Test Drive #2: Mashups

A mashup is a web application that uses content from more than one

source to create a single new service displayed in a single window. For example, you could combine the addresses and photographs of your library branches with a Google map to create a map mashup.

The term mashup originally comes from pop music, where people seamlessly combine music from one song with the vocal track from another—thereby mashing them together to create something new.

Many people are experimenting with mashups using Amazon, eBay, Flickr, Google, Yahoo, and YouTube.

There are different genres of mashups and these can be used for sharing knowledge and promoting services or events. Some of these include:

Mapping mashups

Here is an example of a mapping mashup.

Video & Photo mashups

A video mashup is the combination of multiple sources of video—which usually have no relevance with each other to produce a single video.

Here is an example of a video mashup:

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 mins

The emergence of photo hosting and social networking sites like Flickr has led to a variety of interesting photo mashups.

Above is an example of a photo mashup from Re Picture Australia

Title: SORRY

Creator: Kim Dove – Australia.

Description: - Part of Picture Australia Re-Picture Australia project. In conjunction with the National Library of Australia Parliament House Canberra Younger generation looking forward to a new future, now we have acknowledged the past wrongs. Young dancers performing at Coomonderry Swamp, Berry.

News mashups

News sources (such as the New York Times, the BBC, or Reuters) have used technologies like RSS to disseminate news feeds related to various topics. Feed mashups can aggregate a user's feeds and present them over the Web, creating a personalized newspaper that caters to the reader's particular interests.

An example of a news mashup: http://visualheadlines.com/.

How are mashups created?

David Berlind from ZDNet shows how mashups are created.

Why create a mashup?

• To bring applications together.
• To enhance an existing source of data.
• To improve usability.
• To make a web page more dynamic and engaging.

Discover:

Libraries using mashups:

Wood County Cemetery Locator. This Google Maps mashup precisely locates each cemetery in the County for local history clients. http://www.mcmillanlibrary.org/history/cemeteries.html

Then and Now: Historic New York images from New York Public Library using Flickr and Google Street view. http://www.paulhagon.com/thenandnow/nypl/sets/72157618018834234/

Explore:

• Real Estate - SuburbView (http://www.suburbview.com/) is a mapping mashup identifying houses for sale or rent. Houses are located via postcode. Type in your postcode and see what’s for sale in your local area.

• Have a look at The MashUp Awards (http://mashupawards.com/winners/)

Find one that interests you and talk about it on your blog.

Adventure:

[Optional]

Create and share your own map using Google maps and share it on your blog. Go to http://maps.google.com.au/ and click on the video tutorial to learn how to get started. You might like to map a location, holiday, or favorite walk.