GeoCommons
= a social mapping site and public data repository
URL = http://www.geocommons.com/
An initiative of Fortius One, http://www.fortiusone.com/
Definition
"a geographic data platform that allows non-technical users to easily combine their data with data from disparate third party sources on to a single map." [1]
Description
Commentary from http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199602081&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News
" includes 2 billion location attributes, 25 million locations, 35,000 variables that describe a set of locations, and 1,500 unique data sets of information. And it is sure to grow as users upload and share additional data sets. "We needed to re-architect the back end of the database to be able to handle that much data," said Gorman.
The goal of the project, Gorman explained, is to enable people to tell stories with maps.
Storytelling in this case means making a map mashup, which involves presenting one or more geographically relevant data sets on an online map. GeoCommons mashups use a technique called heat mapping to translate data into color on a Google Map. Visualized thus, data becomes arguably more accessible and meaningful than it would be in a spreadsheet or represented with a Google Maps-style push pin."
More Information
Commentary at http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/05/geocommons_shar.html
Status update at http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/10/emw560374.htm