The Man Responsible for Google's Non-Island

To contact us Click HERE
The Culprit

Last week you might have heard about the non-discovery of an island called Sandy that appears on Google Maps. There has been a lot of fun had at the expense of Google Maps for showing an island in the Coral Sea that doesn't actually exist but today I can reveal the true villain of this mapping error:

Captain J W Robinson, captain of the brig Velocity in 1876
The Back Story
Last week scientists from the University of Sydney revealed that they had sailed to where Google Maps shows a Pacific island called Sandy and had found no island and just a whole lot of sea. 

Today the Auckland Museum revealed that a trawl through their huge collection of historical maps turned up a 1908 map which shows the island. According to the map the island was discovered by the Velocity in 1876.



The Velocity

Searching on the National Library of Australia website I discovered that the Velocity was a whaling brig. Amazingly the library actually has photos of the ship. This one was taken at dry dock in 1870, six years before she 'discovered' Sandy.



Even more amazingly the library has a photograph of William John Maguire (see the top of this post), described as a 'sailor on the brig Velocity'. The photo is dated to 1870, so it is quite possible that Mr Maguire was actually on board Velocity in 1876 when it 'discovered' Sandy. However Mr Maguire is not the villain of our mapping error, that award must go to the captain of the Velocity, who in 1876 was one J W Robinson.

Here is a newspaper report from The (Hobart) Mercury, dated 11th March 1876, which names the Velocity's captain:

"THE whaling brig Velocity returned from an unsuccessful voyage yesterday. She brings 3 tuns of sperm oil. Captain Robinson reports that he sailed from this port on the 12th March 1875, and proceeded to Cato's Bank. After cruising there for some time without success he proceeded to the Middle Ground. Had seen only three whales during the voyage, one of which, a small one, yielded the quantity which constitutes the Velocity's take".

Sandy Island was not the only island 'discovered' by Captain Robinson. Captain Robinson also 'discovered' Heard Island. This island also features on Google Maps and actually seems to exist and is clearly visible in Google Maps satellite view.

The (Hobart) Mercury reported in 1929 that Captain Robinson, "in exploring, discovered that there was an island previously uncharted here, and named it Heard Island." Unfortunately however this seems to be another unfortunate 'discovery' for J W Robinson. According to Wikipedia Heard Island was actually discovered by an American sealer, Captain John Heard, who sighted the island on 25 November 1853 and had the island named after him.

The History of Velocity

Whilst researching Velocity I have managed to put together a brief history of the ship. The ship was originally built at Haldon, Devonshire, UK in 1827. In its early life it seems to have plied its trade carrying cargo back and forth between Britain and the Americas.

In 1830, when returning from the Americas with a valuable cargo, the ship was boarded and captured by a Portuguese ship. The Portuguese captain who took over the ship was one Maurico Jose-Alves. Another British captain approached the Velocity only to be met by a hostile reception. He reported that Maurico,

"made use of the most abusive and insulting language and ... the officer then threw a square kettle, which struck me with great force on the head."

Sometime after this date the Velocity sailed to Australia. The Australasian Chronicle has a report dated the 24th November 1841 that says the Velocity 'has arrived from England'. This may have been its first arrival in Australia.

As well as operating as a whaling brig the ship had a less illustrious career as a 'blackbirder'. Blackbirding was the recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. The Blackbird website says that "blackbirding in Australia began with the first acknowledged Blackbirder Captain William Boyd in 1847 when his schooner Velocity landed sixty-five men from the New Hebrides."

It appears that the Velocity was bringing cheap (forced) labour from the Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Rotuma, Gilbert and Ellice Islands to Australia. It is in this general vicinity of the Pacific that in 1870 that the Velocity 'discovered' and mapped Sandy Island. 

The ship was eventually boughtat auction on the 28 August 1885, to be broken up. It was sunk at her moorings in the River Derwent, Tasmania.

