September 23, 2009 – Anything Geospatial

You may have heard about the recently launched data.gov web portal – a resource from the Feds designed to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets. Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and typically held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets.

The site has a noticeable web2.0 flavor with numerous tools designed to help users share and communicate with others, for example, you’ll notice the AddThis tool is used, providing a quick way for users to share details of data they find via many social networks and social bookmarking tools. Additionally, links to share via facebook, Twitter, and via email are also provided. [Read more…] about Openness via Data.gov – Access A Wealth of Geospatial Data and a Cool ESRI SHP file Viewing Tool

What happens when you set out driving around in the summer and are thinking of an idea for a map? Well, naturally, as you approach the ever familiar golden arches you think to yourself…how about creating a map showing the closeness to your local McDonalds! That’s basically how this way cool map was inspired – enter The contiguous United States, visualized by distance to the nearest McDonald’s. The map shows some interesting spatial patterns like, East of the Mississippi if you crave a Big Mac then your in luck and likely don’t have to look to far, likewise, while on a major highway you likely won’t have to look to far to grab a Filet of Fish, however, as you head west you may have to log a few more miles before you have a chance to dip some McNuggets in your favorite sauce! Definitely an enjoyable mapping experiment and a pretty cool map as well! See the weather sealed blog for more details info on the McMapping Project {What I found cool was how the author managed to access the McDonlads geocoded dataset of 13,000+ location from http://www.aggdata.com/-nice!}