maps of world

Bulgarian Real Estate on Google Maps

2011-07-20T11:06:00.002+01:00

Cheap Bulgarian House

If you are looking for property in Bulgaria then Cheap Bulgarian House is a good place to start.

The site uses Google Maps to display a large number of properties for sale or rent in Bulgaria. It is possible to search the map by price range, by type of property, by location and by the size of the property you want.

Properties from Bulgaria
This Google Maps mashup shows properties for sale or rent in the major Bulgarian towns.

The map sidebar provides quick links to view properties in specific towns. Underneath the map it is possible to select which types of property you wish to view.

Each information window includes a photo of the property and a link to more details.

Varna Plan

Varna Plan is a Google Maps mash-up for the Varna area in Bulgaria. Thanks to the map's impressive area polygon selection search engine it is possible to view an incredible amount of data about Varna on the map.

The map displays commercial, rental and residential property for sale in Varna. It is also possible to view from a large selection of tourist related layers.

Building Outlines in More Cities

2011-07-20T11:05:00.002+01:00

Google have today added 3D buildings to Google Maps in more cities around the world. The new cities include London, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, Singapore, Lisbon, Boulder, and 11 major cities in South Africa.

In Google Maps the 3D buildings look pretty cool but they really only come to life on Google Maps for mobile. On Google Maps for mobile you can rotate, tilt, and zoom in and out on the buildings.

My guess is that at some point soon Google will look to implement the rotate and tilt views in Google Maps for the desktop.

The rotating buildings obviously make more sense on mobile maps where the orientation of the map can rotate to reflect your view. However this would be a great feature to be able to access via the Google Maps API. I could see this being a popular tool with many map developers.

Via: Google LatLong

Boston's Elastic Boundaries on Google Maps

2011-07-20T11:04:00.002+01:00

Like many big cities Boston has very fluid neighborhood boundaries. Two people living next door to each other can often have very different ideas of which district they live in.

To try and clear up some of the confusion around Boston's boundaries Boston.com has created a Google Map that shows the different boundaries used by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, by the police, by the city and those determined by zip code.

Using the map you can drag the map pin around to view the different district boundaries at different locations.

Exploring Boston's Tangled Boundaries

View Cell Phone Coverage on Google Maps

2011-06-15T09:54:00.002+01:00

Sensorly

Sensorly provides community powered mobile phone coverage maps. It is currently mapping 76 networks across the world. If you download either the Android or iPhone app you can also become a part of the crowd supplying data to these phone coverage maps.

You can use the Sensorly Google Maps to view how good network coverage is in a given location, for both WiFi and mobile phone networks. You can navigate to your part of the world by using the links beneath the map. You can also find the relevant map for your network from the tabbed buttons at the top of the map.

OpenSignalMaps

OpenSignalMaps is a great source for data about cell phone towers, cell phone signal strength readings, and Wi-Fi access points around the world. OpenSignalsMaps uses Google Maps to allow you to view the mobile signal strength for any location and view the locations of nearby towers for your carrier.

Using the map you can search by location and view a heat map of the signal strength for each of the carriers available in your area. You can select to view the data of individual carriers and quickly see how their local coverage compares. It is also possible to view the cell tower locations for each of your local mobile phone service providers.

The data for the map is collected from users of the OpenSignalsMaps Android application. Data from the downloaded apps is stripped of any identifying information.

Root Metrics

Root Metrics allows you to compare the signal strength of different mobile phone carriers at different locations in the United States. You can search a Google Map by zip code or address to find the strength of coverage at any location.

The Root Metrics Google Map allows you to compare the signal strength of different mobile phone carriers. The map shows you each carrier's aggregate grade and the carrier's voice and data strength.

The Root Metrics iPhone app allows you to view the data from your mobile phone. Users of the app also contribute to the accuracy of the data shown. Data from downloaded apps is collected anonymously to track each carrier's performance.

A Google Map of Solar Power Installations

2011-06-15T09:53:00.002+01:00

Cooler Planet: Solar Energy Installation Map

Cooler Planet has created an animated time-line with Google Maps to show the progress of solar installations in California from 1999 through to 2011.

Using data from Go Solar California Statistics the map lets you view time-lines of 'total installs', 'total watts', 'watts per install' and 'total carbon saved'. It is fascinating using the map to view how solar power installations have blossomed in California over the last decade.

Searching Gets Easier on Google Maps

2011-06-15T09:52:00.000+01:00

Google Maps now lets you search with 'descriptive terms'. Google describes 'descriptive terms as "the phrases which are most frequently used to describe ... places".

So, for example, if I want to find a pub that has quiz nights I can just type in 'quiz night' into the search bar on Google Maps. I will then be shown all the places that have 'quiz night' mentioned in reviews and other information gathered about the venue.

Other descriptive terms that I can imagine myself using a lot are 'great coffee', 'free wifi', 'free delivery' and 'live music'.

I'm sure I'll be using this new feature a lot!

Guided Video Walks with Google Maps

2011-06-11T13:11:00.000+01:00

Walking the Edit

Walking the Edit is an innovative iPhone app that allows you to create a mapped video. It is a great way to create a guided video walk or a video about your neighborhood.

Using the app you can take a walk through a neighborhood and the iPhone app tracks your progress and stores the location of the videos that you take on your journey. When you have finished your walk the app then creates a Google Map of your route with your synchronised video.

The videos are displayed on your automatically created map by small map markers. The size of the marker represents the duration of the video at that location. When you play the video the map view synchronises to the location of the video.

Skateboarding with Google Maps

2011-06-11T13:07:00.000+01:00

Sk8loc8

Sk8loc8 provides a searchable Google Map of over 1800 skateparks and skateshops around the world.

You can search the map by location and view nearby Skateparks, Recommended Parks, Skate Shops and Unconfirmed Skateparks. You can also click on the map to load nearby skating locations or to add the location of a missing skatepark.

Longboarding and Skateboarding Map

Here is a great map to help skateboarders find the best places to skate in their neighborhood. Edmonton longboard and skateboard shop Local 124 has created this worldwide Longboarding and Skateboarding Map of crowdsourced skating routes.

Anyone can add a route to this Google Map of skating spots and the map can be searched by location and by category. If you click on a map marker you can read details about the spot, rate it and leave comments.

A map sidebar lists the latest routes added to the map and it is also possible to view the locations of upcoming sessions and races on the map.

Toronto is Dangerously Trendy

2011-06-11T13:04:00.000+01:00

Toronto is Trending

Toronto is Trending has one of the coolest welcome screens I've ever seen on a website. When you go to Toronto is Trending you are presented with a full-screen video of Toronto. Twitter speech bubbles then appear above some of the moving pedestrians in the video and follow them down the street.

If you switch to the 'map view' you can then see the latest Tweets and check-ins made in Toronto on a Google Map view of the city. The map also displays a number of hotel, ticket and package deals.

The numbered map markers let you see how many people have checked into particular venues. You can select which category of venue you wish to see displayed on the map using the icons at the top of the map.

Altogether if you want to find the most happening venues in Toronto right now then you need to visit Toronto is Trending.

Toronto’s Most Dangerous Intersections

Global Toronto has mapped out Toronto's most dangerous intersections for pedestrians. By looking at the accident history data for 1337 intersections in the city Global Toronto has been able to identify which pose the most danger to pedestrians.

Global Toronto devised an 'accident ratio' for each intersection by combining two sets of data: accidents by intersection from 2000-09 and the average daily pedestrian head-counts at each intersection.

The Google Map shows in red the intersections that have the highest accident ratio.

Google Maps of Bangkok Traffic

2011-06-11T13:02:00.002+01:00

Bangkok Traffic

Bangkok Traffic is a driving directions application for the Thai capital that also displays real-time traffic information.

To get driving directions you can drop two map markers on a Google Map or enter your starting point and destination into the search box. Your route is then displayed on the map and listed in the map sidebar.

Also displayed on the map is real-time traffic information, showing current traffic speeds on the city's roads. It is also possible to click on the webcam map markers to view real-time images from the city's traffic cams.

Track Your Laptop with Google Maps

2011-05-14T16:40:00.002+01:00

Prey

Prey is a great way to recover your laptop or phone if it is stolen. If your laptop is stolen and you have have signed up to Prey you can track your computer with the help of Google Maps.

Prey uses either your device's GPS or the nearest WiFi hotspots to triangulate and grab a fix on its location. It can then show you the location of your stolen property on a Google Map. All you have to do then is report the thief's address to the police and await the return of your computer.

