Comments on: Geocommons Makes it Easy for Anyone to Mashup Data & Maps

By: links for 2008-12-12 « NV Tek Lib

links for 2008-12-12 « NV Tek Lib — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:01:18 +0000

[...] Geocommons Makes it Easy for Anyone to Mashup Data & Maps » CogDogBlog (tags: data maps mashup tools visualation) [...]

By: Scott Leslie

Scott Leslie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:22:59 +0000

@alan and @andrew – it’s great to have another tool that can help with this, especially easier to use ones. FYI, I’d suggest ManyEyes is pretty good in this regards (though does have limits on the maps it can easily map against) but concede that using Google’s visualizations aren’t always for the faint of heart (though accessing through their spreadsheets is a real winner).

In any case, no sleight was intended, thanks for pointing to geocommons! And kudos to Andrew and “geocommons” for clearly being on the “cluetrain” – both in their awareness of the need for open map apis/data, but also for participating authenticately in the broader web dialogue. Breath of fresh air.

By: Andrew Turner

Andrew Turner — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:15:04 +0000

@Scott Leslie – as Alan pointed out, we’re foremost making the system very usable for non-experts to create potentially advanced geospatial maps.

And yes, in the end it’s about sharing data and tools doing what they do best. So being able to share common datasets, as well as outputs themselves – so imagine chaining a GIS Shapefile and Yahoo Pipes to a combined GeoCommons Maker! map to a ManyEyes chart visualization.

Map Cloning is definitely on the “upcoming”

By: Alan Levine aka CogDog

Alan Levine aka CogDog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:08:16 +0000

@Scott Leslie: I’ve not gone deeper in ManyEyes to know if they mashup data to maps. I think the advantage over the Google API is the lower technical threshold to use the site. Ultimately, what might be beneficial is people sharing more data sets (you know sharing?).

What is missing, I’d like to see is if I fnd your map, I’d like the option to use that as a starting map so I can make own derivative version. That would be cool.

By: Scott Leslie

Scott Leslie — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:41:08 +0000

I guess I will have to try Geocommons to see for myself, but I am not understanding the advantage of this over ManyEyes (http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/) or the Google visualization API (cf. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pCQbetd-CptGXxxQIG7VFIQ) . Is it because the data already exists and has been entered? Anyways, always good to have another one to check out.

By: Andrew Turner

Andrew Turner — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:59:30 +0000

Thanks for the feedback – very good points. (especially the text as image, that needs to be fixed asap!)

The data is provided by our team as well as the organizations and anyone. So currently it definitely reflects the type of people that have begun using the system and uploading data. Over time, we hope that everyone will contribute their data, as it makes the sharing and use of all this great geospatial data much easier.

We’re working on the embed code – the primary issue is to not make these maps too large when they are embedded in blogs and sites to bog down that site.

Please feel free to provide any other feedback. We’re busy at work on some major features as well as intermediary improvements.

By: Google MyMaps Now With RSS (= Easy Geoblogging « OUseful.Info, the blog…)

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:01:56 +0000

[...] for easy maps mashups, check out GeoCommons.com. The CogDog gives an eduview here: Geocommons Makes it Easy for Anyone to Mashup Data & Maps. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Confused About the Consequences023 Yahoo Pipes [...]