University of Kentucky Students Compete in Google's 3D Campus

The results for Google's 3D campus competition are now in, with nine international campuses winning out of 81. The winners seem to have been picked based on quality of the models and going the extra mile.


The most number of building modeled by any winner was 61, while the students at University of Kentucky modeled 322 buildings! Wow. UK did not place in the winners, but I have been admiring the students' effort for a while now.

Congrats to UK for their efforts and some stellar work! It looks like other universities in the state did not participate, including the University of Louisville.

Go ahead and find your university and download it into Google Earth to view the campus in 3D.

Download UK's campus here.

Google Street View for Louisville, Finally!

Alright, this is going to freak a lot of you out, but contrary to local and national reports, Google has updated their street view for Louisville and Lexington Kentucky!

Bardstown Rd and Highland Ave

So now you can see buildings, streets and people for almost any place in the city.

In addition, they have added all the following cities:

• MA: Springfield
• NY: Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse
• NJ: Newark
• VA: Virginia Beach
• NC: Charlotte, Winston-Salem
• SC: Columbia, Greenville
• GA: Atlanta
• FL: Boca Raton, Cape Coral, Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Sarasota, West Palm Beach
• AL: Huntsville
• MS: Jackson
• TN: Knoxville
• KY: Lexington, Louisville
• OH: Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo
• MI: Ann Arbor
• MO: St. Louis
• KS: Topeka
• NE: Lincoln
• OK: Oklahoma City, Tulsa
• NV: Reno
• CA: Bakersfield, Fresno, Sacramento, Stockton

Look for it to appear in our maps soon!

Twitter and the Illinois Earthquake - Local Louisville Reports

It’s interesting the progression of how news and information got out right after the earthquake.

Twitter users were first to have confirmed details and links, even beating the blogs.

Blogs came next, some with concrete details even before local news stations would confirm it.

Radio seemed to have confirmed things next, notably NPR and WAMZ.

Local TV stations were next, confirming the quake and then showing images from links that bloggers and Twitter users posted 30 minutes prior.

National stations were last to pick it up. CNN even showed a map of the epicenter about the “Illinois Earthquake,” but then showed it alongside video footage of the fallen bricks at 309 W Kentucky St in Louisville, KY.

Of course live TV and radio showed the earthquake first, but it’s odd that it took so long to confirm it, considering that info is made available in real-time on the USGS website.

At the risk of being Spammy, here's some highlights from my own Twitter Stream for all to peruse. In order from oldest to newest.

Todd Earwood - @saftetyguy1656 I was thinking earthquake too - from web

Patrickometry - Just experienced a slight earthquake in Shepherdsville, Kentucky?!? .. we are on the New Madrid Fault!! local news also reporting same. - from twhirl

Thomas - @earwood What the hell was that? Just woke up everybody in the house. Creepy. My first thought was earthquake as well. - from web in reply to tlosbo

Todd Earwood - @tlosbo I can't find anywhere online that confirms it, but it woke us up too - from web in reply to tlosbo

Metro Mapper - Earthquake!! About 10 minutes ago. - from ThinCloud

JasonFalls - @tlosbo @earwood Yeah, I'm thinking an earthquake just hit. My whole house was chattering. - from web in reply to tlosbo

Todd Earwood - WHAS TV says it's an earthquake - from web

JasonFalls - @metromapper Is that an earthquake confirmation? - from im in reply to metromapper

JasonFalls - @MikeG1 And @earwood says local ABC affilate is reporting it. - from im in reply to MikeG1

Todd Earwood - WAVE3 said it was felt further North from us, everyone ok? - from web

Todd Earwood - AP from Indy confirmed it's an earthquake. Holy cow WAVE3 just rolled footage of the camera and lights shaking - from web

Metro Mapper - Looks like about a 5.4 earthquake at 5:37 EST http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx - from Netvibes

JasonFalls - Here's a map - http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx (thanks @metromapper) - from im