Prey also comes with some other handy features, such as being able to take a photo of the thief with your laptop's webcam or being able to take a screenshot remotely (perhaps catching the thief's name whilst they are on online).

Storify has a really interesting account of how someone managed to recover their stolen laptop with the help of Prey and some Twitter friends.

Monitoring Water Aid with Google Maps

2011-05-14T16:38:00.002+01:00

Flow

Water for People is a charity helping people in developing countries through the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities, and hygiene education programs.

Water for People are using remote technology to display real-time reports about whether their water and sanitation projects are working or failing. The map allows field workers, volunteers and others to record data from tens of thousands of water points around the world.

Flow uses categorised markers to show which projects are currently functioning, broken or functioning with problems. The links in the map side-panel allow users to quickly zoom to Water for People's different projects around the world.

The Asian Carp Invasion on Google Maps

2011-05-14T16:37:00.000+01:00

Asian Carp Map

Reporter Tina Lam and photographer Brian Kaufman have embarked on a 13 day journey through seven states to track how far the invasive species of the Asian Carp are getting to the Great Lakes.

A Google Map is being updated regularly with photographs and reports of their findings. The map includes a time-line so that you can follow the pair's progress chronologically as well as geographically.

If you click on any of the mapped photographs an information window opens so that you can read the submitted report. You can also click through to read the story on the Detroit Free Press.

Google Maps, Fusion Tables & Elections

2011-05-14T16:36:00.000+01:00

Canada & UK Post-Elections Round-up

Patrick Cain this week has spotted some post-election Google Maps from theVancouver Sun and The Guardian.

In Canada the Vancouver Post's map looks at the loss of seats by the federal Liberal party in British Columbia, whilst The Guardian maps the results of the British referendum on the Alternative Voting system.

The Guardian's map shows how there was very little support for the Alternative Voting system outside of a few London boroughs, the university towns of Oxford and Cambridge and central Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Introducing the Google Places Library

2011-05-11T11:00:00.002+01:00

The Google Places API is now on general release and a Places Library has been added to the Google Maps API.

The new Places Library allows map developers to display venues in Google Places on a Google Map. The venues can be added either via a bounding box or within a radius of a centre point. The displayed venues can be refined by type (e.g. gym, food, zoo, art gallery etc) or by name (e.g. Starbucks).

The Places Library can also display details about the returned venues, including full address information and user ratings.

The Places Library for the Google Maps API doesn't seem to support check-ins. So if you want to give your users the ability to check-in at venues it looks like you will have to use the Google Places API itself with your Google Maps.

Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

Groupon Coupons on Google Maps

2011-05-11T10:59:00.002+01:00

Groupon Now

Groupon has finally turned on location and has become a lot more useful in the process. Groupon Now lets you view the nearest deals to your location on a Google Map. It is available both from your desktop and from your mobile device.

Actually Groupon Now is a bit of a misnomer. It should more accurately be called Groupon Later because, for now, it is only available in Chicago. If you are lucky enough to live in the Windy City then you can enter your address and search for deals by category.

The results of your search are displayed on a Google Map and each deal comes with a timer informing you just how long you have left to redeem your deal. The application works really well and, once a few more cities are added, should help to cement Groupon's position as the leading deal-of-the-day provider.

Classified Ads on Google Maps

2011-05-11T10:58:00.002+01:00

PigeonMap

Pigeon Map is a free classifieds website that uses Google Maps to let you find classified ads near your location.

The classified ads come in many categories with advanced search options. You can search by location and by category, including 'deals', 'events', 'jobs' and 'for sale'. Results of a search are then displayed on the map.

Users can also post their own classified ads to the map by completing a short form.

Spain's Nuclear Power Plants Mapped

2011-05-11T10:57:00.002+01:00

Radiactivdad

Since the recent disaster at the Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant we have seen a number of Google Maps that show the location of nuclear power plants around the world.

For example Zeit-Online created the American Nuclear Power Plants Map to show how many Americans live near nuclear power plants. Another trend has been to create Google Maps that display radiation measurements.

Radiactivdad is a Google Map that displays the locations of Spain's nuclear power plants and also the results of radiation monitors in the country that have been connected to the web using Pachube.

Google Maps Satellite Views of Chernobyl

2011-04-27T21:55:00.002+01:00

Contando Estrelas: Chernobyl 25 Years Later

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine. Google Maps' satellite view gives us a great insight into the devastation of this once thriving area.

Italian website Contando Estrelas has written an informative article on the destruction of the area around the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, which it has illustrated with satellite views from Google Maps.

The article shows images of the power plant itself, the now ghost town of Pripyat (including a Ferris wheel that had been constructed for the May 1st celebrations), abandoned ships in a port to the north of Chernobyl and a graveyard of trucks, tanks, helicopters and other vehicles used after the explosion of 1986 (all of which had to be abandoned because of their exposure to high radiation levels).

The article is in Spanish.

Panoramas & Vistas on Google Maps

2011-04-27T21:54:00.002+01:00

Generate a Panorama

'Generate a Panorama' lets you click on a Google Map and see a representation of the view from that location.

For example, below is the generated view from the summit of Mont Blanc looking due west. As you can see all the peaks in your view are marked on the created panorama.

To generate your own view you just need to click on the map. You can drag a polyline to choose the direction you wish to view and you can also adjust the span of the view.

Also See

Hey What's That - The original and first Google Maps based panorama generator.

More Sweden on Google Maps

2011-04-27T21:53:00.002+01:00

Mere Sverige

Mere Sverige (More Sweden) is a tourism promotion site for Sweden aimed at the Danish market. The site is therefore in Danish. More Sweden uses Google Maps to provide Danish visitors to Sweden with all the accommodation and sightseeing information that they will need.

The map includes some very nice features. In particular the numbered marker clustering solution is well thought out. Numbered markers show the number of points of information at a location. If you mouse-over the marker a small information window opens with preview thumbnails of the individual locations. If you click on the marker the map zooms in so that you can view the individual markers.

Markers on the map are divided into the categories of 'experiences, 'accommodation' and 'transport' and each of these categories is further subdivided. For example 'accommodation' contains sub-categories of hotels, B&B's etc.

Find Foursquare Deals on Google Maps

2011-04-27T21:52:00.002+01:00

Checkin Mania: Check-in Deals

Check-in Deals lets you find all the local businesses offering deals through Foursquare. All you have to do is type in your location and you can view all your nearby deals on a Google Map.

As well as being displayed on the map all the deals are listed in the map sidebar. You can filter the displayed deals by 'Newbie Special', 'Check-in Special', 'Mayor Special' etc. If you click on the sidebar listing the location of the selected venue is displayed on the map

Zombies Attack the Royal Wedding

2011-04-27T21:51:00.000+01:00

The Royal Zombie Wedding

There is a Royal Wedding taking place this Friday in London.

As you can imagine the burning question on everyone's lips is:

Can the wedding survive a zombie attack?

Thanks to the makers of Class 3 Outbreak, the Google Maps zombie game, we can now simulate the effects of a zombie attack on Westminster Abbey during the royal wedding and discover the answer to this important question.

After extensive testing of the simulator I can attest that things don't bode well for William and Kate. By my reckoning the happy couple will enjoy about five minutes of married life before joining the leagues of the walking dead.

On a more happy note a zombie attack won't make much difference to the royal family. It has been rumoured that the Queen's husband Prince Philip has been zombified for the last twenty years with very little noticeable effect on his ability to perform his royal duties.

As a reward for their work on the The Royal Zombie Wedding game creatorsBinary Space have been awarded a permanent room in the Tower of London by the UK government.

The Royal Wedding on Google Maps

2011-04-21T13:43:00.002+01:00

Royal Wedding Tweets Map

Judging by the number of Tweets with the hashtag #royalwedding I'm guessing that some kind of wedding is coming up. Mibazaar has also picked up on this strange trend and has created a Google Map to show all the latest royal wedding chatter on Twitter.

The map displays the latest tweets with the #royalwedding hashtag that have been posted from in and around London. The map animates to show the latest Tweets, so it is possible to just sit back and read how people are reacting to this wedding.

The map is already showing a huge amount of activity. I hope it can cope with the amount of Twitter messages that will be flying around on Friday 21st.

