Anything Geospatial

GIS, Maps, Geo and Location Technology by @gletham

Archives for March 2, 2012

Facebook Timeline for Brands and Pages – A closer Look and Implications

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You likely heard that this week Facebook finally rolled out the Timeline feature for Corporate Brand Pages – essentially the “Page” equivalent of the familiar Timeline view that you’ve likely become familiar with. I promptly converted our own GISuser Page (facebook.com/GISusers) to Timeline and started snooping around. Overall I’m not really a huge fan of Timeline. I find the overall look to feel a little more cluttered, although the large banner image feature is sort of cool (people love photos and images) ,  and the Admin panel is kind of handy. Besides these features though I have to wonder, why would any brand be excited about timeline? I’m still on the fence about the merits of a chronological fb page, however, thanks to my friend @whatleydude for pointing me to an interesting Slideshare that helps to provide some answers. Enjoy the slideshare… What’s your take on Timeline for Pages? Feel free to ping me @gletham or on facebook – see this slideshow on slideshare

Facebook Timeline for Brands | Changes & Hidden Implications

View more presentations from Social@Ogilvy

Real Time GPS Tracking Maps of B.C. Ferries via Microsoft Virtual Earth @BCFerries

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OpenGov, transparency etc… it’s all the rage! Here in B.C, Canada the coastal Ferry system is a crucial service for locals, particularly for those of us that live and work on Vancouver Island (home to more than 600,000+ people). The Ferry system is run by what’s called a Crown Corporation, tough to describe but essentially a Government owned and operated service that is run like a private business and is not really as open or accountable to the people as a Government entity. BC Ferries has been very proactive as far as social media goes and has had some great success using Twitter and other services to communicate information to the public. And so I was impressed to notice that the BC Ferry system serves up real-time GPS tracking of their fleet on their website. A good move and indeed a no-brainer since all the Ferries are equipped with sophisticated navigation and GPS capabilities.

Having access to Ferry location is valuable to the locals, particularly in the winter months when weather can really mess with the schedules… kudos to the service for sharing the maps and for Tweeting about it! FYI, you can follow BC Ferries on Twitter @BCFerries – See also the website vessel tracking page HERE

Tracking maps for all routes show real-time vessel positions, speed and direction

Mouse over the ferry icon to get more details info

The Road ahead from Stephen Elop, Nokia Location Services, asks Who, What, Where?

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From MWC this past week in Barcelona, NOKIA CEO Stephen Elop used aPR event to discuss the year in review and then break into what would be in store from Nokia in 2012 including news devices and details of Nokia maps and Nokia’s Location Services move. Recall, at the event in 2011 Elop focused on the new Nokia / Windows Phone deal with Microsoft. This year was different though, with Nokia announcing 4 new smartphones, 3 running Windows Phone OS and one big surprise in the PureView 808 device which is running Symbian OS – And indeed, Elop did make references to Symbian and indeed you can rest assured that Symbian is far from dead! Symbian S40 is a growing ecosystem and an important play for Nokia – developers need to keep an eye open on this space for sure.

Elop then couldn’t help but discuss Nokia and Location Services, obviously an important area. The new Nokia maps boasts 50X more places, users can save and share favorite spots Nokia drive turns Lumia into a navigation device while the very cool Nokia Public Transport helps people get around. Elop commented how this was just the beginning of Nokia + LBS – “Our vision for LBS is so much broader… 3 questions guide us.. what, where, who?”

  • What – what do I want to know
  • Who – with whom do I engage
  • Where – should I explore

Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO

Elop on stage at Mobile World Congress 2012 Press Event

He explained, the Internet answers what and who, social networks provides the who and the social graph while Nokia will answer the where by building a Where location platform – hint!

SEE MORE HERE – The Road ahead, Nokia Location Services, asks Who, What, Where?

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