“A simple website that connects you with information on Wikipedia, while providing a database and an overview of the location that needs information. We hope more people will connect the places they know with the corresponding information on Wikipedia…
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| Type “Vietnam” in the Placeopedia search bar, and the tool will show you an image like the one above. |
This is the introduction from the geolocation website Placeopedia (www.placeopedia.com) in the world of the open encyclopedia Wikipedia – a form that is gaining significant attention in the online world today.
If you want to know where the Mentawai Islands are, Wikipedia will tell you, but unfortunately, it does not provide you with a specific location on the map provided by Google. However, from now on, Placeopedia becomes a solution to this problem by combining the online encyclopedia Wikipedia with the smartest search tool currently available, Google.
Specifically, this application facilitates access to Wikipedia, pinpointing the location on the map through Google Maps and Google Earth. This product was developed by a non-profit organization in the UK, using JavaScript and Perl programming languages.
MySociety created Placeopedia as part of a program to increase search utility on the web, which is widely shared and completely free. Tom Steinberg, who established this non-profit initiative two years ago, aimed to address the challenges of navigation on the web.
“For a long time, I struggled with online annotation“, Steinberg said. “There was no tool that satisfied me, which made me interested in developing this technology for everyone to use“.
Upon completion, users gain access to Wikipedia, pinpoint their location on Google Maps, and view satellite imagery of the Earth through Google Earth. Placeopedia enhances its utility by being able to integrate with other web services, Steinberg noted.
Google and its “rival” Yahoo did not overlook this utility, expressing interest in incorporating the application’s interface with their services, which could create the largest network, increasing the appeal for advertising.
It is known that Placeopedia is also used to empower other sites of MySociety.org. This site allows users to search for locations, neighborhoods, or streets in the UK and provides information through GPS systems and Google’s city maps.
Thus, now with Placeopedia, if we wonder where the Mentawai Islands are, this tool will pinpoint its location: it is an archipelago off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Placeopedia is continuously being updated with new geographical locations and, in addition, provides supplementary information found on Wikipedia (Wikipedia article) with just one click.
By Bùi Dũng
