Matt’s Wikimapia Blog

Alexandre has announced that polygons have been introduced to Wikimapia! This is a great addition! Currently only registered users can use the polygons and they can only be added to existing places. Also, they don’t change the place marker, but show up when you roll your mouse over the location. This is definitely a step in the right direction!

The sixth edition of my how to use Wikimapia shows you how to turn a place marker into a polygon that fits your location. (Images are clickable for larger versions.)

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Here are the beautiful rolling hills of Italy. And what is that there 1600m up Colletto Fava? Oh yes, it is a giant rabbit!

The installed art project called Hase (which means Rabbit) was created by artist gelitin and was opened in 2005 and will remain in place for visitors to rest upon and climb until 2025. For more info on this … interesting? bizarre? clever? whatever you want to call it, see the project page here. You can also visit the location at Wikimapia!

The Trojan Nuclear Power Plant in Ranier, Oregon has been completely decommissioned as of April of 2005 and its large cooling tower was demolished in May of 2006. The demolition of the cooling tower was a pretty big event that drew a large audience.

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I just discovered another awesome feature on Wikimapia: YouTube videos can be added to Wikimapia locations! Adding YouTube video URLs will automatically embed them into the place information page along with a link to the video’s page at YouTube. Pretty cool, eh? Start adding video clips to Wikimapia!

If you would like a walk through, here it is as part of Matt’s Wikimapia Blog’s How To Series (images are clickable for larger images). I was checking out Six Flags Magic Mountain at Wikimapia and since I haven’t been there in 10 years or so, noticed a few new rides. I saw the new roller coaster “X” and its description of being a “4th Dimensional Roller Coaster” (which I still think is a misnomer) and thought it would be cool to see the ride in action and hopped over to YouTube. I found three videos there that were pretty awesome, naturally I figured they should be added as links in Wikimapia so everyone could enjoy them!

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Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted! Running 3+ blogs is time consuming! I hope people have been using Wikimapia a lot! There have been a number of updates to Wikimapia’s service and since some of them were mentioned at their official blog, I would address them now as well.

Registration: Do it. Even if you don’t see the immediate benefits or features, might as well do it now as they are constantly adding features and capabilities. To register, click the “WikiMapia” menu and select “login/register” and just follow the steps. It takes some time for the registration to go through, so just be patient. One you are registered, you will have a basic profile (I am assuming that down the road you will be able to make more modifications of it). In that profile you can add a picture and pick your location. You will also be able to see places you have commented on and places you have created. Message sent to you will also be indicated here. [ADDENDUM: I am NOT saying register at this blog, I am saying register at WIKIMAPIA! Feel free to register as a user here if you want, but it won’t get you much!]

Messages: when someone leaves a comment and is registered, you have to ability to send them a message through the system.

Wikimapia is approaching 2 million places marked!!

Registered users can now delete places and pictures that have been added. It is also now possible to “semi-protect” articles so it is more difficult for people to edit the info for the protected place.

Wikimapia (and my blog too!!) are still getting requests for updates. There are two issues here. 1) Wikimapia has NO CONTROL over the map imagery. AT ALL. NEITHER DO I! Hehe, really, see my Matt’s Wikimapia Blog FAQ #4 for the reasons. 2) If it is the place information that needs to be updated, YOU update it! This is a Wiki site, that means the users have the power to edit things if they are needed.

Another thing that the Official Wikimapia Blog noted was the fact that when Google Maps updates their imagery it sometimes gets shifted. I am not sure why this happens. I am assuming that they know it happens, but that we just have to deal with it. I noticed this when looking down at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Solution? Just change the locations. If you open up the place that in slightly in the wrong position because of the shift (or for any reason really), go to the “Menu” menu and select “move or resize” (I believe this will only work for registered users). Then just make it fit the correct location! Done and done.

Some reminders: Add photos to places! I think it is awesome to have a satellite view of something but then to also see what it look like from other vantages. Add photos! Do it! heh. Edit places. Just because a place has already been created doesn’t mean they are complete or correct. If you know something about the place, check it out, correct the information that is there and add to it if you can. Add websites to places. Yes, add Wikipedia links (they now have a dedicated spot), but also add webpages or news stories about the place. Anything that can add to the information! Stop adding stupid places! I don’t need to know where your home is, really. Yes, you technically can add it under “private places”, but don’t. Also, don’t add spam, inappropriate places, all caps places… you get the idea. They will just be rejected or deleted and there is a good chance you will get your IP blocked. So just stop it.

Wikimapia will also be adding new shapes (so your location doesn’t have to be rectangle) and different colors for different types of places. There is always lots more to come! If you want to see the discussion about development and other issues there are three places to check out: Wikimapia @ Wikipedia Talk Page, Alexandre Koriakine @ Wikipedia Talk Page, and Wikimapia @ Meta.Wikimedia.

I caught Megabuilders on Discovery Channel the other day titled “Quake-Proofing and Icon” about the construction of the new eastern span replacement of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. I thought it was pretty interesting and thought I would check it out at Wikimapia. (Images are clickable for larger versions.)

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