Todd Earwood - @davejohnston yes, there are 8+ of us awake in Louisville, KY and AP confirmed it's an earthquake - from web in reply to davejohnston

JasonFalls - @metromapper says 5.4 earthquake at 5:37 a.m. ET - from im in reply to metromapper

Todd Earwood - @davejohnston retweet from @metromapper Looks like about a 5.4 earthquake at 5:37 EST http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx - from web in reply to davejohnston

Todd Earwood - @toddand did you feel that too? We did in Louisville, KY. A 5.4 earthquake at 5:37 EST http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx - from web in reply to toddand

Metro Mapper - Exact location of earthquake on a map: http://snurl.com/24v3u - from Netvibes

Todd Earwood - @tannerhobin yep, we felt it in Louisville, KY Looks like about a 5.4 earthquake at 5:37 EST http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx - from web in reply to TannerHobin

Todd Earwood - @sheigl yes. check this out from @metromapper A 5.4 earthquake at 5:37 EST http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx - from web in reply to sheigl

JasonFalls - @toddand http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx 5.4 - from im in reply to toddand

Todd Earwood - man, if there ever was a time for TwitterLocal it's now. Man, there are a lot of people on here locally - from web

JasonFalls - I"m watching CNN.com to see when they actually have it. Almost 30 minutes now and nothing. - from im

JasonFalls - For those just logging on after 6 a.m. wake ups, a 5.4 earthquake between Louisville and St. Louis. No news covering it online yet. Twit ... ... - from im

JasonFalls - Again, the map from the USGS (thanks @metromapper) http://tinyurl.com/yubuxx - from im

Ben Thomas - I'm loving the twitter coverage. - from twitterrific

Joe Hayden, Realtor - @earwood Interesting possibilities for emergency preparedness / disaster coordination w/Twitter. - from web in reply to JoeHayden

Metro Mapper - Mark your location and earthquake description on this map! http://snurl.com/24v5j Pass it around. - from Netvibes

JasonFalls - Stat map from self-reporters (thanks @Finucane) #earthquake http://tinyurl.com/58s38c - from im

JasonFalls - Approximately 40 minutes after #earthquake, CNN.com still nothing. - from im

Ben Thomas - @jasonfalls NPR has had some coverage. - from twitterrific

Ben Thomas - 309 W. Kentucky, partial building collapse. - from twitterrific

JasonFalls - CNN.com's banner - "An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 rattles Illinois" - no links. Way to be, journalists! Heh. - from im

Ben Thomas - 309 W. Kentucky, not a collapse but debris fell onto street. - from twitterrific

Metro Mapper - Blog post about #earthquake http://tinyurl.com/5owpes - from Netvibes

Metro Mapper - From @bdthomas "309 W. Kentucky, not a collapse but debris fell onto street." Added to map: http://snurl.com/24v5j - from Netvibes

Metro Mapper - Some Louisville #earthquake Reports by ZIP: http://tinyurl.com/5nu6vy - from Netvibes

JasonFalls - Before I go. Need to publicly out CNN. Their story says "updated 24 minutes ago" at 6:45 a.m. Bullshit. See my Twitter stream. Now they' ... ... - from im

Todd Earwood - local client just called me geeky for turning to Twitter for earthquake info. I tried to explain how it beat the TV station - from web

NetSquared Voting Extended Three Days

NetSquared has extended the voting deadline for all projects by three days, which means you can vote today, Friday March 21 through Monday March 24!

We can't do it without you, and we think the community can help us out and spread the word. It should take you about 5 minutes to help us out.

More Information:
www.metromapper.org/n2y3mashup.php

Our 'Your Mapper' Project Page:
www.netsquared.org/2008/conference/projects/your-mapper

Four Things You Can Do

1. Cast your own Vote!

2. Send out an email to your friends and family with a link to our more information page.

3. Mention the the contest on your own site or blog

4. Promote the contest on your site or blog with one of our badges

Cities in 3D: Getting Government to Participate

Google has had this free service for a while now, but they are currently promoting it, trying to get lots of cities in 3D within Google Earth. It's really easy to do, and most cities likely have the data needed already.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwh/citiesin3d/index.html

How do you get your city to participate? Who do you need to contact? Is there anyone in your local government who knows how to get this accomplished?

