a luxury, but rather shoes transparency of government. Meetings are planned to try to update the process and thus the map.
Early iPhone LBS Ad Company in Deadpool

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:00pm CET

Tags: lbs

TechCrunch reports that AppLoop has shut down. The company (which I'd not heard of) launched in summer 2008 and took advantage of the iPhone's location determination to send ads. (The company claimed to be "the first ever real-time, location-based mobile ad network.") A later app turned any RSS feed into an iPhone app. Doesn't sound like either one was enough to keep the lights on.
Skidmore GIS Educators Conference Friday

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:00pm CET

Tags: education

Skidmore is not one of the schools we generally think of when speaking about GIS, but this Friday the Skidmore GIS Center for Interdisciplinary Research hosts a regional GIS Conference for Educators.

This year, topics of interest include GIS and statistics, managing and supporting GIS on a college campus, the use of GIS for visualizing potential development, GIS and mercury in the Adirondack Park, Manifold internet mapping, using ESRI Modelbuilder for automating demographic analysis, and web based GIS systems.

If any readers are attending, we'd love a brief conference report!
Obama's Infrastructure Investment Statments Fueling ADSK Stock Surge?

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Autodesk

Back on December 6th, President-elect Barack Obama made a statement that to help "jump start" the economy and stem job losses that he would make an investment in infrastructure. Some have called it an "Eisenhower-like" project similar to the development of the interstate highway system in the 1950's under then president Dwight Eisenhower for the construction of new roads, repair of aging bridges and making public buildings more energy efficient. Bloomberg News reported on December 8th that the total stimulus package might be in the range of $500 to $700 billion.

These statements sent shares of construction manufacturers and engineering firms up solidly. The impact has been felt in the geospatial technology sector as well. Since early December, Autodesk's (ADSK) stock as risen from around $16 per share to nearly $21 per share as of yesterday's close or about 30%.
Podcast: Four New Year's Geotechnology Challenges

Posted: January 6th, 2009, 8:00am CET

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: google

With the new year five days old and economic challenges expected for every sector we explore four big challenges and opportunities for those in geospatial technology. We explore four of them: (1) how U.S. investment in infrastructure may propel geotechnologies, (2) marketing of geotechnologies in tough times (3) the growth/contraction of location-based services, and (4) the renewed interest in "openness."

Subscribe to Podcast RSS

Listen Now (to download, right click on the link at left and choose "save target as")

Read the show notes

Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? Here's the index with all the info.
DC Gov Drops Daily Crime E-mail, Users Unhappy with alternative, a Map

Posted: January 5th, 2009, 1:25pm CET

Tags: Crime

The daily crime e-mail had been sent out by the D.C. police to the public via e-mail. It included all crimes in each of the department's districts, broken down by Police Service Area. The e-mails have been dropped per Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes because they often included information that may have jeopardized police work. Instead, the DC police offer a map built on the acclaimed DC Atlas.

That app is quite complex, allowing search near an address, searching on a specific crime, etc. GIS may love it but some, like the Georgetown Metropolitan Blog (GMT) finds it wanting compared to the sleek text listing. (Full review from the blog including what are suggested as better alternatives: below is a summary.)

...its terrible. Its based on inferior mapping software, its difficult to use, and it doesnt allow you to actually find out any information on each crime. For crime maps, there are better options out there. But a crime map is not a satisfactory replacement for a daily list. MPD has offered the crime map for years, why does it all of the sudden think that its a better option than daily blotters?

The response of both NBC and GMT sounds rational: find a way not to include the information that shouldn't be included and keep the e-mails coming!

- NBC Washington
2009: "GPS as feature"

Posted: January 5th, 2009, 1:00pm CET

Tags: gps

That's one of the predications from the folks at Buzz Out Loud for 2009. Sorry don't recall who said it...

The intro was on the order of "stand alone GPS" will begin going away, but in device and in-car will thrive. GPS will be like a camera in a cell phone - a "required feature." I think that's right on and highlights a few things:

(1) GPS is short for "locating technologies" - it could be cell tower, wi-fi, whatever. The feature is simply that the device (car, phone, etc.) can automatically know where it is. While not every knows (or needs to know) how location is determined, I think there's a real comfort level, interest and demand for the feature.

