Google Maps Fishing Spots

[shawngo]

Hello everyone..

I was wondering if anyone is willing to give some feedback on this idea that I had. I put a site together combining Google maps and fishing spots. I made this and didn't really do anything with it and felt like seeing if anybody thought this would be cool or useful.

http://www.shawngo.com/hotspots.php

Please don't consider this spamming or blatant disregard to the forum rules. I saw this forum and thought this would be a perfect complement! The service is and always will be free.

Basically you locate a fishing spot on the map (not the exact location of your favorite hole per se) or locate via GPS coords, address, or country and just add some details about it.

I have also added the ability to export the database information into Google Earth, which is really cool!

Check it out.. maybe it could catch on... or is there something out there similar? It would be easy to make changes, add-ons etc.

Ok, enough rambling, check it out and have fun!

Thanks,
Shawn

[shawngo]

GPS Tagging seems to be the next big buzzword in this all_to_do_well web2.0 hype. GPS Tagging essentially means attaching geographical information (long,lat,alt,etc) to a given media type, for instance images, and then mapping that media. Flickr and others have done this rather successfully and it is really hitting home.

I have done something similar with this interactive map. I have added the capability to add images, links, comments, and soon to add a few more bells and whistles. I also have the ability to overlay topographical maps for a given area. There is geographical data for nearly every body of water (with some exceptions) in the United States. With that said, it is possible, given a specific region (due to the size of the database), to create an incredibly interactive mapping system. A few drawbacks from the current Google Maps implementation is that the map resolution hasn't caught up in less populated areas. I now have the data from the HotSpots page deliverable in KML format, which is what Google Earth uses to define locations. Google Earth is probably about the coolest free geo utility I've seen. It does some amazing things and there is a terrific community of developers coming up with new ideas.

What I would really like to do next is focus on a particular region as sort of a test subject by pooling together (pardon the pun) the lake/river/etc data and combining it with user input. Aside from catching fish whilst perusing the site, the possibilities are near endless. The ability exists to keep certain data private from normal access which means that a group of individuals could create their own private map system. Does this sound like fun or what?

I'm running a poll at http:/www.shawngo.com/hotspots.php and was curious if anyone had any more input of what they think would make this application really useful.

Thanks again,
Shawn

[shawngo]

Take a sneak peek at the new full screen design of the Fishing Hotspots page!!

http://www.shawngo.com/gmaps/

It is still under construction so if you find any bugs/glitches please let me know.

Thanks again,
Shawn

[shawngo]

I have recently updated the map to the next version of Google Maps! It is a lot quicker at retrieving the data points. There are some other new bells and whistles as well.

Check it out at
http://www.shawngo.com/gmaps/

I'm also going to start on private group map access. If anyone is interested let me know. I might need a couple people to help test it out.

Thanks,
Shawn
shawngo.com at gmail.com