Demo Girl

ShareMyMap is a fun tool that allows you to create maps of customized neighborhoods.  It’s free to use and you can have your first map up and running in just minutes.

To create your first map you’ll just need to enter in a general location, like San Francisco, and then you can zoom in as needed to get the default zoom point set.  You can then add a title for your map, like ‘Dive Bars’, add a photo, a description, and you can add custom fields that you can fill in for each point of interest.

Once your map is created you can begin adding points to the map with an address, description, tags, and Flickr photos and YouTube videos. Other members can add media too and comment on your points.  People can choose to follow your map so they can keep up with new content.  You can also choose to sign in with your Facebook or Twitter account and share across those sites as well.

I really like ShareMyMap for the most part but I found myself wanting a little bit more.  Here’s my wishlist:

• I’d like a way to share my map with anyone with a link or embed code and/or via email
• The ability to search for a locations address from within a map – as of now you need to know its exact location
• Suggested images from Flickr based on the points name would help eliminate the step of me having to leave the site to do a Flickr search for photos
• Collaboration with a private group of people to create a group map for things like reunions and weddings
• Revision history so I can find places I may have removed from a map. This would also be helpful when used with my comment above (collaboration).

To see ShareMyMap in action, watch the screencast below:

Google City Tours is a Labs project that has some pretty helpful features for people planning a trip to an unfamiliar city.  You can begin by entering in the name or address of the place where you’ll be staying.  From there, Google City Tours will load a map with various points of interest that you can walk to from your originating point.  Each destination shows an approximate amount of time it should take you to walk as well as walking directions from point A to point B to point C…

You can also remove and add points of interest to the map and include the number of days you’ll be in town so that your sightseeing can be spread out over a few days.

I really like Google City Tours, especially because my Mom is coming to visit me in San Francisco next month and I would love her to map out all the places we can walk to from her hotel.  With that said, these are my issues:

• How do you save your Google City Tour?  I couldn’t find a “save” link anywhere.
• Can you share your City Tour with, for instance, the person who’s visiting?
• I’d like options to switch from walking to driving to public transit.  My Mom is NOT going to walk to the Golden Gate Bridge from Union Square.

Of course, Google City Tours is in Labs, which means that it’s a work in progress.  Those are just some things that I think should be at the top of the “to-do” list for the people working on it .

To see Google City Tours in action, watch the screencast below:

[via Lifehacker]

When I first moved to San Francisco I lived just 2 blocks from Golden Gate Park.  I would go running there about 4 or 5 times a week, usually taking one of the same 3 routes that I had discovered (yes, I discovered them, they’re mine).  By the time I got home I would assume that I had gone about 4 miles, but actually, I had no idea.  I did try mapping them out on a Google map once in hopes of figuring out exactly how far I was going, but there really wasn’t much I could do with that info, like track it and share it.  That’s where RunThere comes in.  RunThere allows you to create maps of your running and biking routes and gives you a way to easily send it to your own fitness blog.

After you sign up, you can start creating maps.  All you need to do is enter in a location, or select one from your saved locations, and then click along your route to add markers.  There are mile markers so you’ll know how far you’ve gone and you can enter in your time so you can track your pace.  Every time you go on one of these runs, you can simply click on “log run/ride” and enter in whether or not your ran or biked it, your time, add notes, set the date and time, and even add how you felt when you did it.  After you save it you’ll see that it’s automatically added to your fitness blog.

You can share your fitness blog URL with others (as long as you make it public in your settings) and add people as friends so you can cheer each other on.  Another nice feature about your fitness blog is that you can log treadmill runs too.  Not everyone is into running outdoors, so that’s a really great option and one that I looked for right away after signing up.  You can also create a profile, view other peoples routes, add comments or notes on routes, and search for routes based on location.

If you’re into group runs or bike rides, there’s an option to create an invitation to send out to your Facebook friends.  You can choose to plan a run, bike, walk, or swim, and even choose to have people bring their dogs along.