How to Calculate the Cost of a Car Journey

2011-04-21T13:42:00.000+01:00

MyPetrolPlace.com

This new Google Maps based application allows you to work out the cost for your car or motorbike journey in India based on the current cost of petrol in your city.

To use MyPetrolPlace.com enter a starting point and a destination. Then add the number of kilometres per kilogram your vehicle normally achieves. The application then calculates your daily and monthly fuel expenditure.

Your journey is also displayed on a Google Map. You can change the displayed route by dragging the markers. All the metro cities and state capitals in India are supported by the application.

The Bourne Identity on Google Maps

2011-04-14T10:48:00.000+01:00

Psyked: Experiments with HTML5 Geolocation

Your real name is Jason Bourne and at this very moment CIA spy satellites are honing in on your location in an attempt to track you down ...

James Ford has been experimenting with geolocation in HTML5. The result is this rather scary Google Map with an unmanned aerial vehicle type of interface.

The map detects your location (in my case with amazing precision) and then proceeds to load a lot of information about your location. For my UK address the information included the road I live in and my postcode.

I really think it is time that we found out a little more about these Treadstone guys ...

US Citizens Living Near Nuclear Plants

2011-04-14T10:46:00.000+01:00

Zeit-Online: American Nuclear Power Plants Map

German newspaper Zeit-Online has created a Google Maps application that shows how many Americans live near nuclear power plants.

The map includes a distance slider tool that lets you visualise how many people live within different distances of a nuclear power plant. For example, the voluntary evacuation zone around the Fukushima power plant is currently 18 miles. Using the Zeit-Online map we find that a total of 16,040,474 Americans live within 18 miles of a nuclear plant.

You can use the slider to adjust the radius around the nuclear power plants. The number of people living within the radius is then shown. Clicking on a power plant on the map brings up more information about the location in the map sidebar.

New 45° Imagery on Google Maps

2011-04-14T10:45:00.000+01:00

Google have added new 45° imagery on Google Maps for Rome.

New bird's eye views have also been added in:

St Louis, MO
Honolulu, HI
New Orleans, LA
Rome, Italy
North Austin, TX
West Norfolk, VA
Scottsdale, AZ
San Rafael, CA
Palm Springs, CA
Lake Forest, CA
Boulder City, NV

Aerial View Map

I've updated my Aerial View map to include some of the amazing sights around Rome captured in Google's new 45° imagery. The map also includes some pretty stunning imagery from Venice, the USA and South Africa.

A New Styled Map Wizard for Google Maps

2011-04-14T10:44:00.000+01:00

Google Maps Colorizr

The Styled Maps feature, released in the Google Maps API last year, has proved really popular. It allows map designers to alter the look of Google Maps to match the design of their websites or to emphasise particular map features.

Google's Styled Map Wizard is a great tool for experimenting with and perfecting a style for your Google Map. However the Styled Map function and the Map Wizard both use HSL colors rather than HEX RGB colors, which may be confusing to some users.

The advertising agency stadt.werk has created a new wizard that lets you design your map style in the more familiar HEX RGB colors. The Google Map Colorizr conveniently transfers your HEX RGB colors to the HSL colors used by Google Maps and allows you to cut and paste the code of your finished map style.

The Google Map Colorizr even has a dynamic URL. So if you want to ask someone's opinion about a particluar map style you can send them a link.

American Civil War on Google Maps

2011-04-14T10:42:00.000+01:00

The American Civil War Timeline Project

The American Civil War Timeline Project is an interesting attempt to chronologically and geographically map the events of the American Civil War using the open source Simile Timeline. The map includes Wiki style editing so registered users can add geographic/chronological data points to the project.

The site also has two other historical time-line maps:

The World War Two Timeline Project
The Napoleonic Wars Timeline Project

With all three maps, historical events are added to the map when you use the time-line interface above the map.

Find a Parking Spot with Google Maps

2011-04-14T10:40:00.000+01:00

Parking in Motion

Parking In Motion’s free iPhone app lets you find, reserve, and pay for parking spots across the US, Canada and Europe and also gives the driver occupancy information in certain locations in real time.

The app has coverage of the US, Canada and Europe with over 20,000 public parking lots enhanced with rates, hours, entrance points, and occupancy information. Using the app it is possible to view on a Google Map all the parking facilities for a location.

Markers on the map show the current occupancy rates at the different parking facilities shown. If you click on a marker you can view details about prices, the opening hours and its phone number.

The app is currently available for the iPhone and Android and Blackberry apps are also in the pipeline.

California School Funding on Google Maps

2011-04-07T18:13:00.003+01:00

California School District Funding

This Google Map shows school district funding in California. Using the map it is possible to view funding levels in each district and also view the school district's academic performance.

If you click on a school district you can view details of the funding over the last three years together with a projection of the funding next year assuming there is no tax extension in California.

The map also displays State Senate districts. If you click on a Senate district you can view the name and party affiliation of the district Senator and their winning margin.

U.S. Cultural Landmarks on Google Maps

2011-04-07T18:13:00.000+01:00

CultureNow

This Google Map is mapping the locations of history, art and architecture in the public realm. The project was started in New York, and has mapped a huge number of cultural locations in the city, but now also shows cultural landmarks across the USA.

It is possible to search the map by category (and there are a lot of them). So, for example, it is possible to refine a search for art galleries, museums or historic buildings etc. If you click on a map marker you can get more information about the listing.

Each listing also includes a list of other nearby cultural locations.

Mapping Nuclear Plants & Earthquake Data

2011-04-07T18:12:00.000+01:00

The World's Nuclear Power Reactors

This German Google Map shows the locations of the world's nuclear power plants. It also shows the locations of all the power plants currently under construction, those that are suspended and those that have been shut down.

The map shows that Japan currently has plans to build another nuclear plant on its east coast at Ōma. I wonder if it will ever be completed.

The map also contains two layers that let you view world earthquake data (with a magnitude of 5 or greater) for the last twenty years.

Nuclear Power Plants and Earthquakes Map

I've always wondered about the advisability of building nuclear power plants on top of fault lines. This Google Map shows global earthquake activity since 1973 and the locations of nuclear power plants around the world.

The map displays a heat map of 75,000 4.5+ magnitude earthquakes since 1973 based on data from the United States Geological Survey. I'm no expert but the map does make me question even more the advisability of building nuclear power stations in places such as Japan and California.

Where's This Picture From on Google Maps

2011-04-07T18:11:00.000+01:00

Where the F##k is This?

This imaginatively named website allows you to ask the crowd where a photograph was taken.

If you have a picture and you are unsure of the location depicted you can upload it to Where the F##k is This and, if you are lucky, someone will know and show you its location on a Google Map.

Each picture is displayed with a Google Map. If you know the location depicted you can click on a Google Map to show the exact location and leave a comment.

The website includes a What's Hot section and a section for pictures that have already been located.

What's Going On with Google Maps

2011-04-07T18:10:00.000+01:00

Map Channels Events

MLB All Star Game - Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Map Channels Events is a Google Maps based music and sporting events website with tens of thousands of events displayed at thousands of venues around the world. Using the website's interactive event calendar and Google Maps it is possible to find and buy tickets for all kinds of sporting, musical and theatrical events.

Map Channels Events has just added interactive floor-plan maps, supplied by Seatics, for many of its listed venues. The floor-plan maps allow customers to quickly compare prices in different sections of a stadium and see what kind of seating they are buying.

As well as the interactive floor-plans Map Channels Events includes a Google Map and Street View for each listed venue.

2012 Olympics on Google Maps

2011-04-07T18:09:00.000+01:00

London Olympics Site

Today it has been gloriously sunny in London, so this afternoon I decided to take a stroll to the site of the 2012 London Olympics. I had my phone with me so I took a few photographs on my walk.

After uploading the photos to Picassa obviously the first thing that I thought of was to create a Google Map. There is nothing overly exciting about this map but I thought there might be some interest in having a look at the site of next year's London Olympics.

The satellite imagery on Google Maps for the Olympics Park was updated last month - so that's another reason to have looksie.

Historical UK Maps API

2011-04-05T09:43:00.000+01:00

National Library of Scotland Maps API

The National Library of Scotland has released an API to give developers access to a map of the UK using out of copyright Ordnance Survey maps, dating from the 1920s to the 1940s.

The API uses Google Maps to create an interactive map based on tiles created from the Ordnance Survey Maps. You can see the basic map here. This map can be embedded into other websites and blogs just by copying and pasting the iframe code. You can even embed a map using a dynamic URL so that the embedded map is zoomed and centred on your chosen location.

