Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
In conjunction with the development of apps such as Waze, the Web 2.0 paradigm has also pro-
moted the development of location-aware apps that actively provide services based on the user's
location - or LBS (Küpper, 2005; Meek et al., 2014). Through such apps, users can be offered infor-
mation about services from nearby amenities, receive recommendations on services from vendors
in their area or explore user opinions (e.g. reviews) on nearby businesses. However, the concept
behind LBS is also changing based on the success of VGI for emergency response and mapping.
Savelyev et al. (2011) have extended the idea of VGI to incorporate volunteered geographic ser-
vices (VGS). In essence, instead of contributing information, the volunteers can request or offer
services to their local community. One could consider VGS as a human-centred form of LBS. Such
services include SeeClickFix (2013) for reporting things such as broken street lights or graffiti as
shown in Figure 4.10b or Avego (2013) for real-time ridesharing for commuters. Moreover, with
the rise in LBS and user-contributed information over the Internet, the GeoWeb will play an ever
important role here. For example, location provides a means to index and access information over
the Internet. Furthermore, as LBS and VBS grow, the capacity to tailor and target advertisement
based on an individual's location is increasingly going to be important. One can already start to
see this emergence in certain apps. Foursquare, for example, provides discounts for certain stores
if one
checks in
.
It is important to note that the wide availability of development tools and platforms for app
development (and service development) has had a dramatic effect on the rate at which apps are
developed and on the promotion of innovation in their development process. In the past, the rate
at which GIS software was developed was dependent on the capacity of its software development
workforce, and new features were introduced through a rather slow top-down process. The world of
Web 2.0 has enabled independent users to quickly develop their ideas and innovation into working
apps, deploy them and quickly gauge users' opinions. This enables developers to be more agile in
responding to user feedback and needs by modifying their apps and by adding additional features.
This trend also promoted the development and distribution of open-source software (e.g. QGIS;
see Steiniger and Bocher, 2009, for a review) or freeware (e.g. Google SketchUp and Earth) for the
desktop. Proprietary GIS software vendors, such as ESRI, have responded with the development
of the ArcGIS Web Mapping API, which can integrate maps generated by ArcGIS Server (and its
associated analysis functions) with maps served by ESRI. In turn, users can access these APIs at
no cost to build and deploy applications for internal or non-commercial use (Anand et al., 2010).
Another emerging trend worth noting is the development of projects that allow for customisable
maps (e.g. MapBox, CartoDB) based on the open-source OpenStreetMap project, which is allowing
the public and amateur to be the map-maker (Sherman, 2013). There are websites such as MapTales
(2013), which allows users to add personal stories to maps, or Soundcities (2013), which allows
people to upload different sounds from the city to a map. Such sites are therefore allowing one to
organise not just spatial information but also narratives and sounds to a map, all of which can be
searched by location.
4.7 SUMMARY
Today, it is difficult to imagine a modern world without the GeoWeb: a world without easily
accessible, personalised and freely accessible geographical information, a world without geo-
browsers through which we explore the Web or a world without near real-time on-demand delivery
of location-aware news or social media to virtually any mobile device. As the GeoWeb continues
to evolve and deepen its role in our society, it is important to review the evolutionary processes and
watershed moments that have led the GeoWeb to its current significance and ubiquity. This chapter
has traced the development of the GeoWeb, a development process that mirrors how the WWW has
developed more generally. We reviewed the evolution process from static maps to dynamic maps
and the transition from that of consultation and viewing to that of also interaction and contribution
of geographical information. Throughout its evolution, much of the development in the GeoWeb
