New (Web 2.0) Toys

As part of my continuing fascination with maps - and justified by my professional 'need' to be on the bleeding edge of mashups and all things Web 2.0 - I've created a Platial mapkit, which is now visible in the blog's sidebar. The sidebar is a bit squishy, and some people may not like the pop-up widget, so here's the link to the original (larger) map at Platial.

I've started out by adding places we've been to recently / that are relatively nearby. Over time I'll try to dredge my memory for locations that are further away / in the distant past. One cool feature is the ability to embed images and url links, so the map and the photo blog are mutually referential. Platial also offers the ubiquitous Web 2.0 ability to add tags and comments. Since the images and stories were from specific times as well as places (duh - this is a travel blog), it would be great if Platial added a date field. For now I've put dates in the comments.

Click-drag the map to move around, hover over the pins to see where they are and a corresponding image. Clicking on a pin will open up a window with more info, where you can add comments too.

Back on the topic of user feedback (I told you I was using 'work' to justify this), unfortunately I find the Platial widget a little... ugly. Orange, while popular among the web crowd, is arguably my least favourite colour, and it clashes with the style of these blogs. Hopefully over time Platial will allow the user to tune the mapkit's colour scheme.

And props to Blogger, which allows one to hack around with things. It seems daft that Typepad charges hundreds of dollars per year to provide the same level of flexibility. Blogger is FREE!