#22 Gathering it together with Mashups

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[1:31 mins]

Now that we are nearing the end it is time to have a look at mashups. A mashup is a resource that has been created by combining two, three or even more applications together. That is; the original resource is made up of third party applications. The online telephone directory is one example that you may have used. You’ve searched the directory on the internet and with your results there is a google map showing the location of the address and phone number. So this is a mashup of two databases, the telephone directory and a mapping directory (usually google maps). What the user gets, is value added information.

You have probably used mashups more often than you think. Often you will be interacting with a service on the web and in fact behind it is several resources being combined to give you your answer. I have listed a wide variety of mashups so that you can get an idea of the variety of ways they can be used. Some work well, some have really poor instructions, some are fast and some slow. I think all this will improve as their development gains momentum.

Discovery Resources:

• Wikipedia definition of a Mashup
• Dr. Mashup; or, Why Educators Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Remix: Educause article

Some individual examples of mashups:

• FlickrVision
• GoDo Australia
• HousingMaps
• WeatherBonk
• Chicago Crime
• Sydney Unposed (not sure how this site stands in regards to copyright?)

Collections of mashups:

• Google Maps Mania: 50 Things to Do with Google Maps Mash-ups
• Programmable Web API list for Mash-ups

Discovery Exercise:
1. Play with a few of the mashups listed in the Discovery Resources above.
2. Create a blog post about your experiences including your thoughts on what mashups could be developed for our Library. And if you find a really good or fun mashup maybe share the location of it on your blog.

Next Up For This Week: #23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning...