Build a Quick 'Google Maps' Mashup with Google Mashup Editor

Google Mashup Editor (GME) is an online 'mashup' building tool by Google, just like Yahoo! Pipes & Microsoft Popfly, but quite different per se. Right now, it's use is only on an invitational basis so those reading this but do not have an account can register at GME's site for an invitation.

This is a quick walkthrough of my first mashup using GME - BlogUSphere Moods! GME mainly works on the premise that user has access to an RSS feed of the data he wants to do a mashup of - and it's premise is not far-fetched if you know about Yahoo! Pipes and services like dapper. Even the GME FAQ claims Pipes and GME are friends not foe. So, let's explore it, but before that I must add, GME is best suited for Google Maps Mashups [just because it makes them so ridiculously easy to build].

OK, heard of 'We Feel Fine'? These guys search the blogosphere for posts containing 'feelings' [keywords like: happy, sad, fine etc.] and index them [with hordes of information]. They have made this information available freely through an API. I decided to make a quick mashup based on it - to show recent moods of bloggers on google maps. Earlier my plan was to include blogger emotions from around the world but for some cryptic reason [& I being very impatient to sort that out] I wasn't able to obtain entries from other countries on my first try but only the US. Thus, my mashup name has - blogUSphere - in it. Actually, it was a problem with the URL but yawwwnnn...

Moving on. It's a REST API [Go here for the docs]. So obtaining results was easy, through Pipes. See my pipes code. For first time users, I can only say that explore it, it's too easy - just take a look at some Perl's RegEx tutorial. It'd come handy. Also, note how I 'renamed' the tags to title, link, description [standard RSS] & geo:lat, geo:long [needed to enable Google Maps to fetch lat-long data in GME]. Now, save your pipes app, and obtain RSS feed of it.

Open GME - goto Feed browser - select 'Remote Feed' - paste your feed URL and see the results. This was just to ensure that every tag is in place. Now, if you are not a stickler for looks 'n all then all you need to do is: open Sample projects in the editor, browse to the Maps mashup sample app and replace the feed url written in it's code [look closely, it's written somewhere] with your pipes RSS feed url. Run it in Sandbox. It'll work! [adjust pagesize]. Howzzaat?

It took me 73 minutes - and you being a smart-ass would't take more than 7+3=10 mins. Go build your own mashAPP!

P.S. You can add JS code in GME - so the first things that came into my mind was 'Adsense' ;) ...and it works in it! [For some reason [given in gme groups] it wouldn't work inside tables]
P.S. 2: Also, the RSS feed is cached in GME and the crawler goes out to 'crawl' in a 30-60 mins. interval time - so, don't panic if you don't see your feeds updating - it's a limitation with GME right now.

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A Googlewhack approach to be a Googlewhacker!

Googlewhack, for those who have been living in a dream world and do not know what 'the one' is, is a search query consisting of only two words entered into Google's search page that results in one & only one result - and then, there are rules [Follow this to read the rules].

Googlewhacking is the pastime of finding a Googlewhack.

Googlewhacker is a person Googlewhacking.

Now, after all these definitions to get the 'no idea' reader interested, let's get to the story. Let me be right to the point.

For the uninitiated, starting from random words would take ages - and one may still not become a Googlewhacker. There are small scripts floating around the net to get to such queries, but there is hardly one with 'something to write home about' success rate!

A GOOGLEWHACK APPROACH. [+/-]

1. A Googlewhack approach is the usual approach i.e. to take any of the recently found Googlewhacks, listed here, and play around with the words to find a new Googlewhack.
2. What could make your search narrower?
   
