Everyone can be an inventor with Web Mashups
See “Find your way with a map mashup” (database, page 7)
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Mashups make it possible for anyone who knows how to program a computer to become an inventor. One of the first Mashups combined online real estate advertisements with online maps to make searching for rentals or houses easier. This computer programmer’s after work project ended up making local real estate markets in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley areas more efficient.
Make a list of mashup websites using maps that are mentioned in the article. Think about whether they would work in Thailand. For example, would a Gawker Stalker site for celebrity sightings in Bangkok work?
In a fifteen minute web search, I was able to find a good business idea for Thailand in the Web Map Gallery at Directions Magazine. An English company offers a map of vegetarian restaurants with reviews. I can also imagine a map of stores selling organically grown vegetables or a map of dog-friendly businesses (hotels, restaurants, apartments, etc). Google's advertising technology, called Adsense, has made it easier for anyone to make money through advertisements on their website. These might not be viable ideas right now, but in six months, a year, two years?
Vocabulary (in discussion above)
haute couture - designing and making of expensive and fashionable clothes (French word used in English)Vocabulary (in article)
find your way – when you are lost, find how to get where you want to goweb application – a computer program that you use over the internet instead of installing on your computer, imagine using Microsoft office over the internet instead of installing it on your computer (See Wikipedia:Web_application)
mashup – a combination of two or more web applications (See Wikipedia:Mashup)
coupled with – used with
GPS – Global Positioning System, a device that uses satellite signals to find your position on the map (See Wikipedia:GPS)
Garmin units – GPS devices made by Garmin Corporation
get the thumbs up - approves of
saved the day – solved a serious problem
heading off - leaving
Symbian – one of the popular software systems used to run mobile phones (See Wikipedia:Symbian)
bundled software - software that is included with the hardware you buy
standalone - not part of a larger system, for example a standalone DVD player versus a DVD player that is part of a stereo
route simulation - when a computer map program helps you by going down the same road that you need to go down
a landmark – something that is easy to notice like a building that you can use to help you find your way, for example when someone gives you directions to their condominium they tell you to turn right at Baiyoke Tower, the tallest building in Bangkok
work in progress – currently working on the project so it is not yet finished
user-driven – satisfying the needs of users is your goal
disruptive – disruptive technology, replaces older technology and is extremely different (See Wikipedia:Disruptive_technology)
a refresher – a refresher course, a quick overview of a subject you studied in the past to help you remember it again
novel – new and different
narrow the search down – to be more exact and precise about what you are searching for
a real-time view – you can see something happening in real time, for example you can see your child playing at school on the internet from a web camera at their school
organically grown - food grown without artificial pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). In (See Wikipedia:Organic_food)
viable - capable of further developing and becoming successful