However you can also use the API to create your own mashups. For examplehere is a map that has an added transparency slider, that allows you to view the Google Map tiles beneath the OS maps.

Americas Rock on Twitter

2011-04-05T09:41:00.000+01:00

Twitter Top 100 Users

This Google Map of the Top 100 Twitter users (based on the number of followers) reveals that only 7 of them live outside of the Americas. Those 7, who are all based in Europe, even include Brazilian footballer Kaka and U.S. tennis player Serena Williams.

The markers on the map are colour-coded by category, for example, music, entertainment, technology etc. Like BatchGeo's Map of Top 100 Websites Worldwide the map features a really cool marker clustering system. Not only does each clustered marker show the number of markers at the location it features a nice pie chart that represents the percentage of each website category at the location.

Keep on Running with Google Maps

2011-04-05T09:38:00.000+01:00

iFit

With the iFit you can now run anywhere in the world, virtually, with a little help from Google Maps and Street View.

You can connect iFit Live to an iFit treadmill or exercise bike. You then have the power of Google Maps to create a route anywhere that you fancy running. When you run on your iFit treadmill you can then follow your progress on your route with Google Maps and with Street View, where available.

You can get a good idea of what the experience is like by visiting the iFit demo page. With this demo feature you can draw and view workout maps. You can plan a route and even follow it in Street View.

How to Make a Census Map

2011-03-30T20:56:00.000Z

WNYC 2010 Census Map

In my extensive round-up of 2010 census maps yesterday I missed one very good map. WNYC has used Google Fusion Tables to create a great Google Map of the census data for the city of New York.

The map allows you to view heat maps of demographic changes in New York over the last ten years. The map allows you to view population change and changes in race / ethnicity in each of New York's census tracts.

If you are interested in how the map was put together John Keefe has written a great post on Making the WNYC Census Map.

Also See

Data Journalism & the 2010 Census

The Colosseum in Street View

2011-03-30T20:55:00.000Z

Google have added new Street View imagery in Italy and France. This latest imagery has been captured by the Street View trike that allows Google to go off road and obtain imagery from historical sites, such as inside the Colosseum in Rome.

If you want a quick tour of the Colosseum check out this animated pan of the arena in Street View.

The Colosseum

Other highlights in Italy include: the birthplace of Rome, the Palatine Hill, theAppian Way, the Thermae (Baths) of Diocletian and the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

In France you can visit the beautiful château of Fontainebleau.

Via: Google LatLong

Google Maps & Twitter

2011-03-30T20:54:00.000Z

Twitter Nano

Twitter Nano lets you read real-time Tweets from anywhere in the world. Using the provided Google Map you can zoom in on any location and start reading the latest Tweets posted from there.

As well as dragging and zooming the map you can also use the search box to enter a location. The Tweets for each location appear beneath the map, scrolling down with a nice transition effect.

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RPG with Google Maps

2011-03-30T20:53:00.002Z

Geo Hunters
GEO Hunters is a free role playing game for the iPhone that uses Google Maps satellite views to create a fantasy world based on your location.

In this game monsters have invaded your neighborhood and you are either a warrior, skilled hunter or crafty wizard. Your goal is to protect your turf by amassing your own monster army. As well as fighting the game's monsters you must also compete against other players to become the top ranking player.

The game is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Your Phone Company is Tracking You

2011-03-28T18:29:00.000Z

Verräterisches Handy

German Green party politician, Malte Spitz recently got a court order forcing Deutsche Telekom to reveal all the location data it had collected from his mobile phone. German newspaper Zeit has used six months of this data to create a Google Map showing how Spitz' movements were tracked over half a year.

The map animates Spitz' movements over the six months and includes a time-line that lets you check his location on any day and at any time of the day, during the six months. The amount of data collected is amazing (some would say frightening). His location was logged 35,000 times just in that six month period.

The amount of location detail collected by the mobile phone companies means that, for example, we can follow in incredible detail a journey Spitz took on the 31st August 2009 from Berlin to Erlanger.

All privacy issues aside, the Google Map created by Zeit is very impressive. The time-line allows you to visualise Zeit's location on the map for any day and at any time. The animation of the six month's of data includes a speed control, which is useful if you want to animate the whole six months. You can set the animation to play at full-speed and watch as six months of Malte Spitz's life flashes by.

Christchurch Aerial View on Google Maps

2011-03-28T18:28:00.000Z

Christchurch Post-Earthquake Aerial Photos

The Royal New Zealand Air Force flew a C-130 Hercules at 500 feet over Christchurch two days after the 22nd February earthquake, capturing imagery of the damage suffered by the city. As you can see from the shot of Christchurch Cathedral above the imagery provides an incredibly close aerial view of the city.

Koordinates has created this Google Map that lets you view the aerial imagery on Google Maps. Using Google Maps means that you are able to find locations in Christchurch using the underlying map tiles and zoom in on the new aerial imagery.

Donate to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

Live Mobile Videos on Google Maps

2011-03-28T18:27:00.000Z

GeoCam.tv

GeoCam.tv is a Google Map of webcams from around the world. The site has recently added live streams from Qik.com. The videos from Qik.com are real-time video streams from users' mobile phones.

What I like about GeoCam.tv is that all the webcams can be viewed directly on the map. Currently the map shows over 1000 webcams from around the world, as well as the live Qik.com feeds. To view a cam just click on a map marker and the webcam image will open in an information window.

What is Trending on Google Maps

2011-03-25T18:30:00.000Z

Trendero

Trendero is a new Google Maps based application that allows you to report on and follow trends around the world. Users of the application can report local trends and search the world to find what it is popular in other locations.

You can browse the map to search for trends in a number of categories. For example you can search for trends in music, film, books, fashion etc. Trends are assigned a trendiness score based on several factors, including: who reported the trend; how recently the trend was spotted; how actively users are updating the trend and how many people are looking at the trend.

Friday Fun with Google Maps

2011-03-25T18:29:00.000Z

Justin Bieber & Google Earth

I think I've found someone with a better knowledge of Google Earth than Frank Taylor and Mickey Mellen from the Google Earth Blog.

I'm not exactly sure what is going on in this video. I think the guy has to guess from a zoomed in image what the satellite image is of. To try and put him off a small boy called Justin Bieber has been brought in to grin inanely in his direction.

Whatever is going on, from the reactions, the guy seems to be able to name every part of the world from a very zoomed in shot of Google Earth.

Mapping London

Using the before and after visualisation technique, used by ABC Australia and the New York Times to show photographs of the impact of the Japan Tsunami, Mapping London has put together an app to compare the recently updated imagery on Google Maps in London with imagery from 2002-6.

The new imagery clearly shows the the development in east London for the 2012 London Olympics.

Grrrr!

Google Sightseeing have discovered a baby black bear on Street View. The bear is spotted crossing the Stewart-Cassiar Highway in British Columbia, Canada.

Lights Out for the Sky at Night

2011-03-25T18:28:00.000Z

GLOBE at Night Webapp

The GLOBE at Night organisation are endorsing the Earth Hour event on March 26 and would also like you to help them gather data as part of their research into light pollution.

To take part in the research you simply need to check the night sky and see if you can identify the constellation Leo or Crux. To help you find the constellations GLOBE at Night have provided a Google Map to determine your location and present you with several magnitude charts of the night sky.

All you need to do is determine which of the magnitude charts of the sky most resembles what you see and complete a short form.

Real-Time Instagram on Google Maps

2011-03-25T18:27:00.000Z

Mapstagram

Mapstagram is a super-fast real-time Google Map of photos taken with the Instagram iPhone app.

When the Mapstagram map first loads it displays the most recent photos from a number of U.S. cities. After the initial photos have loaded Mapstagram goes into real-time mode. As photos are uploaded by users in these cities, they are immediately displayed on the map in real time.

Gramfeed

Gramfeed uses the Instagram API to present the best photos from Instagram on Google Maps. It also allows users to view their own photos, a time-line of those they follow, read comments on photos and Tweet about photos and much, much more.

Social Network - The Google Map

2011-03-22T05:53:00.000Z

Xuland

Xuland is a Google Maps based social network that lets you share comments, pictures and links with those around you and search for venues, events and deals around your location.

Using Xuland you can comment on any location. If you like the comments of other Xuland users you can choose to 'follow' them. Xuland also has plans to offer comment badges soon to reward you for adding your thoughts.