Twitter Ticker-Tape Parade on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

TwitterMap is an interesting Google Map of geo-located Tweets. The map displays the profile pictures of each Twitter user and animates the posted Twitter message, scrolling marquee fashion, above the Twitter user's name.

The map is an interesting way to view in real-time what people are saying around a particular location. The same developer has also created a Google Map that displays recently posted Flickr photos around locations.

FlickrMap displays thumbnail images of Flickr photos on top of Google Maps. Users can click on an individual thumbnail picture to view the photograph in a larger window. Using both maps in conjunction is a good way to view real-time media around a specific location and could prove particularly interesting during specific events and breaking news stories.

Go Karting on Google Maps

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A few famous motor racing tracks are featured in Google Maps Street View. Using Street View you can virtually drive a lap of the Laguna Raceway, the Thunderhill Raceway, the Infineon Raceway, Silverstone and Monza.

Now you can also take a spin around the indoor go-kart track in Ayslebury, UK.


If racing driving isn't your cup of tea then why not imagine being a matador instead by visiting the Plaza de Toros in Valencia.

Many other Sports Stadia around the world now include Street View imagery. Google Earth Hacks has a good collection of many of the stadia now featured on Google Maps Street View in their Sports Stadiums section. 

Good Roads for Bikes on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

The Cyclist's Road Map is a crowd-sourced Google Map for cyclists that provides a handy guide about the quality of roads around the world.

Cyclists can submit reviews of roads based on the quality of the road surface, scenery and the amount of traffic on a road. Roads that have already been rated are color-coded on the map, green indicates roads that have been recommended by other cyclists and red indicates that the road has been deemed to be a bad road for cycling.

If a user selects an individual road on the map they can view the road's overall rating and also view the road's individual ratings for the road surface, scenery and traffic levels.

Get ready for winter: Mapping the Canadian Arctic and Global Ski Resorts

To contact us Click HERE
(Cross posted on Official Google Blog)

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping. To help prepare for the winter ahead, we’re adding more detail and imagery to the map for a variety of chilly destinations, making them more comprehensive and accurate than ever. Starting today, you can virtually experience the Canadian Arctic through new panoramic Street View images of Cambridge Bay and detailed maps created with the help of local community members. And if you’re planning a winter getaway, you can preview the slopes of more than 90 ski and snow resorts around the world, adding to dozens that are already available via Street View today.

Canada’s Arctic

When we visited Canada’s far north this past August, we worked with the nonprofit group Nunavut Tunngavik and the residents of Cambridge Bay to improve the map of this remote, but culturally rich, Nunavut hamlet. The map this community helped build using Google Map Maker, as well as the 360-degree images we collected using Street View trike and tripod technologies, is now available for all the world to see on Google Maps.




To get a sense of what it’s like to live up in the north, you can walk down Omingmak Street, make your way to the bridge (where locals fish for Arctic Char) and head out to the Old Stone Church. Check out some Arctic souvenirs in the Arctic Closet, or visit the Ice Hockey and Curling Arena—it’s uninsulated and freezes over once they flood it in the winter! You can also learn more about Inuit history and culture at the Kitikmeot Heritage Society and the Arctic Coast Visitors Centre.



View Larger Map 
Explore the intersection of Omingmak (“musk ox”) Street and Tigiganiak (“fox”) Road
Ski and snow resorts across the globe

You can also view some of the world’s best runs right on Google Maps before you get there. Whether you’re looking to discover a piste you’ve never tried before, or just want to take in some winter wonderland scenery, we’ve added Street View imagery for resorts across Europe (including runs in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Italy and Spain), Canada (including runs in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario) and the U.S. (including runs in Utah and Michigan).

For example, take a look at Sölden, a popular ski resort in the Ötztal valley of Tyrol, Austria. It’s not just tourists who flock there every year, but fans of professional skiing—Sölden regularly hosts the giant slalom competition as part of the Alpine World Cup in late October.


