Click here

Aug 09

Wikimapia

Posted by Matt Jones on Wednesday, August 9, 2006.

I have a new addiction. Wikimapia. A combination of Google Maps and Wikipedia and their goal is to “describe the whole Earth!” Seriously, with things like this and Google Earth I can’t leave the computer. The following images will take you to their Wikimapia page. I have also set up Matt’s Wikimapia Blog to look at the fun and interesting things to do with Wikimapia.

Gig Harbor High School on Wikimapia

There are similarities between Google Earth and Wikimapia, but the idea of Wikimapia is to make it easy to see and find out info about the places you are looking at. You can easily add new places or add to or change existing ones. At right are two that I added: Gig Harbor High School and its band room. Because that is the kind of geek I am. :)

And for some more…

Seattle on Wikimapia
Seattle (large image)

Here is a view of Seattle. As you can see, even at this resolution, there are quite a number of places marked.

The University of Washington on Wikimapia

Zooming in we can check out my alma mater, the University of Washington. At times the screen can feel cluttered with so many things maked but it actually isn’t too bad and you can get used to it. You also have the option of turning the place markers off to see easier.

The University of Washington Physics and Astronomy building on Wikimapia

Well I couldn’t let the Physics Astronomy Building (where I spent oh so many hours) go un-marked. So I added the UW Sundial and Planetarium.

The University of Washington Observatory on Wikimapia

Here we have the second oldest building on campus, the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory. In this pic you can see the information page that can be added to or edited (or marked for deletion).

The Dark Tower in New York on Wikimapia
New York and the Dark Tower (large image)

I couldn’t leave the site until I had added Steven King’s Dark Tower to the New York skyline.

And finally. I offer a challenge (although one without a prize… other than my praises… for what they are worth…). Where is the following place and what is it? (The road next to it is kind of a clue. And you can’t just say “monument” because of the image title. Also keep in mind that I am from Washington…)

? on Wikimapia

EDIT: Yes, these are the “creepy statues”. Technically, they are called “gospodor monument park”. It can be found on Wikimapia here. Here is a KOMO news article and you can see a few pictures here and here. And here is a Seattle Times article. As my mom pointed out, they are named for Dominic Gospodor a rich guy from Seattle who put the statues up.

About This Entry -

Posted by Matt Jones @ 12:38 am on August 9, 2006  •  Filed under: Around the World, Computer
Permalink: Wikimapia
You can trackback from your own site and follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 comments feed.

13 Responses to “Wikimapia”

Trackbacks & Pings:

  1. Sarcasm Aside on 28 Nov 2006 at 7:44 am Said:

    links from Technoratiof Us” or “Annie Hall” (again). I was about to load the CDs when the thought of bloghopping seduced me. So I did. I checked out some of my have-to-read blogs. I checked my e-mail. It was still early so I clicked links here and there and came across Matt Jones’ Blog. I came across one of his posts on Wikimapia. I am already a frequent looker-upper on Wikipedia so I decided to check this new thing out. Wikimapia is like Google Earth + an Encyclopedia. The Nashman

  2. Matt Jones’ Random Acts of Verbiage… » No Soup For You! on 01 Sep 2006 at 1:08 am Said:

    [...] Wikimapia – if you haven’t seen this new combination of Google Maps and Wikipedia, you need to! [...]

  3. Matt’s Wikimapia Blog » Wikimapia on 14 Sep 2006 at 10:55 pm Said:

    [...] This was originally posted at my main blog: Random Acts of Verbiage: Wikimapia. Original comments can be found there. [...]

  4. Matt’s Wikimapia Blog » How To #1: Adding A New Place on 15 Sep 2006 at 3:59 pm Said:

    [...] This is the first post on how to use Wikimapia. In this first edition, I will go over the basics of adding a new place. My original blog post (which has been reposted here: Wikimapia) has received a number of search engine referrals that indicate some people do not know how to add a place. This post is for you! It is really quite simple. The following images are clickable for larger versions. [...]

Comments:

  1. Mom Said:

    As per Erin, they are the “creepy statues.”

  2. Matt Jones Said:

    Haha, yes, that they are. But what and where are they? And you and Erin are banned from answering because I know you just found them on Google Earth!

  3. Nancy Said:

    I have seen them many times and find them strange and mystifying — south on I – 5…but I do not remember what they are called!!

  4. Kristin Said:

    Hey, that’s fun stuff.

  5. Becky Said:

    haha, this website is way too much fun. And I probably know what they are, but I haven’t seen them enough to know what they are… if that makes sense.

  6. Mom Said:

    Dominic Gospodor

  7. Hussain S. Said:

    Nice work. Keep it up.

  8. SUNIL Said:

    its nice and very nice place….

  9. Anonymous Said:

    how add place

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared.


Home Page: Random Acts of Verbiage
email me!
Get RSS 2.0 Feed
"The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair."