Platial News and Neogeography

Geographic Euthanasia: The End of Platial As We Know It

Just a few minutes ago, we pushed an update that signals the end of Platial as we know it.

The quick things you need to know if you have a Platial map you care about:

• All maps have been replaced with instructions and links for exporting - here is an example http://www.platial.com/map/Cable-Access-Highlights/10095
• The Platial blog will remain active as a point of communication and announcements, as well as the @platialmaps twitter feed
• GeoCommons has offered to store and offer for download all the geo-data (maps and places) from Platial's 5 years of neogeography. Access to this data is not available quite yet, but we will announce it here when it's ready
• Export as soon as you can, the service may get overloaded, you may run into bugs, etc
• The service may go offline as soon as March 2nd (when it happens, it will be due to a disconnection from our internet service providers)
• We are painfully aware that this is an incredibly short amount of time to dump this on people. The only response is a sincere apology.
• Only a logged in user can download their own "User's Places" map (the map of all the places that user added or grabbed)
• All other maps are available for anyone to export, as they have always been publicly accessible.
• Some maps with > 1000 points and/or many uploaded images will fail on the KMZ export, but should work on the KML version, we are working to fix this issue
• The KMZ file is a zipped folder containing the geo-data in KML form, plus all the image files that were being hosted by platial.com (if you 'uploaded' images to platial, they will be included, but if you 'linked' photos from the web to your places, those web based links will simply remain in place)
• If you are having problems with the export, there are a few ways to get help:
• http://getsatisfaction.com/platial
• http://platial.com/feedback
• leaving a comment here
• please include a mapid, or url when describing the problem
• Please pass the news around, we are unable to directly email the members, so are relying solely on word of mouth to get the news out.
• For those with Platial maps living on another site (widgets) we are sad to say that we have not found a comparable product that allows easy migration of your data at this time, but we would be more than happy to direct people to such a service if anyone out there can recommend one.
• Google's MyMaps on the other hand is compatible with the KML files we are exporting. If you want a place to keep your maps visible online, find the 'import' link after you create a new map.

I hope this is enough information to get things started. Export more details about why this is happening in forthcoming posts.

Start Archiving Your Favorite Platial Maps Today

Now is your chance to beat the imminent rush and export your full archive quality KMZ maps from Platial. We are in the last stages of testing 2 new export tools and would appreciate your participation and feedback. The 2 new tools are a full KMZ exporter with all uploaded images embedded (any images that were added to the map via the flickr tool or as a web based image link will continue to link out) as well as a newly formatted KML version with image hosting provided by GeoCommons.com. To enable the 2 new export modes, simply append ?export=1 to the end of any map url. This should work for visitor maps (/mapv/) as well as normal ones (/map/). http://www.platial.com/map/Cable-Access-Highlights/10095 becomes http://www.platial.com/map/Cable-Access-Highlights/10095?export=1 Note: this will enable a new KMZ and KML link in the map header area

These export tools are applicable to any map on platial.com, so if you appreciate someone else's map, feel free to grab a copy (with the exception of a user places map (the map of all your places), in which case, it will only be available to that logged in user.

Feedback is welcome as commentary here on the blog, on the getsatisfaction page, or via our feedback page.

Known Issues you can avoid commenting on:

• With very large maps, anything over 2000 points, using the KMZ version sometimes comes out with an empty file despite taking a really long time to process
• some date ranges on geocommons hosted images are missing

Thanks,
Jason

Also, You can expect a few more announcements in the next few hours and/or days about Platial. Might want to start following @platialmaps for breaking news :)

Important Notice about Frappr

This morning we started sending email out to Frappr.com members about the imminent retirement of the "Classic" Frappr Guest Map. To clarify, the "New" Frappr Guest Maps, that we created 2 years ago, and offer up from Platial.com/frappr, are safe.

If you are not sure which version you have, this should help.

CLASSIC:

NEW:

The backstory is that direct integration between frappr.com and platial.com could never get enough dedicated traction as it was never an emergency (oh startup life). A direct migration tool was under development and being tested but the lack of response from frappr power users basically killed the project. Many members cut their losses and just replaced their Classic maps with the updated New versions, leaving some significant amounts of data behind. We cut off the ability to create Classic maps about a year ago, but their use did not actually decline. We are still getting up to 500 new members a day through the 400,000 active widgets out there, but they just aren't sustainable cost-wise.

