A Small Guide to Mapicurious

As we travel around at Mapicurious, we need efficient ways to create maps on the site - and quickly share points of interest.

Here is our guide to how we do it:

1. We have Twitter and Foursquare accounts. We can tweet and checkin from places around the city during our data collection. These geotagged apps simplify collection of known places like restaurants and bars.

2. We use our Around Mapicurious app for iPhone (available on Android as well). This lets us know what we have already mapped. No reason to add duplicate points.

3. What's in our bag today? iPhone 3GS and Garmin Colorado 400t. We take advantage of the lower resolution camera on the iPhone, versus carrying the N95 8GB. For quick mapping, these tools are the best.

4. We use the Foursquare and Twitter mapping methods to get a map, and use our other tools (Garmin and iPhone) to enhance the location data. It can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes to create a complete map.

5. Once in Mapicurious, we can easily expose our map data to:

a. The Mapicurious.com site.
b. Google Earth for detailed analysis.
c. Our Garmin nuvi for road trips.
d. GeoRSS to add into a few random GPSes we have laying around the place. (Sometimes we get bored too.)
e. Layar AR browsing app on the iPhone.
f. OpenStreetMap because we see value participating in the larger geo community.

And now you know.

Maps

Mapicurious now on Layar

Need to find Mapicurious points of interest in an augmented reality world?

Mapicurious just published a layer on the Layar platform. Add it to your phone by searching for Mapicuriosities, and have fun.

Thanks,

Maps

Step 3: Make your business show in Google Earth

Have you seen Google Earth?

Google Earth lets a user cruise in the air over the entire world seeing details such as terrain and 3D buildings. Many businesses have listings inside of Google Earth to help customers spot their locations.

And some others take extreme measures:

A few months ago I noticed a large bullseye on top of a building. If you guessed this was a Target retail store, then you get the prize. It probably cost them a substantial sum to paint that bullseye, but everyone will definitely know it houses a Target store.

You probably are not that lucky:

1. Your rooftop may be shared with other businesses.
2. Your rooftop may not be very big.
3. You may not be legally allowed to paint on top of the roof.
4. Your logo is not a bullseye.

So what could give you the same benefits with no cost?

Storing a file on your web server that essentially does the same. We've included the code to copy, change, and save on your on server. You may even place a link to it to help people spot you in Google Earth.

Below is KML or GML - the language of Google Earth:

Copy and paste the contents into a file labeled - YourBusinessName.kml

Look for the [square brackets]. Replace with your information. Remember to get rid of those square brackets when you are done.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://earth.google.com/kml/2.2">
<Document>
<name>[The Name of Your Business]</name>
<Style id="sn_shopping">
<IconStyle>
<scale>1.2</scale>
<Icon>
<href>http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/shopping.png</href>
</Icon>
<hotSpot x="0.5" y="0" xunits="fraction" yunits="fraction"/>
</IconStyle>
<ListStyle>
</ListStyle>
</Style>
<Style id="sh_shopping">
<IconStyle>
<scale>1.4</scale>
<Icon>
<href>http://maps.google.com/mapfiles/kml/shapes/shopping.png</href>
</Icon>
<hotSpot x="0.5" y="0" xunits="fraction" yunits="fraction"/>
</IconStyle>
<ListStyle>
</ListStyle>
</Style>
<StyleMap id="msn_shopping">
<Pair>
<key>normal</key>
<styleUrl>#sn_shopping</styleUrl>
</Pair>
<Pair>
<key>highlight</key>
<styleUrl>#sh_shopping</styleUrl>
</Pair>
</StyleMap>
<Placemark>
<name>[The Name of Your Business]</name>
<LookAt>
<longitude>[Enter your longitude value here. Probably negative if you are in the US.]</longitude>
<latitude>[Enter your latitude value here.]</latitude>
<altitude>0</altitude>
<range>156086.0671498432</range>
<tilt>0</tilt>
<heading>-1.107010360583494</heading>
</LookAt>
<styleUrl>#msn_shopping</styleUrl>
<Point>
<coordinates>[Enter your longitude value here. Probably negative if you are in the US.],[Enter your latitude value here.],0</coordinates>
</Point>
</Placemark>
</Document>
</kml>

Where could you take this?

