UMapper is one of the Web-based applications that I’ve been tracking since it was first inception in this year. Proclaimed as first-of-its-kind of visual, universal, Web-based map authoring application, users will find it mostly useful when they want to create their Flash maps that could be embedded onto their blogs, or social networking accounts. Though UMapper still in Alpha stage, it is open its registration to the public, and if you want to test it yourself even you do not want to open an account, you’re allowed to do so, with the exception that you cannot save your map for future references.

This site use the Internet language that I believed it’s very easy to understand. You either can create your own map or explore some other maps that were created by other users. Upon you decided to create your own map, just fill-up the title and description, you’re ready to go. By default, UMapper will put its users to choose Microsoft Virtual Earth as the default map provider, but you’ve the option to use Google Earth or OpenStreet. In addition, UMapper has combined a so-called “Map Wiki” feature that help users to complete their user goals if their original purpose of building this UMapper map is a jointly effort map. If you choose the “Map Wiki” enabled in one of your maps, that particular map can be edited by anyone in the UMapper community.

UMapper also use the icons and symbols that are easy to understand. You can display the geo-data on your map by using the tools such as map controls, zoom in or zoom out, objects such as add markers, add line or polygon. etc. Moreover, you are allowed to create as many maps as you like and share them across the Web, make it accessible to the public online as a public map or private map. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the capability of exporting which allowed users to export their maps to ActionScript or KML file.

In evaluating the usefulness of UMapper, I’ve created a map called “Emirates Stadium: the home of Arsenal Football Club.” I could place a marker to the actual location that I perceived, and customize it with color, font size, as well as HTML description (if any). Most recently, UMapper also released a new version of the embed movie with new marker clustering functionality.

For registered users, they’ve the advantage of comment on various users’ maps, create maps that are shareable across multiple social networking platforms by using the gigya widget network.

Currently, UMapper’s business model is based on Google AdSense.

An Israeli startup TripTouch has launched its new version. It is a site that provides users a personalized travel taste, while taking into account key travel and local information. When a user enters the site, it first brings her to the local site. Put an example, if she is resides in New York, the site she first enters will definitely the New York TripTouch site. On each of the local TripTouch site, a user will find the local information, such as the brief introduction, accommodation, events as well as travel booking of a particular city. Some travel-planning features has been offered and deployed by TripTouch, so if a user want to know the currency exchange rate or the local news, it is available on the site. Local news and weather are updated daily using the RSS news feeds from Yahoo!, CNN, and etc. For some cities in the US, example California, they have added the map support, i.e. Google Maps. Additionally, a new page with all the travel locations, amounted to more than 2,500 was also prepared by TripTouch.

For a registered TripTouch user, she is allowed to build her profile, add the location to her planned trip, find friends, invite friends and allowed to access her own Webmail. The implementation of social networking in the travel site will greatly benefit the travelers as they find the latest updates of their friends, and enabling them to keep in touch in a much easier manner. Most recent, they also added the community feature that is travel network one, and thus travelers can get connected each other in a lively community.

TripTouch is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was founded in 2007 by Gil Ruda and Ron Mertens and the current business model is Google AdSense.

Now that Google Australia is seeking growth through the offered of Google Maps. And presently one firm REA Group is using the technology of Google Maps rendered to show its customer a real estate site, with the options of zoom in and satellite views, according to Google Australia. In fact, the REA Group is already one of the largest users of Google Maps worldwide, delivering over 1.4 billion page views of Google Maps over the past 12 months on its real estate Web sites in Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, under the new license, Google Maps can be found on its Web sites in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. “Experience has shown the visitors to our sites in Australia and New Zealand love using Google Maps to plot properties. By adding Google Maps to our sites in other countries, we will clearly enhance the user experience,” said Simon Baker, CEO and Managing Director of the REA Group, according to REA’s press release.

Apparently, Google’s mapping capabilities in internal Web sites can be a marvelous tool, enabling potential customers to make the purchasing decisions as well as magnify the value of the internal data of a firm.

Source: available at http://www.geocommons.com/data_set/show/5333, accessed 26 October 2007

I like this site, GeoCommons that allowed users to build intelligent maps and offered users to upload geodata to the site. Owned by FortiusOne, most recently compiled some useful data with regards to the San Diego Wildfires.

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I just found that the Yample’s makeover is includes a new, attractive and sleek design with the addition of the three distinctive features, that are social network, map services (Google Maps), and their core activities, i.e. classifieds. As written in Yample’s official blog, they added visual map to make easy the identification of local areas, and you can visualize in a map and follow your activity through out the site. Apparently, Yample was built by using Pligg, as I mentioned in several Digg-like application’s posts, Pligg is a popular open source content management system. Furthermore, as I visited Yample, it was a one man’s visionary project, and you can check out its founder’s profile at several social networking or blogging sites through Virb, Friendster, and Vox.

A bit of googling on this site shows that the users are not that many, but it seems gaining momentum, with the founder as the top user and leading the race right now. However, their users are demographically focused with majority of them are based in California.