This document discusses different methods for geolinking web content, including using Google Maps and Earth, geotagging metadata, microformats, and extending XML formats like RSS and XHTML. It provides examples of implementing geolocation metadata using methods like HTML meta tags and microformats to embed latitude and longitude or place data directly into web pages. The document also explores tools and APIs for visualizing and interacting with geolocated content and repositories, as well as design considerations for maintainability and end-user value.
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IWMW 2007: Geolinked Institutional Web Content
1. Geolinking content
Patrick H. Lauke / Institutional Web Management Workshop 2007 / York
Experiments in connecting virtual and physical places
2. Outline
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Google Maps and Google Earth
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Geo metadata for web sites/pages
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Flickr - now also for non-geeks
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Microformats
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Extending XML
3. Google Maps and Google Earth
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What's happening at institutional level at
Salford?
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Early prototype for campus map (Jan 2005)
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On ice (beta) since then, but now being
revived
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http://www.salford.ac.uk/travel/google_map/
18. geourl.org - but is it useful?
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On its own, use is quite limited
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Not really aimed at end user - just the
geeks?
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Interface not intuitive
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Relies on sites being tagged and submitted
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However...
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Good data repository (while it's up)
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Can output RSS ... transformable / mash-
up-able
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Some sites added the META, which can be
19. Transformers...
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Converting RSS (an XML format) into KML
(another XML format)
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XSLT - powerful and standardised
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http://www.splintered.co.uk/experiments/77/
22. Still fairly niche...
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...but imagine the possibilities
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pages/sites with standardised geo META
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repository for this information (harvested?)
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XML output and transformation
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Google Earth, Google Maps, etc for end
user presentation
23. ICBM/geo.location data for end-users?
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Early experimentation with Firefox extensions
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Detect META in current page
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Make data useful to end-user
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http://www.splintered.co.uk/experiments/71/
26. Beyond browser extensions
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Making the META information useful does not
have to happen at browser extension level
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Could build a web-based tool/script:
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Pass it your URL
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Have the user sent to relevant map
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Important bit: your geo data is embedded in
your page's HEAD, not in a separate file
27. Flickr - now also for non-geeks
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Good example of end-user friendly geolocation
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Used to be niche: hand-tagging images
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Now with WYSIWYG functionality
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With certain cameras/phones: no end-user
involvement necessary
31. Flickr + Google Maps + ...
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Geotagged photos can be put to use
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http://www.flickr.com/services/api/
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Mash-up with campus map? UK-wide map?
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Flickr as repository is extensible
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Machine tags - roll your own mash-up
friendly categorisation
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http://www.revish.com -
book:isbn=XXXXXXX
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For universities ... institution code?
34. Why microformats?
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Jeremy Keith http://adactio.com/ : 'Your page
becomes your API' - geo data not in a
separate file
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Can be piped through a script to extract data
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PHP5 - http://allinthehead.com/hkit/ (only
vcard microformat at the moment, but
extensible)
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If using XHTML - could use XSLT
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Firefox 3.0 to support microformats natively (in
the meantime, there's Operator)
35. Extending XML
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By definition: eXtensible Markup Language
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Geolocating RSS feeds
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http://georss.org/
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http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/
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XHTML (sent as application/xhtml+xml) + Geo
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etc
36. Some sort of conclusion?
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Considerations on how geo data is stored:
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In a separate file (KML)?
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As part of your page (META, microformat,
other)?
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On a 3rd
party site (Flickr)?
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How maintainable is it?
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What's the value to the end-user?
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Browser tools
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Site tools
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