A few days ago we released a KML export tool that can be used to back up all the friends and images onto your desktop. You are strongly encouraged to archive your maps.

Today we are offering a new option for the truly loyal Frappr members, the ability to pay a small fee to keep ANY widget alive for the coming year. It doesn't have to be your own map, and you don't have to login to Frappr to initiate the payment. Just go to the map's homepage where you will see a huge yellow banner describing the process. The price is $24.99 and handled through PayPal (no account required here either, and yes you can pay with a major credit card). There is a payment deadline of Dec 31st, 2009.

For those of you who might have changed your email address, or who just want to see exactly what the email says I'm including it here:

To: Jason Wilson, Frappr member since 2007.

Two years ago Platial released an updated version of the Frappr Guest Map. Many Frappr members welcomed the change and replaced their old maps with the new ones. But many of you have not yet switched, in fact we still have more than 400,000 Classic Guest Maps still installed and active out in the world. The time has come to talk about your options as we start to retire the old version.

1. For those of you who are loyal to the classic style map, we are offering a simple payment option. $24.99 will keep your map alive and kicking for one full year. The deadline for receipt of payment will be January 1, 2010. At that time we will stop serving the maps.

2. For those who simply want to save their map data, we just released an export tool that gives you access to all the friends and photos from your maps creating a fully offline archive in the popular KML format right on your desktop. To use the exporter just look for the links on your map page on Frappr.com.

More information about both options can be found right on the http://frappr.com homepage.

Oh yeah, plenty of retro Frappr schwag still available.
http://www.zazzle.com/frappr*

Happy Mapping!
The Frappr & Platial Team

Exporting Archives of Frappr Maps

Today we are offering a new way to export and archive your "classic" Frappr maps for offline use. Classic Frappr maps are any maps that still talk directly to the frappr.com domain.

Just click on this badge from any embedded map:

Or go to the map page on frappr.com and look for this link:

(we have segmented the files into chunks of 1000 entries)

After the locations and images are all zipped up (this may take a while for image heavy maps, or if the servers are under heavy load) your download should automatically start and you may be offered a choice to save the file or to open it with an application.

These are fully self contained archives that can be shared or viewed offline.

The classic Frappr maps have been superseded by a more robust and efficient guest map available directly from Platial. Many Frappr users have already upgraded, have you?

Platial: Now With 25% More Map

We just pushed an update that creates a huge chunk of real estate on all of our javascript maps.

The change consists of converting the old bulky banner ads from below the map into sleek little geographically sensitive ads inside the map. The result is 140 new vertical pixels of map area, not just on our site, but on all remote maps.

Travel Guides Meet Cultural Exchange on Platial

ON THE GROUND IN TAIPEI---Meet Locals, Get Tips, Explore

In two days, Platial will be 3 years old. In preparation, we've been spending a lot of time with our most active users from across the globe. Many of these users are contacted by travelers as they're passing through and we love this and thought it was time to formalize it a bit better.

With that said, we're launching our "Local Guides" program for Platial members. Local Guides are informal ambassadors volunteering to represent their unique parts of the world. They offer a unique perspective beyond traditional travel writers and editors, they are real locals offering up first-hand gems of information about their homes. They are eager to share and to connect. If you're like us, you're deeply curious about how other people live. You care more about culture than tourism. This is our guide, The People's Guide.

The best part is now just seeing the worls through the eyes of locals but actually connecting, meeting up and making introductions. We felt that cultural exchange was lacking in travel guides and we hope this will offer you something special for your global adventures.

Please meet our first highlighted Local Guide, Philip Lee who brings to life the vivid landscape and social-scape of Taipei.
He has hand-crafted maps of his favorite places, offered up tips for when and where to visit and of course hope you'll ask questions and meet up. So, reach out to Philip and give us feedback. We have Local Guids coming soon for Chennai, LA & Irvine, Cebu City, Manila, Budapest, Hong Kong, Shah Alam and many more.