Louisville

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have your entire city in 3D? Right now in Louisville, Kentucky, there are about 10 structures (of sufficient quality) that people have uploaded to the global directory, including the Humana Building, Glassworks, Slugger Field, and even Museum Plaza.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=louisville

Lexington has hundreds of buildings loaded of the downtown and UK campus, likely done by UK students. Couldn't UofL students do this too? Here is a view of UK's campus in Google Earth:


Benefits

How This Benefits Your Local Government

Engaging the public in planning

• Land use/zoning
  
• Redevelopment
  
• Historic preservation

Fostering economic development

• New business recruitment
  
• Business site location planning
  
• Real estate development

Boosting tourism

• Landmarks and attractions
• Community event planning

Simplifying navigation and geographic analysis

Enhancing facilities management

Supporting security and crime prevention

Facilitating emergency management

Tutorial: How and Why to Bookmark a Search

Bookmarks on Metro Mapper allow you to save and share a particular search and let others see what you have found. It's free, quick, easy, and fun!

1. First, sign up for an account. Then login when you first visit the site.


2. Now when you visit a map, you see a link that lets you create a bookmark at the top of each map on the site.


3. Select some Filter options to the left of each map. These let you narrow down your results and create some interesting results. Click a Filter box to open it, then select the options you want to search for.


4. Do an address search on the map you are on (or drag and zoom the map to where you want the center to be and select Center of Map), then click "Update Map." This will recenter the map where you want and show you the closest items that match your selected Filters.


5. You can zoom into your results, drag the map around, and select the type of view you want (Satellite, Map, or Hybrid). You are setting up the map for a bookmark, which is like snapshot of your current view.


6. When you are ready, click the "Bookmark, Email, or Save this Map" link at the top of the map. You will then save this search and view to your account, and see an information popup on your map.


6b. (Optional) If you'd like, click on "Add Description." This will show you a popup where you can type in the name of your Bookmark. For example "Highgate Springs and Bon Air severe crimes in 2007." This will help you remember all the details of your map, and shows up on your account page. You can create or edit this description later.

7. From the Bookmark popup, you can see a text link to your bookmark, and can highlight the link to copy it, bookmark in your browser, or email it to someone else. Once you are done, click "Close Popup" to return to your map.


8. Your Bookmark is saved to your account. Click "My Account" at the top of the page. You can see a list of all your Bookmarks. For each one, you can email it, save it to your browser, view it, or edit the description using the icons to the left.


9. You are done! You can have as many bookmarks as you'd like. Then you can share them with your friends and the world and post them on websites, blogs, forums or comments on articles.

Note that the points in your bookmarks might change as the data gets updated. For example, if a restaurant gets an updated health review, the old review won't show up anymore on your bookmark. Bookmarks really save your center location and map search options for later, not every point on the map at a moment in time.

Here are a few interesting map bookmarks I made to get you started. Feel free to bookmark my bookmarks to your own account!

1. Restaurants with 86% or less health score.


2. Highlands restaurants with 99-100% health score.


3. Severe crimes around Highgate Springs and Bon Air in 2007.


4. Old Louisville's Historic District.


5. Homes for sale up to $150,000 around Highview.


6. Reported severe crimes committed by white males around Central Park.


7. Sex Offenders near Tom Sawyer State Park.


8. Prostitution reports by offender type near Pleasure Ridge Park.
   

Make some of your own bookmarks and if they are interesting, post them to the comments right here.

New Feature: Streamlined Local Search

Now at the bottom left of every map there is a new improved local search box. You can type in a term or business name and you will see the closest 10 results directly on the map you are viewing. So if you search for 'security' after doing a crime search, you'd see the nearest companies that can help you out!

Featured Map: Kentucky Bridge Safety

Many people are interested in knowing how safe their bridges are after the tragic Minneapolis I-35W collapse. We've put together a Bridge Safety map for the state of Kentucky, with the most recent status of over 15,000 bridges.

This map shows the status of every bridge or overpass in Kentucky and inlcudes when it was inspected, year built, and daily vehicle traffic. The status can be Structurally Deficient, Functionally Obsolete, Not Deficient or Not Applicable, and each bridge is also given an overall rating by FHWA from 1-100%, with 100 being the best.


This map plots information from the National Bridge Inventory from the Federal Highway Administration site.

Updated Map: Sex Offenders for All of Kentucky

The sex offender map now has data for the entire state of Kentucky, instead of just Louisville. You can use the "Center of Map" feature to move the map to your city, or try the new mapplet to do an address search. If you've already used the mapplet, the state-wide data has been added automatically!

New Mapplets: Traffic Cams, Historic Sites

Two new mapplets for you to use, one for historic sites and one for live traffic cams. The historic sites cover all places in the states of Kentucky and Indiana. The traffic cameras are live images of downtown Louisville and the expressways.

Add them to your maps page from the Google Maps Directory.

New Mapplets: Crime, Sex Offenders, Real Estate

We've added 3 new mapplets for crime, sex offenders, and daily updated real estate listings. Mapplets give you the power to overlay Metro Mapper's, other people's, and your own data all at once on the same map. We keep it up to date, and you view the results all at once on your own Google map, available from any computer!

Add them to your maps page from the Google Maps Directory.

Mapplet: Restaurants on your own map!

This is a new feature for all you experimental types out there. You can now see a searchable restaurant map on a Google map... with other custom information at the same time! Did you ever want to see the restaurants from Metro Mapper, and then overlay gas station prices, movie times, and local photos on the same map? Now you can with Google's Mapplets.


Just click the image above, then click 'Add to Maps' and you'll get our searchable restaurant overlay. Then, go back an add some popular mapplets to view at the same time, like Gas Prices, Movie Times, and Local Photos.

The cool thing is that whenever we update our restaurant data, you'll get to see the newest restaurants on your custom map automatically. We'll be adding the rest of Metro Mappers maps soon. Enjoy, and learn more about it here.

As a bonus, note that you can save your results by click the Link to, Email, and Google Earth buttons at the bottom of the mapplet. This will let you bookmark your search, email your friends what you've found, and even view it in 3D in Google Earth.

New Feature: Google Traffic on Every Map

You can now overlay the current traffic conditions on every Metro Mapper map, even within our own traffic map. The traffic info comes from GPS devices that Google tracks nationally.


It's not as accurate as our local Louisville traffic map. but it can provide a comparison and show some areas we can't cover. Now you won't be late to your restaurant reservation or home appointment.

New Feature: Interactive Zoom

Have you ever wanted to zoom in on a cluster of markers, but were annoyed that you had to click zoom, then drag to recenter, then repeat? Well now you can click the Zoom icon on the left side of the map and interactively select an area to zoom in on!

The map will automatically zoom into the area you want to see in more detail.

Updated Map: Historic Sites. ALL Sites in KY and IN

The Historic Sites Map now includes every site in Kentucky and Indiana, over 5,000 monuments, buildings, districts, and areas. If you want to search an area outside of Louisville, use the "Center of Map" tool to zoom and drag the map to any location in Kentucky or Indiana; your search will be centered around that point.

In addition, we've plotted the outlines of historic areas, like the Highlands in Louisville. These areas are the red points and have an associated red boundary and shading. Single historic places are marked with a blue point.

Enjoy!

Updated Map: Derby 2007 Events and Routes

The First Annual Kentucky Derby Map has been updated to include charity and commerical events, as well as a detailed route of the Mini Marathon and Full Marathons.


More events will be added as they become publicized, including all Chow Wagon locations. Also, we'll be overlaying more routes, like the Pegasus Parade, and Triple Crown of Running. If you know of an event that is not listed on our map, please contact us.