Alfredo Covaleda,
Bogota, Colombia
Stephen Guerin,
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
James A. Trostle,
Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
A new version of Flare, the data visualization toolkit for Actionscript (which means it runs in Flash), was just released yesterday with a number of major improvements from the previous version. The toolkit was created and is maintained by the UC Berkeley Visualization Lab and was one of the first bits of Actionscript that I got my hands on. The effort-to-output ratio was pretty satisfying, so if you want to learn Acitonscript for data visualization, check out Flare. The tutorial is a good place to start.
Here are some sample applications created with Flare:
The phrases “community journalism” and “convergence journalism” have been around for decades (in the case of the former) and at least 10 years in the case of the latter. For a long time, “community journalism” referred to the publishing of “…a small daily, 20,000 or less, or maybe a larger weekly or twice- or thrice-weekly.” And “convergence” most often talked about using various print and Audio/Visual media to deliver the same old reportorial product of traditional newspapers and broadcast.
Finally, some are starting to see that the real and much-needed “convergence” has to be implemented on the front-end of the reportorial process. Paul Niwa, at Emerson College, has done just that with some graduate students who created bostonchinatown.org. And we are grateful to Niwa for writing a “how and why we did it” piece for the current issue of the Convergence Newsletter.
Here's Niwa's lede, but do check out the entire piece:
“Community Embraces a Converged Journalism-Sourcing Project By Paul Niwa, Emerson College Boston’s Chinatown is one of the largest and oldest Asian American neighborhoods in the country. Yet, this community of 40,000 does not even have a weekly newspaper. Coverage of the neighborhood in the city’s metropolitan dailies is also weak. In 2006, The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald mentioned Chinatown in 78 articles. Only 16 percent of the sources quoted in those articles were Asian American, indicating that newspapers relied on information from non-residents to cover the neighborhood. With all this in mind, I created the bostonchinatown.org project as an experiment to build a common sourcebook for newsrooms.”
“Community Embraces a Converged Journalism-Sourcing Project
By Paul Niwa, Emerson College
Boston’s Chinatown is one of the largest and oldest Asian American neighborhoods in the country. Yet, this community of 40,000 does not even have a weekly newspaper. Coverage of the neighborhood in the city’s metropolitan dailies is also weak. In 2006, The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald mentioned Chinatown in 78 articles. Only 16 percent of the sources quoted in those articles were Asian American, indicating that newspapers relied on information from non-residents to cover the neighborhood. With all this in mind, I created the bostonchinatown.org project as an experiment to build a common sourcebook for newsrooms.”
O'Reilly Radar delivers an interesting update on Google Earth releasing an API embedded in your browser. What this means is that you can fire-up Google Earth directly from a browser, instead of having to open GE as a separate application. We haven't checked yet, but what this will mean is the potential for another perspective tab on the Google Maps menu.
Embed Google Earth In Your Site
Posted: 28 May 2008 05:43 PM CDT
The Google Earth Plugin was just released this morning (Radar post) and there is already a handy third-party tool available. This is unsurprising considering the general buzz at Google I/O. If you want to embed a 3D Google Earth Map in your site simply follow the directions below.
Browse to the TakItWithMe.com Google Earth Embedded Map Tool Paste in a Google Earth KML link or Google Maps MyMap link if you'd like to include an overlay Click on the 'Load Preview' button. If you did not provide a KML link, you will get a warning before you continue Use the Map Navigation Controls or your mouse to set the Google Earth viewpoint you’d like to be the default for your map Click on the 'Set Center and Zoom' Button Click on the 'Generate Embed Code' Copy the resulting code and paste it into your webpage or blog where you'd like the map to appear To create another map, simply refresh the page and start again
Browse to the TakItWithMe.com Google Earth Embedded Map Tool
I am sure that embedding will be available as soon as Google integrates GE into their main site. While this is something Google hasn't committed to, I think we can assume it will happen. This release of the plugin is Windows only. Michael Jones, CTO of Google Earth, stated that Mac and Linux plugins will be available by August. I assume that Google will wait for those releases before the integration happens.
I met the developer via Frank Taylor at Google I/O. Frank actually has an embed in his post — I don't have windows on this machine so I can't test before embedding a sample on Radar.
Google Earth Escapes the Client and Comes to the Browser
Posted: 28 May 2008 02:49 PM CDT
Google's 3D data has escaped the client and is now a welcome addition to the browser! Today at Google I/O a Google Earth Browser plugin is going to be released. With the plugin installed anybody with a Windows machine will be able to view Google Earth mashups in the comfort of their own browser instead of having to pull up a separate client.