You can also view nearby venues from Yelp, view deals for local venues from third party sites such as Groupon, and search for local events from Eventful.

How Manhattan Grew on Google Maps

2011-03-22T05:52:00.000Z

How Manhattan’s Grid Grew

In 1811, John Randel created a proposed street grid of Manhattan. The New York Times has created a Google Map that allows you to compare Randel's map to modern-day Manhattan.

The map also includes an 1836 map of the farms of Manhattan, a map of street openings since 1642 and historic census data. Each of the maps is supplemented by a transparency slider that allows you to view the modern map underneath.

The map of street openings since 1642 allows you to visualise the growth of Manhattan. If you use the time-line control you can watch the spread of Mahattan from just a few streets to the present urban sprawl.

Radiation Levels Mapped - Updated

2011-03-22T05:50:00.002Z

Japan Radiation Maximum by Prefecture

The UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, warned today that the situation remains 'very serious' at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Many Japanese citizens are therefore obviously worried about radiation levels.

This TargetMap creation uses Google Maps to show the real-time radiation levels by prefecture. The data comes from the the System for Prediction of Environment Emergency Dose Information(SPEEDI). The results shown are the maximum values recorded in the latest update.

RDTN.org Japanese Radiation Levels

RTDN have created a Google Map of radiation level readings in Japan with data from Pachube and Marian Steinbach.

Each marker on the map displays the radiation level and the time of the reading. RTDN are also looking for people to submit their own accurate readings to the map, which you can do via a short form.

To provide context for these map you should also check out O'Reilly Radar'sOpen Street Map visualisations of radiation levels in Japan. The O'Reilly maps compare two days of recent radiation data with the normal radiation levels in Japan.

Friday Fun with Google Maps

2011-03-19T05:57:00.000Z

Limerick Crime Map

There was an Old Person of Cromer,
Who stood on one leg to read Homer;
When he found he grew stiff, he jumped over the cliff,
Which concluded that Person of Cromer.

The classic limericks of Edward Lear are full of appalling incidents (and even more appalling rhymes). Staircase3 has therefore decided that it is only fit to present his limerick's in the form of a crime map.

The limericks are marked on this Google Map by the given location of each main culprit.

Postcards from Google Earth: Bridges

Artist Clement Valla has created a series of postcards created from satellite images of bridges captured from Google Earth. The strange distortion of the bridges in the images does create some interesting and surreal views.

Drag & Drop Street View

This little Street View application lets you find the Street View for any location in the world and drag & drop images to create your own montage. The images available mainly consist of cartoon cars and women.

The Universe in Motion

2011-03-18T06:26:00.000Z

Google Sky & Chromeless Videos

We don't nearly see enough maps created with the amazing Google Sky. Here is my latest effort, and it's pretty impressive, even if I do say so myself.

This Sky Map overlays a number of celestial animations on top of Google Sky. I've used the YouTube API to show the videos in a chromeless player. The effect is pretty cool, creating an almost seamless overlay of the video on the map.

________________

Labels: Google Sky, Video

45° Imagery Added to Google Maps API 3

2011-03-18T06:25:00.000Z

Google's oblique aerial view imagery has now been added by default to maps created with the Google Maps API. When 45° imagery is available a submenu option is added to the Maps API Satellite button. In three weeks time aerial view, where available, will automatically become the default satellite view, as it is in the main Google Maps website.

You can see the cities where 45° imagery is currently available on this map.

In addition to the new 45° imagery an Overview Map Control is being added to maps created with the Google Maps API v3. This Overview Map Control is the small interactive thumbnail map you can see on the bottom right of Google Maps.

The addition of the Overview Map Control is the latest in some nice subtle changes Google have added to the design of Google Maps created with the API. Recently Google also changed the Google logo in API maps to a white logo instead of the usual multi-coloured logo and the buttons have also been made a lot more attractive.

Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

Brazilian Sports Facilities on Google Maps

2011-03-18T06:24:00.000Z

Gatorade Maps

Here's a nice idea from the sports drink Gatorade. The company have created a useful Google Map to help Brazilian's find their nearest sports facilities.

Using the map it is possible to find the nearest gyms, sports centres, walks and bike routes around a location. You can filter the results by location and by the type of sporting activity you are interested in.

To promote Gatorade the map also displays the nearest retail outlets that sell the sports drink.

Wikipedia Chloropeth on Google Maps

2011-03-17T09:19:00.002Z

Ragtag Map of Wikipedia Articles

The Ragtag blog has created a Google Map of every Wikipedia page tagged with a latitude and longitude. 424,171 articles in Wikipedia have been geotagged. You can see the geographical distribution of the articles in the heat map above.

Ragtag were also able to find 14,238 historical events that were geotagged on Wikipedia. By plotting the events by year and location Ragtag have managed to create a dynamic visualisation that gives a rough idea of the history of the world in 100 seconds.

Time-Lapse of the Japanese Earthquakes

2011-03-17T09:17:00.002Z

Japan Quake Map

Paul Nicholls, the developer of the Christchurch Quake Map, has created an animated visualisation of all the Japanese earthquakes since March 11th.

The Google Map shows the magnitude and depth of each recorded quake. The size of the displayed polygons reflects the magnitude of each individual earthquake and its colour reflects the depth.

You can pause and resume the animation. A drop down menu also allows you to select to view the data for a specific day.

A Google Map of the World's Biggest Cocks

2011-03-17T09:16:00.005Z

Worldwide Penis Size Map

According to this Google Map the men of Congo are the proud owners of the world's largest tadgers. If you want to know which men have the smallest peckers then you need to grab your magnifying glass and visit this user created Target Map.

A choropleth overlay gives you a quick overview of the world's willies. You can also click on individual countries to view the size of Bavarian beefsticks, Canadian cattle prods, Spanish salamis or Russian ramrods.

That's it, I'm out of euphemisms ...

Create Your Own Styled Google Map

2011-03-17T09:16:00.002Z

FIND

FIND is the first Google Maps creation tool I've seen that allows the user to customise their created map using the Google Maps API Styled Maps functions.

Using FIND it is possible to add map markers, polylines, polygons, text and data from a number of sources to a Google Map. You can the style your map, changing the colours of all the map features to suit your preferences and then save your map to PDF.

The information that can be added to the map includes data from English and Scottish Heritage, the British Geological Survey, Natural England and the RSPB. Maps can be annotated with shapes, text, symbols and measuring tools and then saved to PDF in a neat print template.

A really nice feature of the tool is the ability to customise a Google Map through the 'Your Google Map' option. This feature utilises the Google Maps API Styled Maps functions. The 'Your Google Map' option allows users to change the colour of every feature on their Google Map to suit their specific requirements and preferences.

Nuclear Power Plants & Earthquake Activity

2011-03-17T09:15:00.002Z

Nuclear Power Plants and Earthquakes Map

I've always wondered about the advisability of building nuclear power plants on top of fault lines.This Google Map shows global earthquake activity since 1973 and the locations of nuclear power plants around the world.

The map displays a heat map of 75,000 4.5+ magnitude earthquakes since 1973 based on data from the United States Geological Survey. I'm no expert but the map does make me question even more the advisability of building nuclear power stations in places such as Japan and California.

Street View in Ads

2011-03-17T09:14:00.002Z

The Canadian Tourism Commission and their creative agency DDB Canada are using Google Maps Street View in an online advertising campaign. The online ads use Street View to promote Canadian cities and tourist attractions.

You can view an example of one of the ads in this mock-up of The Guardian website. The ad in the example zooms in on Montreal on Google Maps before opening up a fully interactive Street View of Rue Bonsecours.

Each online ad ends by directing users to additional location-specific information on the Keep Exploring campaign site where they can further explore what each destination has to offer.

The campaign is currently running in Germany, France and the UK.

2011 NCAA Championship on Google Maps

2011-03-15T06:20:00.001Z

Google College Basketball Tournament Map

Google has created a Google Map of the 14 arenas used for the 2011 NCAA Basketball Championship. The map includes all the schools involved, the schedules and the venues.

Also included is a distance tool so you can measure how far each school has to travel. There is even an option to switch on the Google Earth browser and view all 14 arenas in 3D.

If that isn't enough for you the map also contains a little game that lets you shoot some hoops yourself.

Via: Official Google Blog

New Satellite Images of Japan

2011-03-15T06:19:00.003Z

Both The New York Times and ABC News have published before and after satellite imagery of the destruction caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Both visualisations use new imagery captured by the GeoEye satellite.

