Sunday, February 22, 2009
Google upgraded its maps
It seems that Google just upgraded the maps for Johannesburg. Now with lots of nice detail.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Flickr pictures included
Showing markers on the map slowed the site down too much and required reloads every time the map was panned or zoomed. So, now, the most popular photos from Flick which have been geotagged within your current viewing window and have been tagged with "Johannesburg" are shown at the bottom of the map.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
About J-walk
J-Walk is a multi-level interactive tour of Johannesburg, which incorporates a walking tour, mobile phone tour and online tour of the city. J-Walk bridges the gap between the physical and virtual worlds, with the objective of making locally relevant information accessible from a single repository.
Multi-level refers to the fact that the tour will be available through multiple channels and platforms:
The tour will provide participants with an eclectic mix of information on physical locations in the downtown Johannesburg area. These will include:
The importance of walking in Johannesburg cannot be overstated. Walking in downtown Johannesburg is strongly linked to class, race, crime, fear and paranoia. This interactive tour attempts to address these challenges, whilst getting people thinking and contributing to a conversation related to the politics of public space in the city.
J-walk will be on show at the Johannesburg Art Fair Special Project - Art for Online Spaces. Said event, which will run from 3 to 5 April 2009 at the Sandton convention center in Johannesburg.
J-walk was dreamt up by Babak Fakhamzadeh, a traveling web guru, and Ismail Farouk, an urban geographer and artist.
Previously, Ismail and Babak worked together on Soweto uprisings . com, for which they won the prestigious Highway Africa new media award in 2007.
Multi-level refers to the fact that the tour will be available through multiple channels and platforms:
- Walking tour,
- Interactive mobile phone based tour using 3G technologies,
- Interactive online tour using state of the art mapping tools.
The tour will provide participants with an eclectic mix of information on physical locations in the downtown Johannesburg area. These will include:
- Gentrification areas,
- Architectural sites,
- Art and cultural landmarks,
- Historical venues,
- Local communities resources.
The importance of walking in Johannesburg cannot be overstated. Walking in downtown Johannesburg is strongly linked to class, race, crime, fear and paranoia. This interactive tour attempts to address these challenges, whilst getting people thinking and contributing to a conversation related to the politics of public space in the city.
J-walk will be on show at the Johannesburg Art Fair Special Project - Art for Online Spaces. Said event, which will run from 3 to 5 April 2009 at the Sandton convention center in Johannesburg.
J-walk was dreamt up by Babak Fakhamzadeh, a traveling web guru, and Ismail Farouk, an urban geographer and artist.
Previously, Ismail and Babak worked together on Soweto uprisings . com, for which they won the prestigious Highway Africa new media award in 2007.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
What to look for on the streets
So you're walking around town, looking for 2D bar codes. You're wondering, what is it I'm looking for? Well, posters or stickers like the one below.
Where to get a bar code reader
J-walk.co.za uses two dimensional bar codes to aid you to obtain information on a particular location in the city, on your mobile phone. There are quite a few bar code readers on the market and depending on your phone, you might have to shop around to find a reader which works for you.
Keep in mind that, at least, you need a cellphone with a camera and internet access.
Here's a list of cellphone based bar code readers:
If we missed any, let us know.
Keep in mind that, at least, you need a cellphone with a camera and internet access.
Here's a list of cellphone based bar code readers:
If we missed any, let us know.
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