3. You have a page using a known Googlewhack - and what you are looking for is another 'unusual' word that would be in the same page and meets all the requirements!
4. So, replace a word from the known Googlewhack with a new 'unusual' word occurring in the current Googlewhack page. If you are lucky you would find a new whack.
5. A 'geekier' approach in non-geeky terms can be found in following steps:
1. You have to find a magic 'already listed' Googlewhack [usually Googlewhackers select one and stick with it until they give up]. The magic one is found by looking at a scar - yep, just like Harry Potter's - one of the words in the googlewhack should not be in the page - tht's the scar!
2. Query your Googlewhack and click on 'cached'. At the top, look for 'these terms only appear in links pointing to this page: one_of_the_words' [see pics]. This is your magic Googlewhack.
3. Now, scroll down and look for places where there could have been some pics, links etc. [see pics]. Use one of those words.
   
4. I found quite a few Googlewhacks on a single & different page using this technique.
5. But, using this technique for same set of words for a lot of time gives you this so keep chopping and changing!

Thanks to my friend, Prashant Gaharwar, for his help in Googlewhacking.

Happy Googlewhacking!

- Pag 'Googlewhacker' Floyd :D

P.S. The list of recent Googlewhacks is here...

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Emotions against Google!

Are emotions running high against Google? All of a sudden, everything is going against the search giant, except of course, the big-moolah. Sample this:

• Who's who of IT industry questioning Google's monopolistic move to buyout DoubleClick - the list is getting longer everyday.


• $1 billion lawsuit from Viacom for YouTube's alleged copyright infringement.


• Privacy International placing Google dead last in its evaluation of Internet service companies in terms of consumer data protection, labeling it hostile to privacy.


• Came under the scanner for keeping a lifelong record of every search query of each of its users, along with the IP address the query was executed from and a cookie ID to link together queries from a user's computer even if the IP address changes - a direct link to the point preceding this.


• Allegations that Google underestimates click fraud rates even after it paid a $90 million settlement in a click fraud case in March of last year.


• Amazon deciding to use M$'s Live Search over Google's to provide search results on its site.


• Today's news that prompted this article, Microsoft replaces Google as the exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising on Digg.

Read the full story...

If the above seem more like the IT industry players standing up against their arguably biggest comptetitor today - then the mood among the users isn't all that forgiving too! Recently, when Google filed an antitrust complaint against M$'s Vista Search, people's reaction was, like: Google is the new bad-boy(girl ;)) - it was surprising to see people's sympathy with Microsoft (in a new role i.e. of a victim).

The higher one gets, the more visible one becomes to the public eye - hence more prone to public criticism. It's apparent celebrity status brings with it public scrutiny - but, at the moment it seems emotions against Google are at an all-time high which may be disastrous because when Microsoft used to be criticized, it didn't have a powerful competitor to gain advantage but in case of Google, it has a powerful foe to contend with, and it's ironically, Microsoft!

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Adsense incompatible with Blogger?

When I tried to insert 'Google SiteSearch' code generated through Google Adsense into the template of my Blog on the recently revamped Google's Blogger - it gave the following error on saving:

Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly. XML error message: Attribute name "checked" associated with an element type "input" must be followed by the ' = ' character.

Since, the new Blogger had been in beta earlier - I suppose these quirks have already been discussed and thus, I got the solution i.e. to write: checked = "true" to get rid of the problem in the SiteSearch's auto-generated code. But, the bigger question is "Is the adsense generating non-standard code?"

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google.com is worth $0.00, MSN leads!

Yeah it's true, if 'how much is your blog worth?', a tool developed using Technorati's API, is to be believed!

Inspired by Tristan Louis's research into the value of each link to Weblogs Inc, this tool was created using Technorati's API which computes and displays your blog's worth using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal. Old news, huh!

But, writing www.google.com in the box to compute it's worth gives this startling result:
Read the full story...

On the other hand, the results for www.yahoo.com& www.msn.com are, well...have a look!

& technorati's:
To be fair, google's main page is the search page, while yahoo's/msn's/technorati's is not! Have a look at what search.yahoo.com is worth!

On a side note, this blog's worth is, at least, more than the search giant (i.e. google) ;) Look to your right!

P.S. Long time, no posts - time to be less irregular!

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