(2) That feature is useless without apps that can access it (hopefully with permission of the device owner). Carriers are figuring this part out now. How open should we make our location API? Should we have to "approve" of apps? This the 2009 LBS discussion. 2008 ended with two carriers tending toward "open."

(3) The E-911 emergency response that prompted the need for location determination seems to be overshadowed in the press by the LBS apps. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

(4) Are there any other electronics (or non-electronics) outside mobile devices and cars that will soon have GPS as a feature?
Patent Watch: Tracking People Via Cell without Compromising Privacy

Posted: January 5th, 2009, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Tracking

I received an e-mail from Jeremy Wood that shared his patent pending method "for tracking cellphones to generate useful demographically-keyed data on the movement of people, without compromising anyone's privacy." The patent application will be public in April, but Wood shared it and some slides with me and is interested in feedback.

Below I'll do my best to explain the method try to think through the value of the data collected. To me that's the real make or break of the method: does it create data that will be in demand?

Continue reading "Patent Watch: Tracking People Via Cell without Compromising Privacy"
Seeking Alpha 2009 Prediction: Google to Acquire GeoEye

Posted: January 2nd, 2009, 5:07pm CET

Tags: google

Eric Jackson at Seeking Alpha offers several micro-predictions for 2009. Among them: Google to acquire GeoEye.

6. Google (GOOG) will buy geospatial satellite operator GeoEye (GEOY). Google will see providing the map images (and searching any location on Earth) that appear on Google Maps, Google Earth and its G1 mobile phone as strategic, as well as in line with its interest in space in general. Google's stock will end 2009 at $350.

Yes, yes, he's not the first to float the idea and of course many outlets already refer to "Google's satellite" based on the Google/GeoEye contract of 2008 and the Google logo on the rocket. Seeking Alpha's other writers have been pushing GeoEye as a great investment all year. Is this down economy the right time for this to actually happen? Does this fall in line with Google's goal of "organizing the world's information?" To my knowledge, unlike Microsoft, Google has yet to acquire "content," though its quick to acquire software that enables its users to create content, that it then can organize.
Johnny's Lunch Coming to Pittsburgh

Posted: January 2nd, 2009, 4:52pm CET

Tags: MapInfo

I knew nothing of the hot dog chain until we ran an article about its location technology strategy (Pitney Bowes Business Insight, aka MapInfo). There were an amazing number of comments from non-GIS people to express their love of the place. So, at least those in Pittsburg can stop adding comments asking for a store nearby!

- Pittsburgh Business Times
Free 250m True Marble Imagery

Posted: January 2nd, 2009, 1:20am CET

Tags: Remote Sensing

Unearthed Outdoors offers the 250m True Marble image set for a free download with a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. It's the earth in 32 tiles, each 21,000 pixel square, available in png and tif. There's also a series of smaller files. If nothing else, this is a great time to learn about Creative Commons if that license is new to you.

- BoingBoing and a hat tip to Larry for the pointer
Intergraph Victim of Phony Check Scam

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 4:51pm CET

Tags: Intergraph

The checks went out Christmas Eve and had Intergraph's name on them, but they were fake. Intergraph told one recipient in Topeka, Kansas that "it's gotten at least 20 calls from others who received the phony check and 12 who made the mistake of cashing it."

- KTKA
Free One Week Trial of Nokia Maps

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 4:35pm CET

Tags: lbs

You need a Nokia GPS enabled phone for the one week trial.

- via underwiredview
WV County Makes 911 Calls in Near Real Time Public

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 3:35pm CET

I find the weekly wrap-up of crimes in my city's paper a bit scary but this near real time map and list for Charleston, WV (Kanawha Count) is even scarier. Medical emergencies are not listed - but shootings, stabbings, injuries, robberies, structure (fires I think) are. It's interesting that the complete addresses are given, too.

- The State Journal
- Charleston Gazette
Public Integrity Cites Map-enabled Investigative Journalism

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 2:54pm CET

Tags: media & maps

The year end list includes:

Mexico Under Siege Los Angeles Times in-depth coverage of Mexicos drug war and how the United States is indirectly involved. Interactive map and tons of stories you can sort by location and subject.

