Monday, November 23, 2009

The Geograph API - Part 1

Geograph
The Geograph project is trying to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland. Currently the site has over 1.5 million photographs representing over 75% of the target area.

This huge collection of photographs is an amazing resource for British and Irish map developers and can be accessed using the Geograph API.

Here is just a sample of some of the websites that are currently exploiting the Geograph API:

Good Beach Guide
The Marine Conservation Society's Good Beach Guide is a Google Map mashup being used as part of a campaign for clean seas and beaches. The Good Beach Guide uses the Geograph API to provide photographs of beaches throughout the British Isles and Ireland.

Clicking on any of the map markers opens an information window containing a photo and a link to the guide for the selected beach.

The Campsite Guide
BigFreeGuide.com uses the Google Maps API to show the locations of UK campsites and uses the Geograph API to provide photographs of the sites and locales.

Nestoria
Real estate website Nestoria uses Google Maps to show the locations of properties for sale. Beneath the Google Map of each location are a number of tabs that let house hunters research the area they wish to move to. As well as options to view information about schools, crime etc is an option to view photographs of the area from Geograph.

Places 2b

Places2B is a searchable list of every UK village, town and city. Users of the site can comment on and rate locations, see them on a Google Map and view photographs of them from Geograph. The site also uses Wikipedia to provide descriptions of the selected towns.

MyNeighbourhoods
My Neighbourhoods is an online community that allows you to chat with and get to know different people, view their profiles, share ideas and thoughts with other users in your neighbourhood.

The site uses the Google Maps API, the Nestoria API and the Geograph API to provide a wealth of information about all areas of the UK.

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