View Larger Map
You can also visit Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah. With 19 chairlifts, 4,000 acres of skiable terrain and an average of 355 inches of snow each winter, Canyons is the largest ski and snowboard terrain park in the state.


View Larger Map
Visit the to see some of our favorite images of the Arctic and resorts available on Google Maps. As winter sets in, we encourage you to experience it all from the comfort (and warmth) of your couch—or check it out online, then dig out your thermal underwear and snow boots to hit the slopes!

Posted by Ulf Spitzer, Program Manager, Google Street View

Explore the UK's Wildest Terrain

To contact us Click HERE

Honda are promoting their CR-V compact SUV car in the UK using Google Maps Street View. In order to encourage potential customers that they could really use a SUV Honda has put together a wonderful collection of Street Views of the UK's wildest terrain.

Do More New allows users to enter a postcode and then shows a beautiful Street View of somewhere nearby that they can visit. Users can choose from a number of terrains, including mountains, snow, forest and urban.

Overlaid on top of the displayed Street View are the current weather conditions and the option to view places to stay overnight.

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

What's Happening on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

Google Maps applications that display upcoming events and concerts have been coming thick and fast this month. Two weeks ago Google Maps Mania reviewed HUGE city, a map that displays nearby Facebook events, and Concert Mapper, a Google Maps based application to find and book tickets for concerts, theatre or sporting events.

Now a new Google Map has been released that can help you find out what is happening nearby, using listings from Facebook events, Eventbrite, Meetup and Upcoming. Mapify.us uses categorised map markers to show from which listing service each event comes (using the initial letter of each service). The markers are also color-coded to show whether the listed event is happening today, tomorrow or this week.

The Man Responsible for Google's Non-Island

To contact us Click HERE
The Culprit

Last week you might have heard about the non-discovery of an island called Sandy that appears on Google Maps. There has been a lot of fun had at the expense of Google Maps for showing an island in the Coral Sea that doesn't actually exist but today I can reveal the true villain of this mapping error:

Captain J W Robinson, captain of the brig Velocity in 1876
The Back Story
Last week scientists from the University of Sydney revealed that they had sailed to where Google Maps shows a Pacific island called Sandy and had found no island and just a whole lot of sea. 

Today the Auckland Museum revealed that a trawl through their huge collection of historical maps turned up a 1908 map which shows the island. According to the map the island was discovered by the Velocity in 1876.



The Velocity

Searching on the National Library of Australia website I discovered that the Velocity was a whaling brig. Amazingly the library actually has photos of the ship. This one was taken at dry dock in 1870, six years before she 'discovered' Sandy.



Even more amazingly the library has a photograph of William John Maguire (see the top of this post), described as a 'sailor on the brig Velocity'. The photo is dated to 1870, so it is quite possible that Mr Maguire was actually on board Velocity in 1876 when it 'discovered' Sandy. However Mr Maguire is not the villain of our mapping error, that award must go to the captain of the Velocity, who in 1876 was one J W Robinson.

Here is a newspaper report from The (Hobart) Mercury, dated 11th March 1876, which names the Velocity's captain:

"THE whaling brig Velocity returned from an unsuccessful voyage yesterday. She brings 3 tuns of sperm oil. Captain Robinson reports that he sailed from this port on the 12th March 1875, and proceeded to Cato's Bank. After cruising there for some time without success he proceeded to the Middle Ground. Had seen only three whales during the voyage, one of which, a small one, yielded the quantity which constitutes the Velocity's take".

Sandy Island was not the only island 'discovered' by Captain Robinson. Captain Robinson also 'discovered' Heard Island. This island also features on Google Maps and actually seems to exist and is clearly visible in Google Maps satellite view.

The (Hobart) Mercury reported in 1929 that Captain Robinson, "in exploring, discovered that there was an island previously uncharted here, and named it Heard Island." Unfortunately however this seems to be another unfortunate 'discovery' for J W Robinson. According to Wikipedia Heard Island was actually discovered by an American sealer, Captain John Heard, who sighted the island on 25 November 1853 and had the island named after him.