Also on the list, but not necessarily mappy, is longtime friend of Directions Media Gary Price's
Docuticker described as "An invaluable daily update summarizing new reports from government agencies, nonprofits, think tanks, and more."

- Center for Public Integrity blog
Does a Map Make You More Likely to Act?

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 1:51pm CET

Tags: media & maps

Remember the big map shown at the Democratic National Convention? Remember how the attendees got excited when their state "lit up" when they texted someone about Obama (or perhaps because of something else)? That environment got people fired up in a competitive way, and it was newsworthy. We even did a podcast about it.

Shift gears now and consider ING Direct. ING Direct is an American discount bank. (Frankly I didn't know that until I read the article about the marketing effort. I only know they sponsor marathons.) Anyway, on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, ideally the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, the bank launched a site with 10 principles of saving called We the Savers. The idea is that people should sign up and commit to those ideas (basically, good financial practices). The site offers a US map of how many folks have signed up from each state as well as a button to invite a friend to sign. Why the map? I guess one reason might be to encourage folks to "boost" the stats for their state. Would it encourage you at all? Would it make you FEEL anything like the folks at the DNC? I'll answer a hearty "No!"
Continue reading "Does a Map Make You More Likely to Act?"
GIS Planning, ZoomProspector Featured in Biz Week

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: gis Jobs

Titled, Where to Locate Your Business, it starts with the story of a small company (URMC) that started in Doylestown, PA (I lived there once!) and moved the sprawling metropolis of Stowe, Vt. and some great tax breaks. The owner is looking to hire 26 people before the end of February. (It's GIS-y stuff, so maybe it's a spot for a reader?)

Anyway, the rest of the article talks about how to find the right spot and talks about ZoomProspector. One commenter asks why GIS is not mentioned. I guess they are not familiar with GIS Planning's app.
Questions of the Week

Posted: December 31st, 2008, 1:00pm CET

California has a new "no texting" law going into effect on Thursday. One fellow at CHP bravely offered to answer a long series of questions from the LA Times about what was and was no legal and when. Among them:

Q: Is it illegal to type directions into a digital map or GPS program on your phone while driving?
A: No. The law does not say you can't type directions into a map or GPS program on your phone.
...
Q: Is it illegal to read directions from your map or GPS program on your phone while driving?
A: No. However, we do not recommend that you do this.

Q: Is it illegal to type directions into a GPS device that is separate from a phone while driving?
A: No. Again, however, we do not encourage or recommend that you do this.

I'm not sure at all who types directions into a phone or GPS, but I guess someone does!
Municipal OS GIS Featured at Linux.com

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 4:41pm CET

Tags: Open Source

Linux.com features "Municipalities open their GIS systems to citizens" which covers several uses of open source for data sharing and collection. Among the FOSS4G efforts noted: MapServer, PostGIS, OpenLayers and OpenStreetMap.

via toorghezi on Twitter
MEMS-based Sensor for Pedestrian Navigation

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 1:57pm CET

Tags: Sensors

Aircraft used for capturing imagery use a combination of GPS and related technologies to keep an accurate record of where the plane was to use in locating the image. That other technology is a series of sensors, accelerometers, inertial measuring units (IMUs) - the stuff Applanix is well-known for making.

So, what is if you could make those sensors teeny and use them say for navigation for pedestrian routing? That's what VTI will be showing off at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) next week. The company will be showing off a Micro Electro-Mechanical System or MEMS-based demo unit that tracks "position, speed and distance of a pedestrian." The technology would be used in combination with another technology because such a tool would need to know where it "started from" to provide useful information.

- Small Times
Quote of the Week

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 1:48pm CET

Tags: google

"Geography is the study of patternsbe it that of precipitation, migration, or economics. None of those patterns are evident in a satellite images of the planet. Google Earth has a clear place in the classroom. But it cannot replace maps. It cannot give you an idea of the land relief or climatic patterns of Europe. It does not give you a snapshot view of indigenous nations or internal conflicts throughout Africa. Nor impart the sense that Nevadas mountaintops sport subalpine forest surrounded by woodland."