This release does not change Google Maps, the mapping site on Google's domain; it will not be serving up Google Earth imagery (yet). This release does not change all Google maps mashups into Google Earth Mashups. Instead the plugin enables developers to offer Google Earth imagery to their users very easily. I think it is notable that this is being offered to developers first. Why developers first? For one the plugin is being released at Google I/O, Google's developer conference. I think that we should expect many developer-only treats today and tomorrow. Second, mashups can really help with distribution and help gain mindshare with those who don't make it to Google's sites on their own.
As Paul Rademacher, the creator of the first mashup (Housingmaps.com) and the technical lead on the project, pointed out to me during a call last week “The goal, apart from opening up Google Earth, is to bring Earth to the user. You can't help but see Google maps when you surf now you'll also see Google Earth.” The final reason, I am sure, is to keep Google's main mapping site clean. Google Maps has had a lot of features added lately; they will need to spend some time figuring out a 3D UX.
Here are some sample apps for you to try out. You will be prompted to download the plugin:
On the call Paul and Google Earth Product Manager Peter Birch pointed out some of the technical features of the plugin. The Firefox and IE plugins enable a Javascript API, very similar to the existing Google Maps API, that enables the imagery, camera titling, new controls, and 3D models (importable from Sketchup and websites). Developers will be able to use KML to instruct the API. Mouse events are available for all features and the default behavior can be overridden. Google's Sky imagery is also available and can be accessed programatically. Developers can create an events window for their application that renders 100% full HTML for the browser you are in.
The plugin enables the latest Google Earth features (release 4.3) including “Photo-realistic buildings from cities around the world”, “Dawn to dusk views with the Sunlight feature”, ” and “Swoop navigation from outer space to street-level” (this was incredibly smooth when I tried it). Developers will be able to toggle the buildings on and off (the screenshot above has them on – wow, they rival VE's latest work, Radar post).
Using the plugin was very cool and fun. I have always enjoyed swooping around the world. I almost never fire up Google Earth unless I m specifically researching something for it. I think that I will use the client even less, but will use the Google Earth data even more. They have a packed an amazing amount of functionality into a browser plugin.
The “battle” between Google and Microsoft is closest at the mapping front. Both are spending amazing amounts of money collecting imagery and data (Radar post). Up till now Google had ceded the 3D space in the browser to Microsoft. This is a strong shot across the 3D bow. Both Virtual Earth and the GE Plugin are Windows only — right now. Mac support is coming from Google (I didn't ask about Linux, but I can't imagine that Google would exclude the developer-centric platform). Virtual Earth on the other hand was implemented with a C# plugin and has never said that they will release a version that supports Macs. As a mashup developer which 3D platform would you choose? I'll bet for most it will be the one that supports all comers. I hope the GE Plugin helps push the VE team towards supporting the Mac.
Paul Rademacher, the technical lead, will be giving a session on the Google Earth Plugin today at 3PM2PM. The session is currently entitled Map Mashups Session — are there any other coyly titled sessions? Good chance there are releases associated with them. I'll be at Moscone Center today and tomorrow. If you're at Google I/O, say hi.
Update: Paul has posted on the Google Lat-Long blog. Frank Taylor has two posts over on the Google Earth Blog.
Screenshot from the Milk Truck game. The truck is out of view on the side of Mt Everest.
Screenshot from the Maps API sample app; look at those controls; they are very well-done.
Directions Magazine reports:
Podcast: ESRI and Google Offer New Solutions for Finding and Using Geospatial Data At last week's Where 2.0 conference held in Burlingame, California, Google's John Hanke and ESRI's Jack Dangermond shared the stage to describe their updated vision for making ESRI's users' geodata and services more usable across the Web. Our editors describe the key points in this technological and business handshake and explore its implications.
Nathan, at FlowingData.com, passed along this interesting posting from the guys at Everyblock We think it hints at an interesting point of maturity in the evolution of JAGIS (i.e. Jounalism and GIS). That is, publications will want to start differentiating themselves from online and print competitors by design and look-and-feel attributes. That means NO just using Google Map mash-ups.
Rolling Out Your Own Online Maps and Graphs with HTML/CSS
Wilson Miner and Paul Smith, two co-founders of Everyblock, post tutorials and a little bit of their own experiences rolling out their own maps and creating graphs with web standards.
Paul gets into the mechanics of how you can use your own maps discussing the map stack – browser UI, tile cache, map server, and finally, the data. My favorite part though was his reasons for going with their own maps:
Ask yourself this question: why would you, as a website developer who controls all aspects of your site, from typography to layout, to color palette to photography, to UI functionality, allow a big, alien blob to be plopped down in the middle of your otherwise meticulously designed application? Think about it. You accept whatever colors, fonts, and map layers Google chooses for their map tiles. Sure, you try to rein it back in with custom markers and overlays, but at the root, the core component—the map itself—is out of your hands.
Because it's so easy to put in Google Maps instead of make your own (although it is getting a little easier), everything starts to look and feel the same and we get stuck in this Google Maps-confined interaction funk. Don't get me wrong. Google Maps does have its uses and it is a great application. I look up directions with it all the time, but we should also keep in mind that there's more to mapping than bubble markers all in the color of the Google flag.