New Scoring Ranking Filtering on Search

Mostly brought to the forefront due to feedback about results in the Nearby iPhone app, but also with no small benefit to the average Platial.com search results, we just pushed a new modification to the filtering and scoring algorithms. This means that general search with multiple terms will work out a lot better, but the primary benefit will simply be seen in the Nearby Popular Places query, and in the default landing page for Platial.com.

Happy Mapping (and Searching)

Nearby v1.3 Release Notes

While still not perfect, the new v1.3 has some huge improvements in map performance due to a developer we met at iPhone Dev Camp, Louis Gerbarg, and his wholesale replacement of our caching code.

* Better map performance for tile loading and panning.

* Photos taken in Nearby are now saved in your Camera Roll.

* Fixes the White Screen of Death bug.

* Dramatically reduces the frequency of crashes while saving photos.

* Fixes the Collections crash.

* Overall responsiveness improvements due to improved cache code.

* Adds feedback if nothing found in search.

* Adds many improvements to the interface, more images, more feedback about loading data.

What we are still actively working on for v1.4:

* Better map handling, flicking, zooming, pinching, etc.

* A fix for the 'stuck on a previous location' bug.

* Saving state of the app when you quit and come back.

* Making the newly added posts immediately available on the device.

Thanks for all the helpful feedback, via email, the forum, and the comments in App Store, we always love to hear from you.

New Faces

Just a few days ago we turned on some default user icons that had just been sitting in the archives. But, we didn't really know exactly who they all were, or what they had to do with Platial, or even that they had any kind of cohesion, as a group, at all. So I took a little time digging around and pondering. Ah ha! Prominent figures who were involved with, or influencers of, the Situationist International should be the new set.

Any guesses as to the identities of these figures?

You may wonder how we determine the assignment of one particular icon to a particular member. Well, all I can say is that it has something to do with our knowledge of how you represent yourself within the public space that is Platial.

If you don't love the magically chosen icon, you can upload anything you want right here.

Nearby is a Multi-Platform Publishing Tool for Live Collaborative Mapping

As you all know, Nearby is the iPhone app that allows you to publish your favorite places onto Platial.
But now, Nearby is also the iPhone app that allows you to publish your favorite places, or your current location, to almost any website in the world!

Send live updates of your location, your observations, your ideas, and your memories onto a map on MySpace, Facebook, WordPress, TyepPad and more, or simply use the built in GeoRSS or KML anywhere you like.

(Instructions are below for linking your iPhone or iPod Touch to a Platial account, as well as setting up your Platial account to push your Nearby posts into specific maps.)

There is something even more powerful, and more exciting, than the geographic impressions of one person on one map, and that is the collected impressions of many people on one map. The ability to publish to a specific map can be enabled on thousands of iPhones simultaneously.

• Imagine a community of cycling advocates spending one day mapping all the dangers and obstacles they come across in a city, live.


• Imagine a cadre of civil rights observers feeding live data into a map about a political protest.


• Imagine a collection of athletes posting their first hand impressions and stories behind the scenes.


• Imagine promotional events where anyone with an iPhone is competing to post the most photos of a particular automobile, or someone wearing a particular brand of sunglasses.


• Imagine environmental groups live mapping toxic concentrations of air pollution, or washed up industrial detritus, or neighborhood trees infected with a certain parasite.


• Imagine a wash of people spreading out over a landscape looking for and mapping the things that connect them as a group.

There is also another benefit to setting your device up live this. Posts that are published into specific 'collections' increase the chances for those collections to appear to other Nearby users in the Collections tab while they are out and about in the world.

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How to set up your device and account:

Step 1: FROM YOUR IPHONE/IPOD TOUCH: Link your device to a free Platial account

Step 2: FROM THE WEB: Link your device to a map

Find one of your own maps, or an 'open' map, that you want to link your device to, then click 'post to this map from your iPhone'.

It will open your account page, and automatically fill in the map id field. All you have to do is simply SAVE the changes.

Step 3: FROM THE WEB: Embed the map almost anywhere

Back on the map itself, you will find the 'Embed' tool, along with 'RSS' and 'KML' feeds for all your publishing needs.

Step 4: FROM YOUR IPHONE/IPOD TOUCH: Happy Mapping!

Everything you add from Nearby will now go into your Places the way it always did, but will also be included in the linked map. You can replace or remove the linked map at any time.