- Daniel Rirdan, Director of Product Development at the Exploration Company arguing against Google Earth for classroom in a press release. He favors use of his company's DVD based interactive maps priced at $50-$180 per title.
Headline: "High tech maps prove the wrong direction"

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 1:30pm CET

No, this is not a story about bad data. It's a story about how waterproof paper failed to hold ink in the rain during an Australian orienteering event. Still, the winner previous years won again. For the final day organizers planned to ditch the waterproof paper for regular paper. Nice to know data is not always at fault.

Me, I'm low tech. When I cycle or run in the rain the map is stored in a "zippy bag."

- The Courier
Quote of the Week

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

"Maps are really powerful. Advertising on a map is a good idea because maps aren't just read and thrown away. Maps have a lasting value this one doesn't."

- Aaron Funk, owner of Kamp Klamath, in Crescent City, California on a new map developed by an advertising company. Those who paid for ads say it's in accurate, among other things in an article in the Daily Triplicate.
Podcast: What Can the Geospatial Community Learn from Top Ten Lists?

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 8:00am CET

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: google

This week the podcast takes a look at some top ten lists - some from the geospatial world but mostly those form the broader tech Web space. Both sets of lists reveal quite a lot about where geospatial is as we come to the end of 2008.

Subscribe to Podcast RSS

Listen Now (to download, right click on the link at left and choose "save target as")

Read the show notes

Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? Here's the index with all the info.
UK's "AAA" Reports Most Members Carry Print Atlas Along with SatNav

Posted: December 29th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Satellite Navigation

A survey of more than 7,000 AA (UK's Automobile Association) reveals:

- 75% of the sat-nav owners still carried a road atlas and 22% agreed their sat-nav sometimes distracts them when driving.

- 61% said their sat-nav had stopped them from getting lost while 44% use it frequently, while 30% said their sat-nav had taken them to the wrong destinations

- men (47%) were more likely to have them than women (30%), with 18-24 year olds the age group most likely (43%).

- Press Association (UK's AP)
Boston Globe: The Year in Maps

Posted: December 29th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: media & maps

The Globe offers an article titled The Year in Maps, with the subhead: "A cartography boom offers new ways to see the world."

The author, Drake Bennett, spoke to me and some other locals for input and its nice to see some of the local work highlighted. I confess I was very pleased to see that this was a topic worthy of exploration in the "Ideas" column in the Sunday paper.

I wonder, though, has there really been a cartography boom, or just more tools to make maps? Or is it the same thing?
Re-Localization

Posted: December 29th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: lbs

ReadWriteWeb rekindles a post about from earlier this year which highlights the difference between traveller type apps (for a "stranger in a strange land") vs. those meant to bring people together in their shared geography.

Re-localization is about locals. It is about people who like being in one place and interacting with neighbors.

As I've noted, there are more of us who "stay in" our geography than those who happen upon it. LBS needs to cater to the "stay at homes" in a different way.
Rolta to Announce Another Acquisition this Week

Posted: December 29th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Geospatial business

Word is Rolta will by a "US-based specialist IT firm, which provides software and related services to the oil and gas industry." Rolta acquired WhittmanHart Consulting, a Chicago-based business intelligence firm, earlier this year. Others looking at the acquisition pulled out when the economy slumped.

- India Times
GeoEye CEO Buys 6K Shares

Posted: December 29th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

President & CEO, Director of GeoEye Inc. Matthew M Oconnell bought 6,250 shares on 12/19/2008 at an average price of $17.91. That's about $111,000.

- GuruFocus
The History of NORAD Tracking Santa

Posted: December 24th, 2008, 4:14pm CET

Enclosure: [download]

CityNews in Canada tells the 50 year old story of a wrong number posted in a paper and how the recipient (who worked for what would become NORAD) did the rest. (Some audio.) You can also read up on the Google side from a Google Elf.
Location-based Leaderboard for iPhone Apps

Posted: December 24th, 2008, 3:58pm CET

Tags: Social Networking

Remember the episode of Seinfeld where George wants to keep the Frogger game on which he holds the high score? Fast forward to today's phone-based games and there's no such thing - until now. Cambridge, Mass based Geocade is offering a platform do create location-based leaderboards for iPhone (soon Android, too and Symbian) games. The game company puts a few lines of code into it and the system keeps track using location information from GPS. Thus players know who's "tops" in the local area. The business model? "Advertising can be incorporated, with Geocade sharing the revenues with partner developers..."