Google are working to provide this data directly to response organizations on the ground to aid their efforts.

From ABC News

From the NYT

You can donate to the Japanese Red Cross Society here. You can also donate to the Japanese Red Cross with Google Checkout at the Google Crisis Responsewebsite.

Google Map Showing 100 Years of Cinema

2011-03-15T06:19:00.001Z

100 Years of Set Locations

Do you ever wonder what films have been shot in your neighborhood? Well, with BoxOfficeQuant's new Google Map you can find all the movies that have been shot on location near your home.

The map displays the top 2,000 films from 1910-2010 according to IMDB. The location of sets used in each film was also obtained from IMDB. In total the map shows 9,736 locations from the 2,000 films.

The map uses Google Fusion Tables. ~~It is a shame that BoxOfficeQuant didn't add the heat map option provided by Fusion Tables as it would be quite interesting to view the world's hot-spots for movie sets~~.

BoxOfficeQuant were even kind enough to respond to my wish to view a heat map of the locations used in the films.

Google Map of the World's Richest

2011-03-15T06:18:00.000Z

Forbes Board
The Mapize team has created a nice visualisation of the Forbes Rich List.

As you can see the visualisation includes a fully interactive Google Map showing the location of the world's billionaires. You can filter the map to show the richest and the 'poorest' billionaires.

Google Maps Mania's Sunday Best

2011-03-14T06:32:00.002Z

Marissa Mayer of Google this week revealed that 40% of Google Maps views were now on mobile devices. She also said that Google Maps mobile users had grown from 100 million in August 2010 to about 150 million mobile users.

With such an exponential growth of Google Maps users on mobile devices it is no surprise that Google Maps developers want to tap into that market.

This week's round-up of the best maps featured on Google Maps Mania once again is dominated by apps for the iPhone and Android phones. However I'm pleased to say we can start off with at least one desktop map.

Gramfeed

Gramfeed uses the Instagram API to present the best photos from Instagram and allows users to view their photos, a time-line of those they follow, read comments on photos and Tweet about photos and much, much more.

OpenSignalMaps

OpenSignalMaps is a great source for data about cell phone towers, cell phone signal strength readings, and Wi-Fi access points around the world. OpenSignalsMaps uses Google Maps to allow you to view the mobile signal strength for any location and view the locations of nearby towers for your carrier.

You can access OpenSignalMaps from your desktop but you should really download the app to your smart phone and help contribute to the collection of the data.

ToothTag

ToothTag is an app for Android phones that includes a number of very useful location services.

Using ToothTag it is possible to tag things and locations and receive notifications based on your proximity. For example you can tag where you have parked your car so that you can find it again without any problems. The application can also automatically check you in to a number of location based services, such as Foursquare or even alert you when friends are nearby.

Mobnotes

Mobnotes lets you share your location with friends, share your favourite places, search for venues around you and view other people in your vicinity. The application is available from the desktop and as an iPhone and Android app.

Earthquake Pictures & Videos Mapped

2011-03-13T07:20:00.003Z

NYT - Japanese Earthquake Map

This Google Map from the New York Times displays photographs of the havoc caused by yesterday's earthquake and tsunami. The map also contains information about locations affected by the quake.

YouTube Videos of the Japan Earthquake

Mibazaar has created a Google Map of geotagged YouTube videos of the Japanese earthquake. It is possible to view the videos from the map.

Japan Earthquake Photos

Google Earth Outreach have released this Google Map where anyone can share their photographs of the earthquake. The map has only just been created so, at the time of writing, no photographs have yet been added.

CNN - Earthquake Impact Map

CNN has put together a number of video reports, photos and stories about the Japanese earthquake on this Google Map.

Japan Earthquake Maps - Part Two

2011-03-13T07:20:00.001Z

Google Crisis Response Map

The Google Crisis Response team has produced a Google Map to show the locations of shelters in Japan and the evacuation area around the Fukushima nuclear plant.

The map also includes layers to show the epicentre of the earthquake and the location of the tectonic plates.

CNN - Earthquake Impact Map

CNN has put together a number of video reports, photos and stories about the Japanese earthquake on this Google Map.

National Data Buoy Center Map

The NDBC uses Google Maps to show buoys in 'event' mode. Using the map you can view the measurements of water height for the last 5 days.

Using the map you can view the effect of yesterday's tsunami across the Pacific Ocean.

Earthquake Tweet Map

Mibazaar has rolled out his Tweet response map for the Japan Earthquake. The map allows you to view the latest real-time news from Japan as posted to Twitter. The map shows the latest Tweets concerned with the earthquake.

Seismic Activity in the Last 7 Days

This Google Maps from MapLarge shows seismic activity over the last 7 days. The map markers are color-coded and sized to reflect the strength of activity at different locations.

Also See

Japan Earthquake Maps

HTML5 Styling of Google Maps

2011-03-13T07:19:00.002Z

Sparkgeo - Where Are You Demo

Sparkgeo has created a nice demo of an animated HTML5 radial gradient placed on top of a Google Map. The HTML5 canvas radial gradient adds a nice effect to the map and helps to focus the eye of the user on a particular location. However this won't work unless the user has a modern web browser (Internet Explorer users are likely to be disappointed).

Sparkgeo has even been kind enough to provide a tutorial on how the effect is created. Sparkgeo has also produced a tutorial on how to add labels to your map using the makerWithLabel.js extension, created by Gary Little, which can be found in the Google Maps Utility Library

To provide another demonstration of the gradient effect I've added it to this map of the London Blitz.

Japanese Earthquake Maps

2011-03-12T06:38:00.002Z

A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake has hit off the north-east coast of Japan causing a tsunami that has caused extensive damage. The earthquake struck about 250 miles from Tokyo and there have been powerful aftershocks.

Map from Earthquakes in the Last Week

Google has released a Person Finder for Japan. Using the application it is possible to search for information or add information for someone who may have been affected by the earthquake.

This Google Map shows the locations of impromptu shelters set-up to help with food, drink and blankets etc.

Temporary Shelters Map

The USGS has created a Google Gadget that allows you to view near real-time earthquake information. The gadget uses the Google Earth browser plug-in to show worldwide seismic hotspots.

Map from Real-time Earthquakes

In the USA the National Weather Service Forecast Office has issued a tsunami warning for the west coast of America.

NWSFO tsunami warning for the San Francisco / Monterey Bay area

Fusion Friday

2011-03-12T06:37:00.002Z

Newspapers in particular seem to have embraced Fusion Tables as the data backend for Google Maps.

In the UK The Guardian seems very keen on Fusion Tables, especially on its Data Blog. The Guardian's Data Blog is a great source for data and the paper itself often creates Google Maps of the data.

A good example is this Google Map showing the carbon emissions for public buildings in England and Wales. The energy performance of more than 40,000 schools, hospitals and government departments are shown on the map.

The Carbon Footprint of Public Sector Buildings

In the USA The LA Times and The Texas Tribune have both used Fusion Tables to create maps to report on the 2010 Census.

The LA Times has produced a Google Map to show the 2010 census counts by California’s congressional districts. The map shows how many residents the 53 congressional districts are above or below the target 702,905 population.

2010 Census Counts by California’s Congressional Districts

The Texas Tribune, on the other hand, has created this Google Map to visualise the Texas population by race and Hispanic origin. The map displays the totals for each district, with darker colours representing higher rates of total population growth by race or Hispanic origin.

Texas Population By Race, Hispanic Origin

Latitude Gurus Battle Foursquare Mayors

2011-03-11T06:59:00.001Z

Google Latitude

Google Latitude users can now earn offers when they use the service to check-in at different venues.

Google Latitude will reward users who regularly check-in to particular venues with 'Regular', 'VIP', or 'Guru' status. Your status at a particular venue could also earn you rewards in the form of offers that the venue has created for particular status levels.

For example, a cafe may give their Regulars a discount on a cup of coffee. You can find places where check-in offers are available in Google Maps for Android search results and Place pages. This means that you can check your Android phone for nearby offers before deciding which venues to visit.

Check-in offers are being launched in Austin this week but Google has plans to expand the service. You can learn more at google.com/mobile/checkin.

Via: Google LatLong

Co-Working with Google Maps

2011-03-11T06:58:00.004Z

Desktime

If you are looking for a desk or office from which to work or have spare desk space then you need Desktime. Desktime is a co-working search engine for Chicago and Austin (with presumably more cities on the cards).