The History of Velocity

Whilst researching Velocity I have managed to put together a brief history of the ship. The ship was originally built at Haldon, Devonshire, UK in 1827. In its early life it seems to have plied its trade carrying cargo back and forth between Britain and the Americas.

In 1830, when returning from the Americas with a valuable cargo, the ship was boarded and captured by a Portuguese ship. The Portuguese captain who took over the ship was one Maurico Jose-Alves. Another British captain approached the Velocity only to be met by a hostile reception. He reported that Maurico,

"made use of the most abusive and insulting language and ... the officer then threw a square kettle, which struck me with great force on the head."

Sometime after this date the Velocity sailed to Australia. The Australasian Chronicle has a report dated the 24th November 1841 that says the Velocity 'has arrived from England'. This may have been its first arrival in Australia.

As well as operating as a whaling brig the ship had a less illustrious career as a 'blackbirder'. Blackbirding was the recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. The Blackbird website says that "blackbirding in Australia began with the first acknowledged Blackbirder Captain William Boyd in 1847 when his schooner Velocity landed sixty-five men from the New Hebrides."

It appears that the Velocity was bringing cheap (forced) labour from the Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Rotuma, Gilbert and Ellice Islands to Australia. It is in this general vicinity of the Pacific that in 1870 that the Velocity 'discovered' and mapped Sandy Island. 

The ship was eventually boughtat auction on the 28 August 1885, to be broken up. It was sunk at her moorings in the River Derwent, Tasmania.

Green Buildings on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

The Green Building Information Gateway is a global platform for exploring and comparing the green dimensions of buildings. The project from The U.S. Green Building Council helps users discover green buildings around the world.

The GBIG Map shows the location of green buildings across the globe. It is possible to view the buildings in map or list form. If you select a marker on the map you can click through to view details about the building's green credentials in a number of categories, including building materials, energy and water efficiency.

Finding a Job with Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

JobKaster is a Google Maps based job search application. Using the app job seekers can search for jobs by location and also submit their location, professional skills and resume to potential recruiters.

Jobs are displayed on the map using markers that show the name of the company recruiting. If users click on a map marker they can view details of the positions on offer. The details section includes an 'apply' button that will take the user to the recruiting company's own jobs page.

JobKaster can also be used by companies to post their currently available positions.

Currently JobKaster only works in the USA but the site has plans to broaden coverage soon to other countries.

What's Happening on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

Google Maps applications that display upcoming events and concerts have been coming thick and fast this month. Two weeks ago Google Maps Mania reviewed HUGE city, a map that displays nearby Facebook events, and Concert Mapper, a Google Maps based application to find and book tickets for concerts, theatre or sporting events.

Now a new Google Map has been released that can help you find out what is happening nearby, using listings from Facebook events, Eventbrite, Meetup and Upcoming. Mapify.us uses categorised map markers to show from which listing service each event comes (using the initial letter of each service). The markers are also color-coded to show whether the listed event is happening today, tomorrow or this week.

The Man Responsible for Google's Non-Island

To contact us Click HERE
The Culprit

Last week you might have heard about the non-discovery of an island called Sandy that appears on Google Maps. There has been a lot of fun had at the expense of Google Maps for showing an island in the Coral Sea that doesn't actually exist but today I can reveal the true villain of this mapping error:

Captain J W Robinson, captain of the brig Velocity in 1876
The Back Story
Last week scientists from the University of Sydney revealed that they had sailed to where Google Maps shows a Pacific island called Sandy and had found no island and just a whole lot of sea. 

Today the Auckland Museum revealed that a trawl through their huge collection of historical maps turned up a 1908 map which shows the island. According to the map the island was discovered by the Velocity in 1876.



The Velocity

Searching on the National Library of Australia website I discovered that the Velocity was a whaling brig. Amazingly the library actually has photos of the ship. This one was taken at dry dock in 1870, six years before she 'discovered' Sandy.