Remember: a little bit of design goes a long way.
Wilson provides a tutorial for horizontal bar charts and sparklines with nothing but HTML and CSS. Why would you want to do this when you could use some fancy graphing API? Using Everyblock as an example, data visualization can serve as part of a navigation system as opposed to a standalone graphic:
Sometimes the visualization isn't at the center of attention.
Make sure you check out Everyblock, a site that is all about the data in your very own neighborhood, to see these maps and graphs in action.
An interesting blurb today in Directions Magazine. It had asked readers:
Final results of the current poll (85 respondents) show that even mapophiles prefer a text front page for news. The poll asked, “How often do you use mapping interfaces to the news, such as Google Earth's new layer of New York Times stories or MetaCarta's GeoSearch News?”
Significance? We're not sure, but it might help comprehension if there were more thumbnail maps “printed” with many stories.
Nathan at FlowingData sends this along….
H. G. Wells on Quantitative Thinking
Posted: 11 Apr 2008 03:32 AM CDT
H.G. Wells, Mankind in the Making, 1904
We have long been fans — and users — of the research tutorials created by the good folks in the UC Berkeley library. This item below from The Scout Report reminds me of that work and why I like it so much. You, too, might find it a helpful link for your training efforts.
UC Berkeley Library's Congressional Research Tutorials [Macromedia Flash Player] http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/wikis/congresearch/ Making a clear and direct path through the vast amount of Congressional materials can be quite a chore, even for the most seasoned and experienced researcher. Fortunately, the University of California at Berkeley Library has created these fine Congressional tutorials. Designed to help users locate materials both online and in the library, these tutorials are in the form of short Flash-enabled videos. Most of the tutorials last about two minutes, and they include “Find a Bill”, “How Do I Contact My Representative?”, “Find Congressional Debate”, and “Find a Hearing”. After viewing one (or more) of these tutorials, users can also make their way to the “What's going on in Congress right now?” area to stay on top of the various activities of this important legislative body. [KMG]
http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/wikis/congresearch/
Making a clear and direct path through the vast amount of Congressional materials can be quite a chore, even for the most seasoned and experienced researcher. Fortunately, the University of California at Berkeley Library has created these fine Congressional tutorials. Designed to help users locate materials both online and in the library, these tutorials are in the form of short Flash-enabled videos. Most of the tutorials last about two minutes, and they include “Find a Bill”, “How Do I Contact My Representative?”, “Find Congressional Debate”, and “Find a Hearing”. After viewing one (or more) of these tutorials, users can also make their way to the “What's going on in Congress right now?” area to stay on top of the various activities of this important legislative body. [KMG]
Last week we had the opportunity to participate in a symposium honoring Phil Meyer, Knight Chair of Journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel. About 30 journalism educators, practitioners and former students of Phil's spent the better part of two days kicking hard on the topic “”Raising the Ante: The Internet's Impact on Journalism Education and Existing Theories of Mass Communication.”
Kathleen Frankovic, director of surveys for CBS News, used the symposium as the basis for her column last week at cbsnews.com. The column (not quite a blog) is called “Poll Positions” (about public opinion, polls and the process of conducting and reporting them). Here is her column's link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/02/opinion/pollpositions/main3988828.shtml
Kathy's column makes reference to something we wrote on the topic of the future of polling. That short paper, but with all of its hyperlinks, can be found at “Are We Researching How To Do Research?”
On Thursday night Phil gave a short speech at a dinner attended by the participants and his family. In “Something strange and possibly dangerous,” he highlighted that change is not coming, it is here, and that all of us have to change out thinking and practices if democracy is to survive.
“We need to turn our conversation toward an economic theory of journalism. We need to apply existing theory to understanding the processes and effects of the new media. We need to learn how to sell enlightened understanding to the public so that it can preserve its democratic values. The synergy of mass media and mass production is gone, probably forever. Something strange – and possibly dangerous — is taking its place.”
Strange and dangerous and something most exciting.
Increasingly, we find ourselves working on various workgroup projects here at the IAJ. And increasingly our project colleagues are widely scattered. Today, for example, we will be communicating with folks in Santa Fe, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba and one guy who is attending a conference, possibly somewhere in the Ohio River Valley. We've have been using PBWiki for much of this work, but sometimes one just needs to literally see the other guy's digital desktop.
A report today from the always-helpful Internet Scout points us to:
http://www.teamviewer.com/download/index.aspx
If you are working with a friend on a joint project and he is in Houston and you are in Shanghai, what do you do? You could take a glance at TeamViewer, a program that allows for desktop sharing and file transfer. Visitors just need to run TeamViewer on both machines and the program can also be used to create and display presentations. This version is compatible with computers running Window 95 and newer.
