The New York Times reports in an articleabout the success of Google Map Mash Ups, using the Google map interface and geographical data and annotating it with other information.
Why are people doing this?, asks the Times:
The flippant answer is also the honest one: because they can. Google has revealed the map-generating software, called an A.P.I., or application programming interface. (You can find it at www.google.com/apis/maps/.) And with that A.P.I., a programmer can create a mash-up by combining it with other data - like apartment listings on Craigslist, or demographic data from the United States census. The programming technique, itself a mash-up of programs, is also known as Ajax, for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
By opening the API, Google is unleashing a passion for visual interfaces. While they rest on geographic data, they are really laying social information on top of it and helping to create a community's picture of itself. This is hopefully only the beginning. Geography is one topography by which to measure social action. We need to explore the uses of the visual and graphical screen to make the rules, structures and values of our groups more manifest. That is the goal of the Visual Corporation project being spearheaded by David R. Johnson.
Comments