We have finally updated Stickymap.com so that marker viewing matches what we see on the widget. This means that you’ll be able to see more relevant locations as you scroll and zoom around the map. The algorithm we use for displaying markers will continue to evolve, so I invite feedback on this change, and any changes you’d like to see in the future.
Max
To make it easier for people to place the widget on their websites, we have pushed out a widget code-generator. Just type in the starting location, map height, map width, and initial zoom level and BOOM! You now have the code ready to place in your website. give it a try:
www.stickymap.com/widget/embedGen.php
Max
HelloBrooklyn.com, Brooklyn’s guide for visitors, has put Stickymap on their front page, asking users to post their business on the map. We are happy to have HelloBrooklyn participating in Stickymap. We have already seen our Brooklyn database grow because of this placement, and we hope this will continue in the future. While we’ve had some national sites use Stickymap, this is really the first time a local page has focused all of their users in a single area. The benefits of this are increased interaction between our users, and a much better guide to the Brooklyn area.
As local bloggers in Brooklyn start adopting the widget, New York City’s most populous borough will become a good example of how other local communities can use Stickymap.
[where: Brooklyn, NY]
Now you can add VIDEO to any Stickymap location. This feature allows you to post any video on youtube.com to our site. If you have your own video that you’d like to put up, just put it on YouTube, and then add it to Stickymap.
This is brand new, so I encourage our users to try it out, and let us know how it goes. I look forward to seeing this being used over the next few weeks. The videos will appear on the widget as well.
Max
I’m working on a new piece of functionality that will fit it well with our current system. Please check this blog in the next few days!
Just a development update:
Today we gutted the internals of moving markers. These changes will do a couple of things:
First, it will restrict user’s ability to move markers to only markers that haven’t been edited by other registered users. This is because moving markers can be as destructive as removing markers. The result will be that if you create a marker, you’ll be able to move it, but if a marker already have edits, photos, or any additions from other users, you’ll be asked to report the marker instead. We’ll see how this works, and we’ll be able to tweak the security settings as feedback is received.
Secondly, it will make it easier for us to monitor which markers are being moved and how often. This will hopefully make it easier for us to spot vandalism and reverse it.
This is not in reaction to any problem that has occurred so far, but in preparation for further traffic and newer features that will be added to the site.
Max
Dan and I are proud to announce the Stickymap Facebook application. Now you can embed the Stickymap widget on your Facebook page and have it display Stickymap postings in your neighborhood.
If you are a member of Facebook, you can install the app by clicking “edit” next to “Applications” on the left hand side of your profile. Then, click “Browse More Applications”. Search “Stickymap”, and click “Add Application”.
We invite your feedback on the Facebook Application, and on the widget itself. Please stay tuned for more on this exciting development.
Max
I know this blog has been less active, but there’s been a lot of work going on in the background, and in a little while we’ll have some announcements for you.
In order to prepare our widget for primetime, we’ve needed to make some usability improvements. Today, we once again tweaked the algorithm for determining which markers get displayed. Some of our users have expressed dislike for the “importance” level, so now the display algorithm on the widget is completely independent of importance.
I’d like our users to play around with the widget (http://blog.stickymap.com/?p=87) and look closely at which markers get display as you move around, zoom in, and zoom out. Do you like this new system? Is there something you would change? What do you think about dropping the importance level?
Keep in mind that even though we’ve dropped importance level for the widget, we still have it on our main site. If we like what we see on the widget, we will consider switching the main site to that system as well.
I’ll be more specific as to what algorithm we’re using in a future post.
Max
So, our refactoring projects have yielded some more improvements.
One is that user search now displays in the middle of the page, with pictures to help you see who you are looking at. Of course, most of our users still cling to the default animals that we have provided so it might not be as helpful. Still, I think that the social networking aspect of the site starts to come together as the search and interaction features become more fully developed.
Do a user search (which should be on the left-hand side of the page, about half the way down) and tell us what you think!
Max