The only feature I would really like to see added is a way to log time spent on a stationary bike.  I have one at home and would like the option of adding the miles I put on that to my fitness blog.  They have the treadmill option, so it doesn’t seem like an insane request.

To see RunThere in action, watch the screencast below (best viewed in HD in full screen):

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KwiClick is a Firefox Add-on that allows you to perform searches and look up information without having to leave the page you’re on.  It’s currently an experimental Add-on, so keep that in mind if you’re planning on testing it out.

After you install it, you’ll see the KwiClick favicon in the lower right corner of your browser window.  When you click on it, it will pop open a window where you can perform searches on Google, Google Maps, YouTube, Flickr, Wikipedia, Technorati, Amazon, Delicious, and Friendfeed.

Besides doing searches, KwiClick will also come in handy when you’re on a site that contains Flickr photos or YouTube videos.  You’ll see a set of icons on top of the photo or video that allows you to view the contents in the KwiClick window.  You can also view related photos or video, view comments, and share the media via email or on various social networking sites.  All of this takes place in the pop out window so you never need to leave the site.

I would like to see some more features added like the ability to search for restaurant reviews on Yelp, listings on Craigslist, news stories, and the ability to do a Twitter search.  With that said, KwiClick is in the experimental stage and will most likely be releasing features I didn’t cover in this screencast.  To see KwiClick in action, watch the screencast below:

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Click Here To Watch Better Quality 2m51s

[via Go2Web20 Blog]

Ubiquity is a new experiment from Mozilla Labs that allows you to take bits and pieces of the Web and make them work together just by typing in basic text.  It’s an Extension for Firefox that allows you, as the user, to decide what Ubiquity should do.  This happens by giving Ubiquity commands.  On the developer end, it allows you to create commands that other people can subscribe to and use.

I installed Ubiquity this morning and have, and can not, stop using it.  I also recommend checking out new commands that are being developed.  To see Ubiquity in action, watch the screencast below:

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Click Here To Watch Better Quality 3m55s

A couple of months ago, some friends and I were looking to have a nice dinner, some drinks, and good conversation, but we couldn’t find anything open.  The problem was that it was the middle of the week and it was after 10pm, and a lot of places in San Francisco aren’t open all that late during the week.  I don’t know why, but that seems to be the case.  Well, we ended up at a restaurant/wine bar that had nice ambiance, but the food left something to be desired.  We had no choice in the matter, though.  We just couldn’t find anything else that was open.  This brings me to GeoSpot – a service that allows you to do a deep search so you can not only search for where to eat, but where to eat NOW.

It’s a very basic concept, actually, and you can use it at home or on your mobile phone.  You enter in what you’re looking for (ie. pizza, cookies, martini), where you want to eat/drink it, and what time you want to do it (ie. now, 6am, after 10pm).  GeoSpot will give you a list of results that are only able to service you at the time you’re requesting.  You can even search for related results, view business information, and get directions.  Now, this may seem like a novelty if you’re at home and you have the time to search for a specific restaurant and see what time they serve until.  But, if you’re out and about and need a giant burrito to soak up the 15 tequila shots you just did, then GeoSpot on your mobile phone may save you a nasty hangover in the morning.  Just be warned that the GeoSpot blog says it’s really focused on the San Francisco Bay area for now.  I didn’t know that until just posting this. Here’s my screencast tour of GeoSpot:

Click Here To Watch The Screencast 2m2s

Want this screencast on your site?  Click here to get the code for this and other DemoGirl screencasts!

[via CenterNetworks]

Friday has arrived, and not a moment too soon. I don’t want to bore you with complicated applications that will help you work better – I want to show you some tools that require very little brain function that you can use over the weekend. In this quickcast, I’ll show you 4 applications that do just that.

SuperLame gives you a super cool way to add caption balloons to your photos. The entire process is fast and really enjoyable. You can even choose to have the balloon outside of the original image.