Even more amazingly the library has a photograph of William John Maguire (see the top of this post), described as a 'sailor on the brig Velocity'. The photo is dated to 1870, so it is quite possible that Mr Maguire was actually on board Velocity in 1876 when it 'discovered' Sandy. However Mr Maguire is not the villain of our mapping error, that award must go to the captain of the Velocity, who in 1876 was one J W Robinson.

Here is a newspaper report from The (Hobart) Mercury, dated 11th March 1876, which names the Velocity's captain:

"THE whaling brig Velocity returned from an unsuccessful voyage yesterday. She brings 3 tuns of sperm oil. Captain Robinson reports that he sailed from this port on the 12th March 1875, and proceeded to Cato's Bank. After cruising there for some time without success he proceeded to the Middle Ground. Had seen only three whales during the voyage, one of which, a small one, yielded the quantity which constitutes the Velocity's take".

Sandy Island was not the only island 'discovered' by Captain Robinson. Captain Robinson also 'discovered' Heard Island. This island also features on Google Maps and actually seems to exist and is clearly visible in Google Maps satellite view.

The (Hobart) Mercury reported in 1929 that Captain Robinson, "in exploring, discovered that there was an island previously uncharted here, and named it Heard Island." Unfortunately however this seems to be another unfortunate 'discovery' for J W Robinson. According to Wikipedia Heard Island was actually discovered by an American sealer, Captain John Heard, who sighted the island on 25 November 1853 and had the island named after him.

The History of Velocity

Whilst researching Velocity I have managed to put together a brief history of the ship. The ship was originally built at Haldon, Devonshire, UK in 1827. In its early life it seems to have plied its trade carrying cargo back and forth between Britain and the Americas.

In 1830, when returning from the Americas with a valuable cargo, the ship was boarded and captured by a Portuguese ship. The Portuguese captain who took over the ship was one Maurico Jose-Alves. Another British captain approached the Velocity only to be met by a hostile reception. He reported that Maurico,

"made use of the most abusive and insulting language and ... the officer then threw a square kettle, which struck me with great force on the head."

Sometime after this date the Velocity sailed to Australia. The Australasian Chronicle has a report dated the 24th November 1841 that says the Velocity 'has arrived from England'. This may have been its first arrival in Australia.

As well as operating as a whaling brig the ship had a less illustrious career as a 'blackbirder'. Blackbirding was the recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. The Blackbird website says that "blackbirding in Australia began with the first acknowledged Blackbirder Captain William Boyd in 1847 when his schooner Velocity landed sixty-five men from the New Hebrides."

It appears that the Velocity was bringing cheap (forced) labour from the Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Rotuma, Gilbert and Ellice Islands to Australia. It is in this general vicinity of the Pacific that in 1870 that the Velocity 'discovered' and mapped Sandy Island. 

The ship was eventually boughtat auction on the 28 August 1885, to be broken up. It was sunk at her moorings in the River Derwent, Tasmania.

Botswana and Canada on Street View

To contact us Click HERE

Chobe National Park

Botswana has today become only the second African country to get Street View coverage on Google Maps. There has also been lots of new Street View imagery added in Canada.

Now Google Maps users around the world can explore Botswana’s unique scenery and world-renowned game reserves, like Chobe National Park.


Monkey and deer. Pan the Street View around and there is an elephant as well.

There is also new Street View imagery available in Canada. The new imagery includes panoramas captured in the isolated Nunavut hamlet of Cambridge Bay in Canada's Arctic far north.



Via: Google Africa Blog and Google Canada Blog

Have You Sent Your Street View Cards Yet?

To contact us Click HERE

There has been a huge increase in the clever use of Street View in marketing campaigns this year. It is easy to get a little blasé now about marrying animation and live video with Google Maps Street View but this new Christmas marketing campaign from Stella Artois is incredibly well done.

Stella Artois' Christmas Carole app on Facebook allows you to enter an address and then creates a video in which a band visits the address and plays you a song. The Street View of the address is used as a backdrop to the video so that it appears that the band is actually playing in your street. The video includes a zoom effect, using Google Maps Satellite View to zoom in on the address.

There are a number of other nice touches in this app, like a falling snow effect. Of course wrapping the whole thing inside Facebook means that users can also share the app and send personalised messages to their Facebook friends, using their addresses.

Spotting Wildlife with Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

The I-90 Wildlife Watch is using Google Maps to create a crowd-sourced wildlife monitoring project. The project is inviting motorists to report wildlife sightings along I-90 in the Snoqualmie Pass region of Washington.

The aim of the project is to gather information about wildlife on the I-90 to help inform highway planning. The Snoqualmie Pass region is a critical link in the north-south movement of wildlife. With the help of these crowd-sourced reports the project hopes that measures can be introduced to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and enhance the safe passage of wildlife in the future.

What's Happening on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

Google Maps applications that display upcoming events and concerts have been coming thick and fast this month. Two weeks ago Google Maps Mania reviewed HUGE city, a map that displays nearby Facebook events, and Concert Mapper, a Google Maps based application to find and book tickets for concerts, theatre or sporting events.

Now a new Google Map has been released that can help you find out what is happening nearby, using listings from Facebook events, Eventbrite, Meetup and Upcoming. Mapify.us uses categorised map markers to show from which listing service each event comes (using the initial letter of each service). The markers are also color-coded to show whether the listed event is happening today, tomorrow or this week.

The Man Responsible for Google's Non-Island

To contact us Click HERE
The Culprit

Last week you might have heard about the non-discovery of an island called Sandy that appears on Google Maps. There has been a lot of fun had at the expense of Google Maps for showing an island in the Coral Sea that doesn't actually exist but today I can reveal the true villain of this mapping error:

Captain J W Robinson, captain of the brig Velocity in 1876
The Back Story
Last week scientists from the University of Sydney revealed that they had sailed to where Google Maps shows a Pacific island called Sandy and had found no island and just a whole lot of sea. 

Today the Auckland Museum revealed that a trawl through their huge collection of historical maps turned up a 1908 map which shows the island. According to the map the island was discovered by the Velocity in 1876.



The Velocity

Searching on the National Library of Australia website I discovered that the Velocity was a whaling brig. Amazingly the library actually has photos of the ship. This one was taken at dry dock in 1870, six years before she 'discovered' Sandy.



Even more amazingly the library has a photograph of William John Maguire (see the top of this post), described as a 'sailor on the brig Velocity'. The photo is dated to 1870, so it is quite possible that Mr Maguire was actually on board Velocity in 1876 when it 'discovered' Sandy. However Mr Maguire is not the villain of our mapping error, that award must go to the captain of the Velocity, who in 1876 was one J W Robinson.

Here is a newspaper report from The (Hobart) Mercury, dated 11th March 1876, which names the Velocity's captain:

"THE whaling brig Velocity returned from an unsuccessful voyage yesterday. She brings 3 tuns of sperm oil. Captain Robinson reports that he sailed from this port on the 12th March 1875, and proceeded to Cato's Bank. After cruising there for some time without success he proceeded to the Middle Ground. Had seen only three whales during the voyage, one of which, a small one, yielded the quantity which constitutes the Velocity's take".

Sandy Island was not the only island 'discovered' by Captain Robinson. Captain Robinson also 'discovered' Heard Island. This island also features on Google Maps and actually seems to exist and is clearly visible in Google Maps satellite view.

The (Hobart) Mercury reported in 1929 that Captain Robinson, "in exploring, discovered that there was an island previously uncharted here, and named it Heard Island." Unfortunately however this seems to be another unfortunate 'discovery' for J W Robinson. According to Wikipedia Heard Island was actually discovered by an American sealer, Captain John Heard, who sighted the island on 25 November 1853 and had the island named after him.

The History of Velocity

Whilst researching Velocity I have managed to put together a brief history of the ship. The ship was originally built at Haldon, Devonshire, UK in 1827. In its early life it seems to have plied its trade carrying cargo back and forth between Britain and the Americas.

In 1830, when returning from the Americas with a valuable cargo, the ship was boarded and captured by a Portuguese ship. The Portuguese captain who took over the ship was one Maurico Jose-Alves. Another British captain approached the Velocity only to be met by a hostile reception. He reported that Maurico,

"made use of the most abusive and insulting language and ... the officer then threw a square kettle, which struck me with great force on the head."

Sometime after this date the Velocity sailed to Australia. The Australasian Chronicle has a report dated the 24th November 1841 that says the Velocity 'has arrived from England'. This may have been its first arrival in Australia.

As well as operating as a whaling brig the ship had a less illustrious career as a 'blackbirder'. Blackbirding was the recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. The Blackbird website says that "blackbirding in Australia began with the first acknowledged Blackbirder Captain William Boyd in 1847 when his schooner Velocity landed sixty-five men from the New Hebrides."

It appears that the Velocity was bringing cheap (forced) labour from the Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Rotuma, Gilbert and Ellice Islands to Australia. It is in this general vicinity of the Pacific that in 1870 that the Velocity 'discovered' and mapped Sandy Island. 

The ship was eventually boughtat auction on the 28 August 1885, to be broken up. It was sunk at her moorings in the River Derwent, Tasmania.

Instagram Photos on Street View

To contact us Click HERE

The Beat is one of those great ideas that you just can't help wishing that you had thought of yourself. There are a lot of Google Maps based Instagram apps but I think that this is the first one I've seen which has made the inspired choice of using Street View. How better to convey the sense of where a photograph was taken than to show you what it looks like with Google's 360 degree panoramic imagery.

Using The Beat it is possible to view photographs submitted to Instagram on top of a Street View of the location where the picture was taken. If you enter a hashtag search into The Beat you can just sit back and watch as a stream of Instagram images, placed on top of Street View, plays on your monitor.

The hashtag feature is a great way to search for interesting photographs around a theme or an event. For example, if you enter 'Thanksgiving' into the search you can view a selection of Thanksgiving photographs submitted to Instagram.

The only real omission to The Beat is a pause feature. It would be nice to be able to pause interesting photographs for a closer look and to be able to explore the Street View of the location for a little longer than the app currently allows.

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

Miami Art Fair on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

Next week is the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair (Dec 4-9). The Art Basel Miami is the largest US contemporary art fair attracting over 60,000 collectors andgalleries from around the world.

REFINeDr is a free, interactive website and smartphone app that puts Art Basel Miami fairs, galleries, artists and events on a searchable Google Map. The app allows users to find out what is happening in the fair,  discover all about the venues taking part and view expert recommendations on artists, artwork and galleries.

If you are looking for events to attend then you can use the app's excellent search tools that allow you to refine the results displayed on the map by date and by time.

Users will also have access to world-class art news and reviews from Blouin Artinfo in a special Art Basel magazine on the REFINEDr site. The map was created by Cartographic design agency, Carticulate in partnership with The Fulton Group.

Is This the Most Gorgeous Map Ever?

To contact us Click HERE

Oh man this is beautiful! Plane Finder has released a new Route Map that looks just all kinds of gorgeous.

The screenshot above doesn't do this map justice.You need to open up the map and then click on any of the airports displayed on the map - that's when the beauty happens. After clicking on an airport neon lines fly out from the airport to show all the destinations that you can fly to from that location.

It's a simple formula really:

 a styled map + animated polylines = poetry in motion

Russian Army Maps of the World

To contact us Click HERE

Maps for the World is a collection of downloadable historic maps. Each of the maps in the collection can be browsed and selected via a handy Google Maps interface.

