North America - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 211

Editable media applications let people share information in ways never before
possible. All sorts of map variants are emerging that allow independent travellers
access to local knowledge of places they are visiting, from the official to the
unusual. At the same time GPS technologies are making it easier to find your way
back should you have decided to wander off on a path less travelled. More and
more, these developments are creating new ways for us to navigate the world;
here are some of our favourites:
maP mashuPs
Many people use Google Maps but not many know about the mashups of them ( W googlemapsmania.
blogspot.com). First created through hacking, then legitimized when Google released the necessary
codes, the mashups work in a similar way to Green Maps (see opposite), in that people customize
existing maps by adding icons of their own to express a certain theme or topic. They range from the
extremely useful - such as where all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites are (with clicks through to
information about them) or where to find a wi-fi hotspot in the US - to the more zany, such as a map of
reported ghost sightings or America's drunkest cities. Mashups may be added to the basic Google Map,
allowing you to create a multi-layered map, with all the information you could ever need.
A screengrab from W www.england-
rocks.co.uk/index2.php, a Google
mashup depicting locations of
notorious musical heritage in the UK
Global PositioninG systems (GPs)
Developed by the US Defense Department (and managed by the US Airforce 50th Space Wing), GPS
uses a network of between 24 and 32 orbital satellites to enable people to find their exact location in
the world and then navigate to where they want to go. Already there are GPS-based tours of many cities
around the world, while other companies - such as loopt.com - offer social-networking facilities so that
you can know where your friends are in real time (and they you). Geocaching (see p.19) is basically a
combination of treasure hunting and time capsules for the GPS generation, and is one of many new
activities that have sprung up as a result of the technology.