Mashups and the creation of new services
Following on from the mashup play activity this week's reflect saw other mashups evaluated. The task was as follows:
Choose a LibrayHack data mashup entry and prepare a critical commentary on it. Consider questions like: What data inputs were used? What does the end product do? How successful do you think it is?
I looked through each of the winning entries and each creation partnered different pieces of data to create amazing work. A couple of mashups stood out to me in particular. One was an image mashup created by Andrew Young titled "Reflection of Time". It shows a city scene from the 1920s sourced from the Victoria State Library with a modern day night scape reflected in the street. Through clever editing and the use of their own images for the night scape, the artist successfully showcases their intention through the mashup: "a glimpse into the future". It made me consider how much and how quickly technology has changed over time and how it is constantly evolving.
The other mashup that I thought brought several data elements together in a really effective manner is Micahel Henderson's "Talking Maps". Henderson used several data sources and several online sources to create four historical stories. These stories give insight into Brisbane's past and the journey of the H.M.S Endeavour through the use of maps, music, narration, interviews and photos. Links are clearly displayed and the mashup is fairly intuitive. I really only had time to explore one of the historic journeys and selected "Walking West End". I was amazed by the amount of information provided by the combination of elements and thought the various mediums encouraged exploration. My interest was held because of these mediums as well. I think the experience could've been improved if there was a how-to use guide, otherwise the concept and product were highly worthwhile. A brief list of data sources are described here and the project can be accessed here.
Following the review of these mashups I'm inspired to look into how I can create something similar to Talking Maps. I think mashups in this vain can be used for educational purposes, promote history (particularly from a local point-of-view) and also create an awareness of the scope of information freely available to all.
The other mashup that I thought brought several data elements together in a really effective manner is Micahel Henderson's "Talking Maps". Henderson used several data sources and several online sources to create four historical stories. These stories give insight into Brisbane's past and the journey of the H.M.S Endeavour through the use of maps, music, narration, interviews and photos. Links are clearly displayed and the mashup is fairly intuitive. I really only had time to explore one of the historic journeys and selected "Walking West End". I was amazed by the amount of information provided by the combination of elements and thought the various mediums encouraged exploration. My interest was held because of these mediums as well. I think the experience could've been improved if there was a how-to use guide, otherwise the concept and product were highly worthwhile. A brief list of data sources are described here and the project can be accessed here.
Following the review of these mashups I'm inspired to look into how I can create something similar to Talking Maps. I think mashups in this vain can be used for educational purposes, promote history (particularly from a local point-of-view) and also create an awareness of the scope of information freely available to all.
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