The collection currently includes Russian Army Maps, Russian Topographic Maps, The Russian Internal Waterways Atlas, Old Russian Army Maps and US Army Maps. Individual maps can be selected via a drop-down menu and the selected map will load as an overlay on a Google Map.

If you select an individual map tile you can click through to download the selected map. Alternatively the Maps for the World Google Map can be embedded in a website or you can grab a link to any map view.

Explore the UK's Wildest Terrain

To contact us Click HERE

Honda are promoting their CR-V compact SUV car in the UK using Google Maps Street View. In order to encourage potential customers that they could really use a SUV Honda has put together a wonderful collection of Street Views of the UK's wildest terrain.

Do More New allows users to enter a postcode and then shows a beautiful Street View of somewhere nearby that they can visit. Users can choose from a number of terrains, including mountains, snow, forest and urban.

Overlaid on top of the displayed Street View are the current weather conditions and the option to view places to stay overnight.

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

Death by TV on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

It may be a cliché to state that 'most accidents happen in the home' but I personally didn't realise that flat-panel television sets are a growing cause of serious injuries. According to TV Safety.org because of their height and thinness flat-panel sets easily tip over causing injury and sometimes even death.

The TV Safety Map shows the locations of accidents caused by television sets as reported by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The map can be searched by location and the results displayed on the map can be filtered by accidents causing 'death', 'injury' and 'other injuries'.

On the map design front the TV Safety Map has some very nice round information windows that pop-up when the user mouses-over a map marker.

What's Happening on Google Maps

To contact us Click HERE

Google Maps applications that display upcoming events and concerts have been coming thick and fast this month. Two weeks ago Google Maps Mania reviewed HUGE city, a map that displays nearby Facebook events, and Concert Mapper, a Google Maps based application to find and book tickets for concerts, theatre or sporting events.

Now a new Google Map has been released that can help you find out what is happening nearby, using listings from Facebook events, Eventbrite, Meetup and Upcoming. Mapify.us uses categorised map markers to show from which listing service each event comes (using the initial letter of each service). The markers are also color-coded to show whether the listed event is happening today, tomorrow or this week.

The Man Responsible for Google's Non-Island

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The Culprit

Last week you might have heard about the non-discovery of an island called Sandy that appears on Google Maps. There has been a lot of fun had at the expense of Google Maps for showing an island in the Coral Sea that doesn't actually exist but today I can reveal the true villain of this mapping error:

William John Maguire, a sailor on the brig Velocity in 1876
The Back Story
Last week scientists from the University of Sydney revealed that they had sailed to where Google Maps shows a Pacific island called Sandy and had found nothing but a whole lot of sea. 

Today the Auckland Museum revealed that a trawl through their huge collection of historical maps turned up a 1908 map which shows the island. According to the map the island was discovered by the Velocity in 1876.



The Velocity

Searching on the National Library of Australia website I discovered that the Velocity was a whaling brig. Amazingly the library actually has photos of the ship. This one was taken at dry dock in 1870, six years before she 'discovered' Sandy.



Even more amazingly the library even has a photograph of William John Maguire (see the top of this post), described as a 'sailor on the brig Velocity'. The photo is dated to 1870, so it is quite possible that Mr Maguire was actually on board Velocity in 1876 when it 'discovered' Sandy. Because I don't know the names of any of the other sailors on board during that voyage, I'm laying the blame for this mapping error squarely on the shoulders of William John Maguire (may he rest in peace).

Post a Message on Street View

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Perfume manufacturer Issey Miyake has created a Google Maps application that allows you to leave a message on Street View anywhere in the world.

Please the World is a fun little application that allows anyone to type in a message and then to leave it on Google Maps Street View at any location. Once you have placed your message on your chosen Street View you can share your message with friends via Facebook and/or Twitter.


Once you have left your message you can then go on a little balloon journey courtesy of Issey Miyake's Escape application. After you share your location with this app you can view an animation of a balloon taking off from your home, with a little help of Google Maps satellite view, and then watch as it ascends through the clouds.