OGC in a few minutes will offer a press release noting passage of OGC KML as an approved specification (standard). C|net already announced the news. Will this change how you think about or use KML? Perhaps it will change how you think about Google, or OGC?

I wonder if this series of events (or one like it) is becoming the norm for app development/growth? Is there any money in the process for anyone or is this simply part of the contest/marketing infrastructure? Here's what happened:

Wired plays with Platial tools.
Makes interactive map of bands named after geographic locations called "Wish you were here."
Leaves it be.
It has some 9000 visits.
It wins (ties) award for best music map in the 2007 Platial + Frappr Map Awards.
Platial makes it into a Facebook app anyone can add to their page.

- Wired

Update 2 4/14/08

The top U.S. brand of Vodka Skyy (I've never heard of it) decided to fan the flames with a press release of its own chiding Absolut.

Today, SKYY® Vodka, the number-one vodka produced in the United States, spoke out against suggestions by Absolut® Vodka to disregard that treaty, as well as the joining of Texas to the Union in 1845, as depicted in Absolut’s recent advertising.

“Like SKYY Vodka, the residents of states like California, Texas and Arizona are exceptionally proud of the fact that they are from the United States of America,” said Dave Karraker, SKYY Vodka. “To imply that they might be interested in changing their mailing addresses, as our competitor seems to be suggesting in their advertising, is a bit presumptuous.”

It's an interesting PR move. One thing I learned about PR is sometimes when your competitors are going down the best thing to do is keep quiet. I can't imagine this will bring Skyy and new customers.

via Consumerist


--- update 1 4/9/08 ----------

Update 4/8/08: The AP reports that Absolut decided to apologize. The text, offered on its consumer line:

"In no way was it meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues...As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market, and for that we apologize."

The ads have ended their run in Mexico.

--- original post 4/7/08 -------------


A new Absolut Vodka ad running in Mexico shows a map of the U.S./Mexico border before the Mexican American War (1848). Back then California and several southwestern states were part of Mexico. The ad copy? "In an Absolut world." Reactions in the U.S. posted on blogs are fiercely against.

- Monsters and Critics

Masters research by Brayton Grinnell at St. Mary's University in Winona, MN "found that more than a third of vandalism incidents — 38.7 percent — happened within a block or two of bars." He plotted vandalism in town between 2001 and 2006 using GIS. Perhaps more interesting, the local paper (Winona Daily News) provides links to his presentation and final paper. That's a great choice for the paper and a good reminder of the draw of local news.

Another student, this one in Northern Ireland focused locally and has won the 'Geo-Mashup' competition for students run by the Department of Finance and Personnel in conjunction with the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland. Aidan Higgins, Master's student in GIS at the University of Ulster's School of Environmental Sciences, mashed up road collision data from the Police Service of Northern Ireland with the road network of Northern Ireland to highlight the most dangerous areas due to black ice on roads. The submission's were judged on their benefit the public and be potentially marketability. In return Mr. Higgins received a laptop and a week of consulting with 1Spatial to develop his idea, per a press release.

The Austin American-Stateman has a scary title to its map-focused article, "How deadly is your ZIP code?" It discusses and shows maps that show the disparity in deaths from different diseases and connects that to the distribution of poor and minority groups. The good news: the maps can help direct services to areas in need.

"BMW's teaming up with everyone's favorite mapping monopoly, Google Maps, to bring a new addition to the BMW Assist Safety Plan."

- Jalopnik discussing "MyInfo," a service to allow BMW Assist subscribers to send business locations, street addresses and their associated phone numbers to their car.

There's been inklings of this idea in the past and it sounds valuable. Instead of using a map to tease out your exact location, take a picture of a landmark, have a database with many such photos find a match, and viola, you are found! Nokia is working on this sort of technology and it's already been tested by students at Stanford and U. Washington.