Using the Desktime Google Maps based search engine you can search for a co-working space by location. The map includes a number of filters that let you search for properties with high speed internet, parking facilities, 24 hour access etc.

Loosecubes

Loosecubes is a website to find and share co-working spaces. Anyone who has a few extra desks or office space can use Loosecubes to rent the space.

If you are looking for a co-working office space you can use the Loosecubes Google Map to find a desk near your location. You can refine the results shown on the map to show properties that are available to rent by the day or those that require a minimum of a month. You can also refine the results to show 'open desks', 'private offices', 'conference rooms' or an 'event space'.

Share Your World with Google Maps

2011-03-11T06:57:00.005Z

Mobnotes

Mobnotes lets you share your location with friends, share your favourite places, search for venues around you and view other people in your vicinity. The application is available from the desktop and as an iPhone and Android app.

Google Maps is used extensively by Mobnotes. The home page features a real-time animated map of the latest check-ins made by users of Mobnotes. You can also use Google Maps to show your location and to view places/venues and other users nearby.

You can also use Mobnotes to let your friends know where you’ll be at a particular time. You can specify a location and inform your friends when you will be there using the Mobnotes 'Events' feature.

________________

Vilnius Property on Google Maps

2011-03-11T06:57:00.002Z

NT paieška

NT paieška is a nicely designed Google Maps mashup to search for real-estate in Lithuania.

Using the site it is possible to search for property in Lithuania by location, price and by the number of rooms. The search facility includes a handy slide-bar function that allows you to adjust the price range for your property search and for the number of rooms you are interested in.

The results of a property search are displayed on the map and listed in the map sidebar. If you mouse-over the results in the sidebar the location of the property is highlighted on the map. If you click on an individual property you will be taken to a page with the full details.

New Japanese Street View Imagery

2011-03-11T06:56:00.002Z

reet View trike has been out and about in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The new Street View imagery includes the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (the Atomic Bomb Dome)

Google have also added Street View imagery of the impressive Itsukushima Shrine, both at low tide and at high tide.

Itsukushima Shrine

Another new addition is, I think, the first Street View imagery of a baseball stadium on Google Maps.

The MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium, Hiroshima

Via: Google Japan Blog

Philippines Real-Estate on Google Maps

2011-03-10T06:31:00.002Z

Haybol - Real Estate Search

Haybol is a Google Maps based real-estate search engine for the Philippines.

Using the site's simple search feature it is possible to search for property by location and find nearby homes on a Google Map. It is also possible to view the results of a search in list form. The map includes buttons to filter the returned search results by rent, foreclosure or sale.

If you click on an individual map marker you can read the full details for the selected property, including the price and the seller's contact details.

New Zealand Walks on Google Maps

2011-03-10T06:30:00.008Z

New Zealand Walks Information

If there is one thing that New Zealand is not short of it is gorgeous countryside. If you fancy experiencing the best of New Zealand's spectacular glaciers, picturesque mountains and rolling hills then you should check out the nearly 3,000 walks mapped by New Zealand Walks Information.

All the walks can be accessed by location from the Google Map on the site's home page. You can select to view each individual walk on its own Google Map. The individual maps show the route of the walk, the distance and include an elevation profile.

Each walk also contains handy links to other walks nearby and their distance from your selected location.

Fusion Tables Google Maps Wizard

2011-03-10T06:30:00.005Z

FusionTablesLayer Builder

The FusionTablesLayer Builder is a great little wizard for creating a Google Map from a Fusion Table.

To build your map all you need to do is add the table id of your Fusion Table and specify the name of the column holding your location data. That's all there is to it! FusionTablesLayer Builder will now create the html for your finished map.

The wizard does provide a number of other useful options. You can set the height and width of your Google Map. You can also set the centre location and the initial zoom level.

A really nice option also lets you add a search box for your map or a drop-down menu. You can even specify which column of your Fusion Table the search box or drop-down menu will use.

Here's an example map I created with FusionTablesLayer Builder in a matter of minutes. The example is a map of temperatures taken around the UK in December.

Geo-Tag the World with Google Maps

2011-03-10T06:30:00.002Z

ToothTag

ToothTag is an app for Android phones that includes a number of very useful location services.

Using ToothTag it is possible to tag things and locations and receive notifications based on your proximity. For example you can tag where you have parked your car so that you can find it again without any problems. The application can also automatically check you in to a number of location based services, such as FourSquare or even alert you when friends are nearby.

ToothTag is built upon NeuAer's powerful Proximity Platform. The Proximity Platform is a lightweight client and hosted server side technology that allows mobile applications on Android devices to add presence events in their applications. The client can be used by Android developers to build their own automatic check-in services or present information to users based upon location.

Checkin Mania's Google Maps Widget

2011-03-10T06:29:00.002Z

Checkin Mania

Checkin Mania is a Google Maps mashup to track who is checking in around you using FourSquare, Gowalla, Brightkite and Twitter.

To browse a location you can use the search facility or you can just click on the map. The map will then display all the venues around you and show you who are the top users of that venue with the popular location based social media apps.

It is now possible to add a Chekin Mania map gadget to your own website or to your Google home page. You can adjust the height and width of the Checkin Mania gadget, you can also set a default location and select the services you want displayed (Foursquare, Gowalla, BrightKite or Twitter).

Gramfeed Adds Google Maps Search

2011-03-09T06:36:00.001Z

Gramfeed

Gramfeed, the excellent web application that showcases Instagram photos, has now added a Google Maps interface. Instagram is an iPhone application that allows users to share their photographs with friends and family.

Gramfeed uses the Instagram API to present the best photos from Instagram and allows users to view their photos, a time-line of those they follow, read comments on photos and Tweet about photos and much, much more.

Since Gramfeed launched it has been getting a lot of favourable press and I've been a frequent visitor to the site because it regularly features excellent photos taken using Instagram.

Every time I have visited Gramfeed, however, I have wondered why there is no way to browse the photographs by map. I was therefore over the moon when Gramfeed contacted me today to promote their new Google Maps based visualisation of Instagram photos.

Yes, that's right, using the Gramfeed map you can now search for the latest Instagram photographs by location.

International Women's Day on Google Maps

2011-03-09T06:35:00.002Z

Pegwoman

To celebrate International Women's Day it seems that Pegman has unfairly been given the day off work and Pegwoman has been told she has to fill in. If you look at Google Maps Street View today you will see that Pegman has been replaced with Pegwoman.

Join me on the Bridge

March 8th is the centenary of International Women’s Day. To celebrate the occasion people will be coming together on bridges all over the world, from the Millennium Bridge in London, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, to the Grand Barriere Bridge joining Rwanda and Congo.

Google is collaborating with Women for Women International on their 'Join me on the Bridge' campaign. Part of this collaboration includes this Google Map to help you find a bridge event near you.

Exploring with Videos & Google Maps

2011-03-08T11:08:00.003Z

VMAP

Exploring the world on Google Maps and being able to watch a video of the locations you discover is endlessly fascinating. One of the problems, however, of using the YouTube API to create a video map is that many of the geotagged videos on YouTube are of very poor quality.

VMAP have decided therefore to crowdsource video selection for their map of videos about places. Registered users of VMAP help organise the video collection by adding videos to the map, adding tags to existing videos, and voting on the ones that deserve better visibility. This ensures that the videos are representative of their location and of good quality.

Users of the map can browse the videos by location and by category. It is also possible to view the most recently added videos.

It's Match Day on Google Maps

2011-03-08T11:08:00.001Z

Google last week released some new Street View imagery captured by the Street View trike. Google Sightseeing have discovered that the trike visited the City of Manchester Stadium, home of English Premier League club Manchester City, on a match day.

The images seem to have been captured during the warm up for a game between Manchester City and local rivals Manchester United.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Manchester City's Italian manager Roberto Mancini, with his back to the camera and sporting his Man City blue & white scarf.

Electric Vehicles App with Google Maps

2011-03-08T07:26:00.005Z

Electric Vehicles App with Google Maps

Monday, March 07, 2011

PlugShare

I guess one of the biggest problems for an owner of an electric car is where to plug it in. PlugShare is an iPhone application for electric vehicles that can help drivers find places to charge their batteries.

The application uses Google Maps to show the nearby paid charging stations and also locations where you can recharge for free. The application itself is free from the App Store and looks like a must have app for any owners of electric vehicles.