Think about expanding your location with a polygon to outline your property or space. Enhance by building a 3d storefront using Google SketchUp.

Enjoy,

Maps

New Printable Maps at Mapicurious

Ever needed to print one of our maps, and take it with you on your travels?

We definitely wished we could print a neat map to help us find some of our historical points of interest among other locations.

So we built a printable map.

Find the "Print This Map" link on any map to get the printable view.

Check out a couple of examples:

Social Circle, GA
Battle of Antietam - USA Battle Markers Volume 1

Thanks,

Maps

New Twitter Integration at Mapicurious

We have two new ways to use Mapicurious together with Twitter:

1. Map makers can broadcast a link to their maps by using the Share on Twitter link. Mapicurious generates a standard update to Twitter that you can edit before updating your followers. Here's a sample:

Check out my map on Mapicurious: A Random Walk Around Rochester New York http://www.mapicurious.com/maps/23

2. Any map user can click the Share on Twitter link for each location. Mapicurious generates a standard update to Twitter that you can edit before updating your followers. Here's another sample:

Found @Mapicurious - Nick Tahou Hots II on map http://www.mapicurious.com/maps/23

So tweet away! And if you are not already following @mapicurious - here is your invitation.

Thanks,

Maps

Great Christmas Lights Map - Start the Season off right!

We are excited to see the 2008 Bay Area CA Christmas Lights map on Mapicurious.com. Great details and shots for each one of these electric tributes. Thanks to user Regenegade for creating this map.

You have to check it out:

2008 Bay Area CA Christmas Lights

This information will be searchable on the mobile and Dash Mapicuriosities applications later today.

If you have a map idea, it is easy to register and create Christmas lights maps or any other map - and download them to your GPS.

Thanks,

Maps

Mapicurious becomes social with Google Friend Connect

We make maps for people at Mapicurious.com.

These people can view the map on Mapicurious, can download the points to their own GPS, view the points on their Dash GPS, access the points on your mobile phone, view the map in Google Earth, explore zoomable panoramas from Gigapan....and now interact with other Mapicurious users with Google Friend Connect.

Hope you enjoy the experience.

Thanks,

Maps

Step 2: Add your Lat Lng to Your Register Receipts

The other day I found a receipt from a trip to Tokyo, Japan. If you have ever been to Tokyo before (especially if you do not speak the language) you know how confusing it can be to find locations.

Well this merchant placed their location's coordinates right on the receipt, where we would normally find the telephone number. What a great idea!

Here's why:

1. As a customer, I can program these coordinates into my mobile phone or GPS device and always have your exact location handy without the trouble of geocoding.

2. As a business traveler, I can reconstruct where I spent my expense account dollars. Which might reveal what I purchased when my memory is fuzzy.

3. As a tourist, I can easily map what I visited.

4. Even as a foreigner who cannot speak or read Japanese, I could tell you where I bought this really cool electronic gadget.

So on any available line on your receipt, program your cash register to output your latitude and longitude along with the important information from Step 1.

Thanks,

Maps

Step 1: Prepare your locations' listing data

At the very least a listing should include common locative information. Here is your checklist:

1. The latitude and longitude of your store's front door location. Why the front door? Many times your address might be 1500 Main Street Suite 221, and the shopping center is a small city, the parking lot is huge, and your storefront is a needle-in-the-haystack.

It is one thing to be on the property, and another to be inside your location.

Locative technologies are supposed to save you time, and knowing how to get within 10 feet of your front door is key. Your next customer could be using his/her cell phone to pinpoint your location.

2. Local phone number - If you forget the address (assuming you already supplied the latitude and longitude) a phone number is all you need. Remember - most of your customers carry a cell phone.

3. Your street address - You can try this on any PND - type in your store address, and let the PND navigate you to your store. You might be surprised to find out the address alone could be off a significant distance.

An address can be converted to coordinates by "geocoding", however this is an estimate of your location only. Double check the address by plotting your address with Google Earth.

4. Your website URL - Hopefully you have some ways to engage your customers here, but since Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) are more connected (think cell phones) this is critical information about your business that might not be able to list on the GPS.

Supply a mobile optimized site, not your multimedia heavy regular dotcom site.