The idea of competing with your dorm, school, town, in teams, etc. is interesting. So is location-based advertising to go with the app. There's a free game available to see how Geocade works; it's called "Soft Landing."

- via PocketGamer
Geospatial Holdings to Acquire Belgian Reduct Pipeline Mapping Company

Posted: December 24th, 2008, 3:48pm CET

Odd for this to pop just before the holiday, but that's how it goes sometimes. Geospatial Holidings is based in Pennsylvania and "is building the first accurate 3-D and GIS database of the worlds underground pipe infrastructure systems utilizing our proprietary mapping technology." Reduct is based Belgium and offers products including DuctRunner, a device that travels pipes to enabled mapping. Geospatial Holidings was their regional rep in North, South America and Australia.

- Pittsburg Live
- press release (pdf)
Off Topic: O'Reilly, Lessig Worth a Listen

Posted: December 24th, 2008, 1:44pm CET

Enclosure: [download]

NPR had two great interviews in the past few days with Tim O'Reilly and Lawrence Lessig. If you are still making sense of Web 2.0 and social media (I am), Mr. O'Reilly clears things up. If you are not familiar with the reason for copyright or Creative Commons, Mr. Lessig explains why they both came to be. These discussions were so valuable, I listened to them twice.

O'Reilly (NPR article,podcast)
Lessig (NPR article, podcast)
Wired: iPhone Fake Call Locations App = Fail

Posted: December 24th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: lbs

With all the location apps for the iPhone you'd think an app with the name Fake Call Locations would actually fake your location to an app that shares location information with contacts. No, the app plays sounds through your speaker that suggest a location (club, traffic, etc.) to the person you call. In the Wired test the recipient of the call couldn't even hear the sounds. The app sells for $1.
For the PR Folks and CEOs: Report on Corporate Blogging

Posted: December 23rd, 2008, 2:16pm CET

Forrester completed a report on corporate blogging (Time To Rethink Your Corporate Blogging Ideas ) and among the findings: these blogs are not trusted - just 16% of Americans say they trust them - that puts corporate blogs at the bottom of the blog trust scale. What does this mean?

The experts weigh in on a For Immediate Release podcast: "All-star panel discusses Forrester report on corporate blogging: Josh Bernoff of Forrester; Max Kalehoff of Clickable; Rick Murray of Edelman Digital; Steve Baker of BusinessWeek; Lionel Menchaca of Dell; and author/consultant John Cass."

FIR is my source for information on social media, marketing, communications and tech.
Latest Web Stats: Google Maps Gaining on MapQuest

Posted: December 23rd, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: google

"In November, the most recent month for data, MapQuest's unique-visitor count fell 9% from November 2007 to 41.5 million, while Google Maps' rose 29% to 38.8 million, market tracker comScore says."

Analysts note that Google's position as top search engine drives much of Google Maps success. Christian Dwyer, MapQuest's general manager, details two instances what Investor's Business Daily calls "dirty pool" which seem to promote Google Maps and move down MapQuest.

(1) In a Google search the top search result gets a lot of space, pushing all other search results lower on the page (often that result is Google's).

(2) In paid links Google seems to always come out above MapQuest.

The article confirms these observations. The good news? No one seems to think there's anything wrong with MapQuest, though the sentiment "too little, too late" comes through.
Sermo: Doctor's Crowdsource Flu Data

Posted: December 23rd, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: google

Sermo FluMonitor is a sort of step from Google Flu Tracker which uses end-user queries about the flu to map where the disease is prevalent. The Sermo solution uses data uploaded by 100,000 doctors to do roughly the same thing - only with far more detail on the patient. Unlike Google's solution, the doctor uploaded data is aggregated to the ZIP Code level and presented in near-real time.

Among the data available to members:

-- Number of new cases in the last seven days and the increase over the prior week
-- Number of cases confirmed with Rapid-Flu and percentage increase over the prior week
-- Age range of patients
-- Top presenting symptoms

The Cambridge, Mass-based company thinks the model could be used for other diseases.

