For our last class

Next week your final projects are due!

You’ll be doing three things for the projects:

1) The project itself. If you’re building something that resides on the web, please paste a link to the comments of this post, and that’s handed in. If it’s a keynote-based mockup or some other non-web entity, I will need a copy that I’ll transfer onto a flash drive.

2) A presentation. This should explain and introduce your idea, as well as your process of creation. You should have at least two slides for this section. After the introduction, you will give a brief walkthrough/demo/show-n-tell. TOTAL TIME for the presentation and walkthrough should not exceed five minutes.

3) A report. This should cover the motivation behind the idea, how the idea fits into a broader mobile landscape, the development of the concept and the product, and a narrative walkthrough of the final thing. The report should be around 800 words.

Come to class prepared to present, and will all the pieces!

ps. Don’t forget your mobile blog!!!

grade sheets for the mobile reporting/geolocation unit

Hey folks,

I had grade sheets ready in class today, but in the excitement of demoing QR codes, forgot to distribute them to all but the stragglers. I have them here in my office if you want to drop by. Otherwise, I’ll bring them to class next week.

Final Project Question Zone

You call got the handout today, so any questions you have, ask them here.

Today: EVERYBLOCK

Today, we’re taking the train to visit with local geodata powerhouse Everyblock.

BE IN OUR CLASSROOM ON TIME. We will be leaving immediately, and if you are late, you will be left behind.

Additionally, be very familiar with Everyblock, and come with plenty of questions. It will be awesome!

Our Group Mapping Project: INFO

Database Mapping: OUR PROJECT
Today we’ll be doing both mobile reporting and building a database-driven map. We’ll use a few different tools to pull this off. I have linked to all of them, though for this assignment, the heavy lifting of hooking bits and pieces up is done already. This is entirely something you could do yourself for other projects.

These two are the bare minimum to get started (obviously, to do this on your own you’ll need a Google Docs account as well, but we’ll all share a spreadsheet):
Creating a custom map from a Google Spreadsheet
GPS Lat & Long converter

Then you’ll need a few different things to embed various content into the map:
Drop.io: to collect all the mobile reports, and to embed audio
As we decided in class, please set up your own Drop.io page in order to keep things separate and generate your own embed code

The Google Spreadsheet we’ll be working with is here (but you’ve all been invited as editors)

You can see the actual map as it progresses at: j-incubator.net/class_map.html

You are responsible for reporting and listing at least 15 additional points by next Wednesday. More than 15 gets you extra credit. We should have a *huge* map by then. It will be awesome.

Links and Project 4-14-10

Interesting use of Geodata
Everyblock: Local Boys Done Good
The New York Times looks at Netflix data: What’s GeoData tell us?
WNYC’s super simple mapping tool: explained.

Geocoded photos: Uh…
A Flickr search for Chicago photos shot by an iPhone 3G
GPS Lat & Long converter

Work for Next Week: Your Maps

You need to build a custom, media-rich map for next week. It needs to:

1) Have at least 10 data points.
2) Use custom markers for your points.
3) At least 5 data points include some form of multimedia content: video, photos, etc. This needs to be original to you–shot, created, etc, by you.
4) Be framed within the Map Channels webapp for better usability.
5) Work within the constraints of JOURNALISM–i.e. other people will find this awesome.
6) Be awesome.

Please paste a link to your MapChannels page here when you’re done.

Mapping links for today’s class

Today I demoed how to use Google’s MyMaps to create multimedia maps, how to create custom pins with an image editor and an image host, and how to create a robust frame with Map Channel. Here are links that count:

Google Maps
Photobucket image hosting (but really, any image host will work, as long as they give you a clean URL for your image.
Map Channels

Bonus: A great tutorial that demos all of this and has some other interesting tips.

Guest Speaker and Readings for Wednesday

GUEST SPEAKER
On Wednesday we’ll be joined by Dave Baggeroer, co-founder of the geolocational communication startup BlockChalk. Please familiarize yourself with BlockChalk in order to fully engage in our discussion with Dave.

READINGS, LINKS, + REACTIONS
The Geolocation Revolution
The Era of Location-as-Platform has Arrived
How Mobile Changes the City

Your Work For Next Week

Today in class we worked together to take on a large-scale reporting format (also, we enjoyed the weather). For next week, you’ll take some of the mobile reporting strategies you devised today, and tools we discussed the class before spring break, and you’ll make your own mobile report.

• Build your own mobile report on a subject of your choosing. This can be the documentation of a one-time event, or it can be a multi-day report. The key is that it’s mobile and that it’s your reporting.
• Choose a tool we discussed in the class before break. You can combine tools or stick with a single one. Obviously a tool like Posterous allows for all sorts of media to be posted, so choosing one tool doesn’t necessarily restrict you to one storytelling format.
• Choose a subject for your report. Focus it and choose something for which mobile will be a strength.
• Build it, report it, and link it here.