Friday Mash

mash with that?

mike ellis, head of web, NMSI

please use tag "ukmw07" for any blogging, pics, etc...

so...what’s all this about mashups?

a mashup...> combines 2 or more data sources (?)> uses the power of the distributed web> tends to create innovation in unexpected ways> is usually easy(ish) to build> "the web as platform"

why should we care?

> distributed data / services is the way to go> this approach has access to a pool of creativity unlike anything you've seen before..> ..so the outcomes are mostly interesting, sometimes useful but almost always innovative

utrecht.cc : youtube + flickr + last.fm + amazon

daylightmap.com : google maps

practicalfishkeeping.co.uk / tap water quality : google maps

trafficjammr.co.uk : map24 + traffic data

" A quick mashup that plots traffic problems in South Yorkshire, UK. It might seem a bit specific, but it was written to help me get home from Hull, avoiding any traffic problems."

flickrvision.com : flickr + poly9 free earth

Carl Hogsden

http://museum.archanth.cam.ac.uk/wordie/

Michael Twidale

http://cameronjones.com/pledgedrive/

"a driving directions site which shows you public radio stations that exist within broadcast range of your route."

mashed museum: 21/06/07

> we spent a day doing - tried to avoid talking too much or spending time thinking about constraints> aim was to get some ideas down on paper, and if possible on-screen

in 7 hours, we...

> built "find museums near..." functionality using Yahoo Pipes> came up with a concept for looking at aggregated collections data> built a REST api for converting dirty dates (!)> plotted UK museums on Google Earth> put expedition data on an interactive timeline> built a "phone to comment on this object" demo

what problems can there be?

> stability isn't always guaranteed> standards are only partially defined> you're reliant on other people's data> if you're a provider, you don't know what they're doing with your content...> dirty data

conclusions

> you can achieve a lot with some thinking time> need to get used to the concept of "disposability", both for applications and for data> debate about standards and interoperability will go on but we can still get things done> this is only the beginning...

thanks to..

> everyone who participated > ross and uni of leicester for providing facilities> eduserv for refreshments> you, for listening