Mashups

Just when I think that flickr can't get any cooler, it brings me mashups. Okay so mashups are basically computer geniuses (I say geniuses because I am computer illiterate and even the most simple mashups seem like the work of brilliant scientists to me) take some aspect of flickr, most likely their photos, and then mix them with an aspect of another site like a map. There are so many different things that you can do on these sites. By far my favorite was pickr color (ironically I am not sure if that is the right name). It is a mashup that takes public photos from flickr and groups them accorrding to their color, you click on one and you get an array of pictures in that particular color. Mappr is also something that really interested me, particularly the pictures that littered the trail of route 66 on one map. I like that idea for maps in general, you open up a huge map and instead of seeing red lines for roads you see famous steakhouses and beautiful beaches, little towns nestled in the alcoves of mountains. It would be comforting to the traveller, make them feel like they're going somewhere rather than traveling a red line. I don't know how pracitical it would be if the only thing you wanted to use a map for was to find directions but hey finding directions are what GPS systems were invented for. I also found a really cool project on mappr called "empty city" that allowed you to take a virtually mapped tour of San Fransisco, Las Vegas, and Bakersfield (I believe). The project itself had something to do with urban abandoment and decay but the idea of taking a virtual tour of theses places is what appealed to me. Hmmm...I claimed that pickr was my favorite mashup site, and then spent the entire blog talking about mappr. I may have to revise my choice for a favorite. Basically I liked them both, and if as web 2.0 predicts libraries of the future are headed in the "virtual" direction, then these are really unique and eye-catching tools that I think we should have at our disposal. Isn't that what the web 2.0 library of the future would be anyways? Mashing up apsects of a traditional libray with new web technology to create something new and better for our users?