Via: Techcrunch

View Cell Phone Coverage on Google Maps

2011-03-08T07:26:00.003Z

OpenSignalMaps

OpenSignalMaps is a great source for data about cell phone towers, cell phone signal strength readings, and Wi-Fi access points around the world. OpenSignalsMaps uses Google Maps to allow you to view the mobile signal strength for any location and view the locations of nearby towers for your carrier.

Using the map you can search by location and view a heat map of the signal strength for each of the carriers available in your area. You can select to view the data of individual carriers and quickly see how their local coverage compares. It is also possible to view the cell tower locations for each of your local mobile phone service providers.

The data for the map is collected from users of the OpenSignalsMaps Android application. Data from the downloaded apps is stripped of any identifying information.

Root Metrics

Root Metrics allows you to compare the signal strength of different mobile phone carriers at different locations in the United States. You can search a Google Map by zip code or address to find the strength of coverage at any location.

The Root Metrics Google Map allows you to compare the signal strength of different mobile phone carriers. The map shows you each carrier's aggregate grade and the carrier's voice and data strength.

The Root Metrics iPhone app allows you to view the data from your mobile phone. Users of the app also contribute to the accuracy of the data shown. Data from downloaded apps is collected anonymously to track each carrier's performance.

French Open Data on Google Maps

2011-03-08T07:26:00.001Z

État Civil Paris

Paris has created an open data portal called ParisData. Bluenove and Mapize have created a Google Maps mashup of the data for births, marriages and deaths in the 20 districts of the French capital for the years 2004 to 2009.

Using the map it is possible to view the number of births, marriages and deaths in each of Paris' districts. Visualising the data geographically presents some interesting results. For example, the number of deaths in the 15th arrondissement is far larger than in other districts.

Via: GeoinWeb

SIC

SIC is a Google Maps interface to explore open data from the French city of Rennes. Using SIC it is possible to select and view local points of interest on a map.

The application uses an interface optimised to be accessible from mobile phones. From the menu you can select from a number of points of interest, such as public buildings, parks, sports facilities and bike stands. It is also possible to view the points of interest by neighbourhood.

Crisis Mapping the Libyan Civil War

2011-03-08T07:25:00.003Z

Libya Crisis Map

The UN OCHA’s Information Management unit in Geneva has asked the CrisisMappers Standby Task Force to provide a live map of reports of the current crisis in Libya generated from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and mainstream media sources.

The CrisisMappers Standby Task Force was established in response to the Haiti earthquake. The Task Force partners include CrisisMappers, CrisisCommons, Humanity Road, ICT4Peace, Open Street Map and MapAction.

The Libya Crisis Map uses the Ushahidi crowdsourced crisis reporting system to map the latest news from Libya, as gleaned from social media and traditional news sources. The map has also pulled in the data collected by Arasmus, who has been using Google My Maps to map Twitter reports from Libya.

If you want to learn more about CrisisMappers the Standby Task Force blog is very informative.

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The Sunday Best of Google Maps

2011-03-08T07:25:00.001Z

Geographical applications and smartphones are a match made in heaven. It is no surprise then that this week's round-up of the best Google Maps mashups to feature on Google Maps Mania includes three smartphone apps.

First off, however, here's one for the desktop,

Wounded Rhymes

I think someone has passed a law that says when a singer or band release a new album they must promote it with Google Maps Street View.

Lykke Li is the latest singer to release a Street View app to help promote her new album. In this app you have to follow the directions to hear the next song on the album. Very clever!

Crowdbeacon

Crowdbeacon is a desktop and iPhone app that lets you ask location based questions of the crowd. For example, you could ask if there is anywhere to get good sushi nearby and get near real-time results.

Geoloqi

Geoloqi is an iPhone app with some great location sharing features. The features of Geoloqi include automatic Foursquare checkins and private real-time GPS tracking.

Perhaps Geoloqi's killer app is Geonotes. These let you add reminders at specific locations. For example, remind yourself to pick up milk and get the reminder when you pass the store.

Broadcastr

Broadcastr has created iPhone and Android applications that allow users to record geotagged audio stories. The recorded stories can then be browsed on a Google Map on the Broadcastr website.

Coupons on Google Maps

2011-03-06T06:17:00.001Z

Daily deal websites are very hot right now. Recently Google failed in its attempts to buy Groupon. However Bing has successfully launched a big partnership with long Google Maps Mania favourite Dealmap.

Dealmap uses Google Maps to display all the best local deals, coupons and special offers. You can search the map by location and refine the results by a number of categories, including restaurants, shopping, hotels etc.

Bing's partnership with Dealmap means that you will now see deals on the homepage of m.bing.com. Using the DealMap database you will see daily deals and offers geared towards your location.

Dealmap has certainly been very successful. ProgrammableWeb report that Dealmap currently has "85 million monthly visitors, 36 commercial distribution partners ... and more than 280 developers using its API." It also says that "more than 11 million API queries per day (are) being handled by the DealExchange platform."

Dealmap is not the only daily deal website to be using Google Maps. 8couponsalso uses Google Maps to help you find all the deals from your neighborhood restaurants, bars, salons, and stores.

Using 8coupons you can search for deals by location and by type of deal. Like Dealmap, 8coupons also provides a developer API that allows other map developers to tap into its coupon and deals database.

MetroSeeq also helps you visually locate coupons gift certificates, deals, promotions and discounts on a Google Map. The site works in every city in the U.S.. MetroSeeq includes an interesting crowdsoucing feature that allows users to add deals.

Couponmap also lets you search over 370,000 coupons by city, state or zipcode on a Google Map.

The Couponmap widget also allows you to add a deals map to your own website by cutting and pasting a short piece of code.

The Environmental Impact of Gas Extraction

2011-03-05T06:21:00.004Z

Fractracker DataTool

Fractracker is a web-based data tool for tracking and visualizing data related to gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region in the north-eastern U.S.. Using the tool it is possible to upload and visualise a number of data sets related to the Marcellus Shale region and the extraction of gas. Fractracker says to think of it as the 'Google Maps for gas extraction impacts'.

Using Fractracker it is possible to visualise the uploaded data sets on top of Google Maps. Fractraker is a great resource and tool for anyone interested in the environmental impact of gas extraction. The site already has a huge number of Google Map visualisations of the uploaded data. Here are just a couple:

Snapshot of Shale Plays in the U.S.
Shale Plays are geographic areas which have been targeted for exploration due to favorable geoseismic survey results for oil or gas. This Google Map shows the areas currently seen as Shale Plays in the United States.

Thickness of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania

A Google Map showing the thickness of the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania. The dataset shows the thickness in feet of the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania based on data released by Piotrowski and Harper, 1979.

Friday Fun with Google Maps

2011-03-05T06:21:00.001Z

Goldman Sachs Gets Reviewed

Some Google Maps reviews are more accurate than others.

Looking Into The Past Pictures

Historypin may have mastered the art of placing historical pictures on top of Google Maps Street View. Buzz Feed however have devised a more low-tech method of comparing historical photographs with the modern day.

This one has nothing to do with maps but I love these 75 shots of old photos manually placed over the same view today.

Isokron

Isokron are creating some great public transportation visualisations with Open Street Map. The video above shows the travel times in the French city of Rennes. It shows the travel times from the town hall in Rennes (using the subway and the bus) and how they evolve during a typical Monday.

If you want to see similar visualisations using Google Maps check out the magnificent Mapnificent

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Music Promo Street View Game

2011-03-04T06:11:00.001Z

Wounded Rhymes

Lykke Li is a Swedish artist whose new album 'Wounded Rhymes' is out this week.

To help launch the new album a cool Street View based application has been released. Using the app you can follow Lykke Li's path to places of emotional significance in her life with Google Maps Street View and Google Earth. On your journey you also get the chance to listen to Li's songs.

To find Lykke Li's path in the promotion you need to follow the directions indicated by a compass rose in Google Maps Street View. The compass points in the direction that you have to travel and the distance to travel is given in metres. When you arrive at the specified destination, by navigating with the normal Street View controls, you are rewarded with the video of a song from Lykke Li.

You are now ready to move onto the next destination. Press the 'Search for the next rhyme' button and you will be taken to the next Street View hunt. The application uses Google Earth to zoom you out of the current location and transport you to the next part of the game.

If you register you can even save your progress and come back another time to continue your journey.