GIS, Maps, Geo and Location Technology by @gletham
An interesting mobile application from Alarmania… this app for Android mobile OS provides users with an alarm for their mobile that delivers live images from webcams in Whistler BC when set off. an interesting concept. the app is customizable and offered for free to users – see HERE
If you read this blog then you know that we’re huge fans of video to help convey your message – enter out Geo video pick of the day! An informative and useful video put together by ESRI’s Joseph Kerski (via ESRItv) describing the ESRI Mashup Challenge… Joe (Twitter @josephkerski) is an amazing Geo Tech evangelist and advocate of GIS K-12education – way to go Joe! Some details… Build an innovative mashup using ArcGIS Online and Web APIs for the chance to win one of four cash prizes. Learn more at http://www.esri.com/mashup
Seems that Buzz may have come and gone with not much of a buzz but rather a fizzle! Indeed it’s likely too early to decide, however, if initial comments floating around twitter are any indication, Buzz really didn’t offer up anything compelling at all to the early adopters. Apps like this are typically tested and picked up on by the web2.0 savvy techno-geeks – this was seen yesterday with buzz and the feedback really wasn’t that great. Overall, Buzz seems to build on Google’s Latitude, offering a location-centric user experience to users, the idea being that users share comments and even media (photos, video) with people around them (as well as with their Google contacts). A tip to users, prior to using Buzz check that your Google Latitude location privacy settings are set accordingly so you aren’t sharing too much location information.
For me the big issue is that I simply am not socially connected with my google contacts, actually, to be honest I really don’t have many google contacts and I’m hardly ever going to scrape my current facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter contacts and bombard them with Google connect invitations! On the plus side, the Buzz mobile experience was pretty decent and actually quite simple to use, however, it really left me wondering what would I use this for?? In my mind if Google wants to try and squash Twitter or facebook (good luck with that!) they need to exploit their acquisition of Jaiku and do something with that excellent social service… what ever happened to Jaiku?? See more at http://www.google.com/buzz
As usual, the mainstream media has been having a field day with Buzz, every tech mag and tech blog boasting about the amazing new service. Once again it seems that many of the so called “journalists” are sucking up to Google, promoting an “amazing new service” many of the articles seemingly written by people that likely have not even tested the service. One popular tech mag even described the service as “location-based social networking at its finest” – obviously a desperate effort to grab attention and precious SEO positioning to attract web traffic. Indeed Buzz could be a starting point and has potential (perhaps), however, to describe it as social networking at its finest at this point is totally insane! The success of Buzz will depend on the development of a great mobile client.