- press release
- via Xconomy
Podcast: Big Geo News in the December Lull

Posted: December 23rd, 2008, 8:00am CET

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: google

The year is just about over so why did so many organizations announce new products, updates, agreements and developer opportunities this week? The distraction of the upcoming holidays may mean "few are paying attention" but we are! This week's podcast shares some of announcements you don't want to miss and why they are important.

Subscribe to Podcast RSS

Listen Now (to download, right click on the link at left and choose "save target as")

Read the show notes

Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? Here's the index with all the info.
NY Times Geo App Offers Location-based Political News for New Yorkers

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 8:03pm CET

Tags: Open Source

It's called Represent and it uses a New York address as the starting point for a search for news about your region and what its elected officials (local up to federal) are doing. The interactive feature hails from The New York Timess Interactive News Technology group and went beta last week.

The search involves a "point in many polygons" search to determine into what districts the address falls, then assigns the representatives. The next step is to build a news stream on those individuals.

Among the technologies and data used: Django, GeoDjango, maps from New York Citys Department of City Planning showing district boundaries for City Council, State Assembly, State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL), PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GEOS, Geo-Coder-US.

Hat tip to Amy Gahran for the lead.

- New York Times
GeoEye Hits 52 Week Low

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 3:27pm CET

Tags: Remote Sensing

Per 24/7 Wall Street:

GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY) fell another 5%. Satellite imagery contracts may still be lucrative, but supporting the business is not a cheap endeavor.

That refers to a low of 14.75 on Friday. The 52 week high was 37.37.
Obama Science Advisor Appointee John Holdren Likes Geotechnologies

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 3:20pm CET

Earth2Tech offers this quote (about the food/fuel conflict) from a speech he gave earlier in the week. Perhaps we can hook him up with the DOI folks?

We need more effective use of the capabilities provided by satellite imagery and other remote sensing, and by GIS, both for conducting such studies [of projected land requirements for food, animal feed, fiber, biofuels, and infrastructure] and for conveying the results to publics and decision-makers in forms they will understand and use. And, not least, we need technologies for extracting food, fiber, and fuel from agricultural and forest ecosystems in ways less disruptive of the other services those systems provide than the technologies typically used today.
Garmin Phones, Past nuvifome, Will be Android

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 3:06pm CET

Tags: google

Many sites are reporting that news after Garmin Asia Pacific marketing director Tony An let the news slip. The nuvifone, which apparently will not be based on Android, is expected in Taiwan in Q2 of next year. Android phones, developed by Garmin, but manufactured by others are due later in the year.

- Elctronista
Fire Eagle among ReadWriteWeb Top 10 Web Platforms of the Year

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 2:57pm CET

Tags: Yahoo

No others were explicitly geospatial (well, the iPhone API was #1, and it has location awareness, so that counts, I guess). I still maintain that Fire Eagle is among the most important location platforms we have today.

Fire Eagle (and sharing its imagery with OpenStreetMap) shows that Yahoo knows a bit about geo.

- ReadWriteWeb
Activists Protest Kashmir Mapping by Storming Nokia Showroom, Burning Phones

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 2:19pm CET

Update 12/23/08: Nokia apologized in an e-mail statement for the error and noted that its data was sourced to NAVTEQ (which it owns). NAVTEQ has the full approval of the State of India to distribute the data.

The full statement:

'Nokia India, deeply regrets an inadvertent error in depicting certain international boundaries in an older version of its maps. This was as a result of a technical error that occurred in merging various map data layers. The error has been identified and corrected earlier this year. Nokia urges all its consumers to upgrade to Maps 2.0 and access the latest version of India maps. Consumers can also update the Maps application and the maps on their device by either accessing the maps website [maps.nokia.com] or Nokia map Loader or visiting a Nokia Care Center.'

- Economic Times

--- original post 12/22/08-----

Activists from the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (the youth wing of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party) entered a Nokia showroom yesterday in central Jabalpur city in Madhya Pradesh state and snatched mobile phones and burnt them.

Kashmir is now jointly administered by India, Pakistan and the People's Republic of China and its mapping as part of Pakistan provoked the action.

