Archive for the ‘User Created Content’ Category

Trackstick Personal GPS Tracker

February 29, 2008

I bought a Trackstick II Personal GPS Tracker today to try out over spring break.

Trackstick Personal GPS Tracker

Tracksticks are tiny GPS location recorders capable of continuously logging their own location histories for extended periods of time.

The Trackstick records its own location, time, date, speed, heading and altitude at preset intervals from anywhere on Planet Earth. I can set the record time intervals to once every 5 seconds or from once every minute to once every 15 minutes.

It includes a GPX photo stamping feature for adding my favorite photos to my own maps too.

I can view my travels in Google Earth, Google Maps and Microsoft Live.

I am going to see if and how well it works in the “user-created content” section of Google Maps.

Amazing.

Advertisement

Tags:
Posted in Google Earth, Google Maps, GPS, Microsoft Live, Trackstick Personal GPS Tracker, User Created Content | Leave a Comment »

Google Maps and User-Created Content Spam?

February 27, 2008

Nature abhors a vacuum and apparently so does the relatively new user-created content section of Google Maps.

Today while drilling down into Google Maps to inspect local Google Adwords placements, I discovered the user-created content section of Google Maps has been overrun if not monopolized by spammers.

The spam isn’t exactly visible from the surface, however I am not so sure these are the types of results Google wants its Google Maps users to find.

Aren’t all forms of platform level user-created content ultimately a vacuum waiting to be filled with spam?

Are the following results spam or are they “content”?

1. Google Maps User Created Content: User created content

Google Maps User created content Image 1

2. Google Maps User Created Content: User-created content Results 1-10

Google Maps User created content Image 2

3. Google Maps User Created Content: D. “Work from home, easy…

“Work from home, easy… Oklahoma City OK …the email ‘Payment for Internet Marketing’. THIS KEEPS THE PROGRAM …that says ‘Payment for Internet Marketing 5th’. Once you have . …1 of 50 placemarks in Yakaz – oklahoma.yakaz.co”

Google Maps User created content Image 3

4. Google Maps User Created Content: “Displaying content from oklahoma.yakaz.com”

“The content overlaid onto this map is provided by a third party, and Google is not responsible for it.”

Google Maps User created content Image 4

Tags:
Posted in Google Maps, Spam, Spammers, User Created Content | Leave a Comment »