5. Description - Break down your location into discreet bites of information:
- 1 sentence for what you do (sell new and used sports equipment cheap)
- 1 for particulars on your location (far left of Park Lane Shopping Center)
- best days and time to shop (open M-F 9a-5p, closed the entire month of December, etc)

This should be enough for a good listing. Did we forget anything?

Is your business under-represented?

Do you own a personal navigation device or PND (Think Garmin, Magellan, Mio, TomTom, or your gps mobile phone)?

Conduct a point of interest search and notice Starbucks, Subways, and McDonalds are easy to find. How about your own business, where is it listed?

Where it ranks on the list may determine whether a PND guided user finds Subway over your location.


Typically GPS hardware/software manufacturers license these business based POIs from NAVTEQ, TeleAtlas, or the like. These providers are always looking for unique, local results - and it is much easier to collect POIs 1000 at a time. Some of you may have working SEO programs to help web searchers find you, but what about strategies to help people find you in the real world using PNDs?

If you have 1000+ locations I doubt you are reading this blog. Companies like NAVTEQ, TeleAtlas, and MapQuest have probably already reached out to you. So as a smaller operator how do you make your business stand out in the searchable list on a PND?

We at Mapicurious want to give you ideas for marketing your business via personal navigation device in a multi-part series.

For starters let us introduce a definition:

Personal Navigation Device (PND) - Software and hardware to receive a location and guide the user between two points in the physical world. You know these as Garmins, Magellans, Dashes, Mios, and Navigons. You should know that Nokias, iPhones, and Blackberrys fall into this category as well.

It is very possible that the customer in your store now has one of these.

Second, let's prepare a few answers to critical questions making your business stand out?

1. How many times have you felt your location is a disadvantage compared to your customers?

2. Do customers mention they had difficulty finding a location of yours?

3. How much is it worth if a customer finds your location on their PND with an attractive amount of information, and bypass your competitors to visit?

4. Ask your friends and customers, what brand of PND they have.

We'll use these answers in the next installment.

Thanks,

Maps

My locations are not showing on my map!

To improve performance of the site, many things are kept in memory to speed retrieval.

This presents a small issue for the Map Makers who are actively entering data on Mapicurious, but make it faster for users of the map.

If you are seeing this on your map, just be patient and refresh your browser.

Thanks,

Maps

Demo of Mapicurious on the Dash GPS

Mapicurious on Your Blackberry?

That's correct! Through our friends at Where.com, you can access Mapicurious to search for points around you and add points directly to your map.

Follow the steps outline on our Blackberry page.

Thanks,

Maps

Mapicurious Gear at CafePress.com

We've heard what you have been asking for...so we've created some Mapicurious logo wear for Map Makers to spread the word.

And for those of you that send me an email, I'll create special items just about your map so you can advertise your own work.

Go to the Mapicurious store

Thanks,

Maps

What is an Anchor City?

When you create a map on Mapicurious, you are asked to choose an Anchor City. What is the significance of an Anchor City?

An Anchor City is a major destination or a well-known central point that most travellers can relate to. Larger cities like Los Angeles, London, New York might have many smaller Anchor Cities to choose from. Selecting the Anchor City that is closest is best for other users to find your map.

By default a map will center on a random location, so the Anchor City might not be the center of your map. If you desire that focus on your Anchor City, try zooming out on the map.

If you would like to add a city as an Anchor City, contact me.

Thanks,

Maps

How easy can maps be to make?

That is a question I've tried to answer for years, and I'm not sure the map making process can be made any easier.

A Map Manager has to formulate an idea, gather the data, and present the data in the context of the map. Accuracy is most important, as I've "not been on a digitized route" many times on inaccurate maps.

The first step is to develop your content idea. Look to your hobbies, interests, and your travels for inspiration. If this is your first map create one about the area you live.

Otherwise pick a location, event, or theme to center your map around. Having a clearly focused map helps you organize and prioritize data. And now you need to collect your information.

Write a short description of the map topic. On Mapicurious you will want to use this as the Map Description. You might also think of keywords for your map, based on your description. This "tagging" helps other Mapicurious users find your map via search or via navigation links.

Happy mapping,

Maps

No Locations Yet!

I've seen a handful of great idea maps, but no locations are visible. Don't let this happen to you!

If you have any trouble adding locations - let us know. We are more than happy to help. You never know, but you might have found a trouble spot on Mapicurious.

Thanks,
Maps