- Reuters (includes video)

Also: Cellular News, Economic Times
Indian NSDI News

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 1:59pm CET

Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, India explained during a tech fair organised by the Department of Science & Technology, National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and FICCI, that a National Geospatial Data Regulatory Authority Bill, to be introduced in the next session of Parliament, is expected to be cleared by the Union Cabinet before February 2009. The bill would create"an independent regulatory authority which will determine and regulate the basis on which data should be used and shared seamlessly amongst the various departments of the government and other stakeholders," he said.

He also highlighted how 3D data of the hotels attacked last month would have benefit response. Compiling such data, he argued is complex because so many groups need to give approval of fly overs and that international experts needed to lead the work are met with suspicion.

The "India Geoportal," a "repository of national infrastructure for the availability of and access to organised spatial data" was "launched," but it does not seem to have a public website at this time; it's unclear if it ever will.

- WebNewsWire

Other coverage: The Indian
First Turn-by-Turn Android App Built on OpenStreetMap

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Open Source

The app in alpha is available for Germany, France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Ireland. Gizmodo suggests the U.S. is missing since the OSM data isn't so good. Video below.

Continue reading "First Turn-by-Turn Android App Built on OpenStreetMap"
Sensor in Ball, Gloves Confirm Plays

Posted: December 22nd, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Sensors

A team of students, lead by their Steeler fan instructor, at Carnegie Mellon developed the system which now includes sensors in both the glove and the ball. It can tell if the ball hit the ground before being caught and confirm who had control of the ball. No one is yet using the technology which could eventually expand to sensors in players' shoes or to confirm a touchdown.

I'm still getting used to instant replay in college football. I'm not ready for this!

- Pittsburgh Post Gazette via Gizmodo
Google Science Data Service to Close Before it Launches

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 9:58pm CET

Tags: google

Officially called Google Research Datasets, the service was going to offer scientists a way to store the massive amounts of data generated in an increasing number of fields. About 30 test datasets had already been uploaded. This certainly had potential for managing huge geospatial datasets.

The service will close in January per an e-mail to its beta testers.

- Wired
The Challenge to Newly Named PB Business Insight: Define the Synergy

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 2:01pm CET

Tags: MapInfo

Andy Hayler notes that Pitney-Bowes will officially settle on its software division name on January 1. It's Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI). And, while he's impressed with the parts that make it up, Group 1 and MapInfo, he sees a challenge for the newly branded division:

Critical to how well growth targets are met will be clear positioning of the new organisation. Group 1 and Mapinfo have both been around for some time, and so it is important that PBBI clearly articulate what the combined offering brings to customers i.e. why the combined group is more than just the sum of its parts. If it can make more of the geospatial connection than it currently does in its marketing then it could be interesting, since clearly the kind of value queries like "tell me all the houses in this area that lie within a flood plain" will only work properly if you have good quality data, and the combination of GIS capability and strong data quality software could be a compelling proposition.

- IT Director
Using LBS iPhone Apps for PR

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 1:40pm CET

Tags: Navigation

There's a new, free app for the iPhone that provides details about Washington DC aimed at inauguration goers. Besides maps and tourist info it includes a countdown to the big day and a proximity tool that tells you how far you are from where the event will ultimately be held. Cool.

Who's behind it? A DC law firm and a PR firm. Patton Boggs and Qorvis Communications.

This is a strange new world of "location-based advertising." The moto of the PR effort: Qorvis and Patton Boggs, Navigating Washington.

This application was developed (they call it "mobilized" by PointAbout.

- AppScout
Bruce Joffe: Electoral College has to Go

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Bruce Joffe (GIS consultant in California and longtime Directions Magazine contributor) has a Speak Out article in the Baltimore Chronicle.
Satire on Geography Knowledge Too Believable

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

I'm not a regular reader of the Huffington Post but on Monday it ran a satire piece about Americans knowledge of geography. The funniest bit:

"On the whole, these figures should be construed as somewhat disappointing," Gallup spokesman Keith Ventner said. "Especially the two percent that believed the United States was located on the map's color-coded inset legend. I think we as a nation likely could have done without seeing that."

Apparently, many of the commenters thought the article was factual. I bet they didn't do too well on the really hard quizzes in school that at the beginning had the statement: "Read this entire test before beginning" and failed to do so.
Harvard's AfricaMap Launches

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Open Source

The online resource was featured this week at a Digital Humanities Fair and described in the Crimson.

Ben Lewis, a senior GIS specialist at Harvards Center for Geographic Analysis (who I know from his days at ATS), did the demos of app which launched two weeks ago. I love the idea of bringing tech to often tech-shy humanities types.

The site is a Google Map-based app "based on the Harvard University Geospatial Infrastructure (HUG) platform, and was developed by the Center for Geographic Analysis to make spatial data on Africa easier for researchers to discover and explore."

The source code will eventually be made open source which will be valuable as the app is based on SDI ideals and open standards.

AfricaMap aims to augment existing initiatives for globally sharing spatial data and technology such as GSDI (Global Spatial Data Infrastructure). AfricaMap makes use of OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) compliant web services such as WMS (Web Map Service), emerging open standards such as WMS-C (cached WMS), and standards-based metadata formats, to enable AfricaMap data layers to be inserted into existing data infrastructures.
NY Pothole Map Not Good Enough for Judge

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

Tags: Oops

Back in the day, getting money out of NYC for slips and trips on uneven pavement or potholes was pretty easy. Too easy. So the city passed a law stating payment would not be made unless the hazard was communicated to the city 15 days prior to the accident. Enter the lawyers, specifically the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. They started the "Pothole Map" and paid for people to document the hazards. When the city would not accept the map as communication, the lawyers sued and won. But now, a judge isn't convinced; when the mark on map doesn't accurately match the situation on the street, he's ready to deny claims.

- NYTimes CityRoom Blog
Giant Inauguration Map Wows Reporters

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CET

"How do you plan for an event that some are calling the largest in U.S. history? You get a map that's almost as big as the city itself.

Okay, that's an exaggeration.But at a morning news conference, the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee showed reporters a 40-foot-by-40-foot map that they are using to plan for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20, going over things as diverse as security to portable toilets to video screens."

That's the description from the Washington Post article that accompanies pictures of photographers taking pictures of the map. I'm glad I'll be watching from a distance.
iPhone GPS App Sold for $70,000

Posted: December 19th, 2008, 3:57am CET

Tags: Geospatial business

The app, Where To, which turns the iPhone into more of a GPS, from developer Tap Tap Tap made about $200,000 in its first three months at the App Store. Then the developers put it up for sale. Another Apple developer recently acquired it and replace it on the store - it sells for $2.99.

The Tap Tap Tap folks detail the sale on their blog.

- LA Times Blog
Technology Guardian Top Sites Fueled by Location

Posted: December 18th, 2008, 3:14pm CET

Tags: lbs

Per the article:

The explosion in location-based services is driven by the growing number of mobile phones, such as Apple's iPhone and a number of RIM's BlackBerry smartphones, which have built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) chips, able to report their position with an accuracy of a few metres. Given that and the user's willingness to volunteer their location, people can let friends know where they are - or find new ones in the area.

The top 100 listing identifies four sites - Dopplr.com, Qype.com, Loopt.com and Brightkite.com - which hold notable potential for location-based work. A key to their development has been the growth in map products online - another area that the Guardian's technology writers identified as a key area of expansion, as Google and Microsoft vie to provide programming hooks called APIs, which mean the GPS data can be transformed into a "pushpin" on a map display - known as a "mashup" of the two pieces of data, from the GPS and the map. Google's mapping service, which in December 2006 had only had such coding for six months, is now in widespread use.

Interestingly, the geo sites that make the list of 100 total sites are broken into two categories: location and maps. They might also appear in games, social networks, reminders, search, visualization...it's so tough to put a horizontal technology into a vertical box!
Rand McNally Serves up Maps for Kindle

Posted: December 18th, 2008, 2:53pm CET

First off, the Kindle is Amazon's e-book reader. Some love it (Oprah does!), others hate it. I've yet to see one in the wild myself, but hear about it quite on tech podcasts. Among the texts that can be downloaded wirelessly are books, magazines, newspapers, etc. You can even put audio on it.

Yesterday Rand

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Posted: January 6th, 2009, 8:00am CET

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Posted: December 30th, 2008, 8:00am CET

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