SensibleUnits is a ridiculous application that shows you random items that are the same size of whatever measurement you type into the search box. For example, if you type in 25 feet, you may get results such as, 1.7 London buses stacked one on top of the other. Another interesting fact is that 500 lbs is also the same weight as 45 average domestic cats. Good to know.

Epicurious has a new “Seasonal Ingredient Map” that shows you exactly what’s currently in season in whatever state you live in. I just learned why lemons are so darn expensive in California right now – they’re in season in December. That just doesn’t seem right for some reason. What about all the poor kiddies and their summer jobs as lemonade stand owners?

Bradicon needs very little explanation because it only does one thing. It turns almost any image into an icon. The entire process is quick and the only thing you need to do is select the image from your computer. From there, Bradicon instantly turns it into an icon that you can download. [via Lifehacker]

To see these 4 applications in action, watch the screencast below:

Click Here To Watch The Screencast 3m45s

Want this screencast on your site? Click here to get the code for this and other DemoGirl screencasts!

Brightkite allows you to share where you are, at any given moment, through the Web or SMS.  Like Twitter, you can also post a note sharing what you’re currently doing.  Unlike Twitter, your friends will be able to see where you are when you’re doing these very important things.  Besides just posting your location and notes, you can also post photos, see other Brightkite users around you, and you can update to Twitter at the same time.  All of this can be done from the Web or from your mobile phone.  You can customize your privacy settings so you’ll only receive posts and “check ins” (where you are) from your friends or, more importantly, trusted friends.  Trusted friends is a feature I think Twitter should add because it allows you to let certain people see certain information.  For example, if I wanted to only let my close friends know where I was going to get drinks after work without having to send them all a direct message.  All around, I’m really loving Brightkite.

I will say that while Brightkite is nice to look at, it’s a little cluttered for my taste right now.  There is a lot going on and it’s going on all over the place.  Also, giving people a way to “check in” to a location right from the main page would be nice. As it is, you need to either go to your saved locations and select check in or search for a location and then check in.  Since a main focus of the site is checking in, I think that button should be more prominent.  Giving people a way to check out of a location would be nice as well (what if they leave a bar and don’t want to check in when they get to the next one?).  It is in private beta so I’m more than willing to see where Brightkite goes.  Here’s my screencast tour of Brightkite:

Click Here To Watch The Screencast 5m8s

Want this screencast on your site?  Click here to get the code for this and other DemoGirl screencasts!

If you use public transportation on a daily basis or if you’re traveling somewhere in the future where public transit will be how you get around, you should definitely check out HopStop. Before you get all excited and start planning your trips, let me point out that it’s only available in New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., and San Francisco (YES!). If you’re not in one of those areas, I apologize but for everyone else, please read on: HopStop allows you to get detailed itineraries using buses, subways, or your own two feet. The best part about HopStop is that you can have the directions sent to your mobile phone so you can view them as you’re traveling. If you create an account you can save frequently used addresses, view previous trips, and have access to HopStop mobile whenever you’re out and need to find out which bus or subway to take to get to your next destination.

I know that Google Transit is out there and it actually covers a lot more than HopStop. It doesn’t, however, cover a lot of major cities that HopStop does cover – including my beloved San Francisco. Since I’m selling my car right now and will be using public transportation a lot in the near future, HopStop is going to be a lifesaver for me. The fact that I can have my itinerary sent to my mobile phone is another huge plus. Here’s my screencast tour of HopStop:

Click Here To Watch The Screencast 3m51s

Want this screencast on your site? Click here to get the code for this and other DemoGirl screencasts!

Mezzoman gives you a great way to find a restaurant, or other type of entertainment, between two locations. For example, Jane wants to get some sushi and doesn’t want to drive all the way up Jack’s hill to meet him. Enter Mezzoman. Jane just needs to enter in her address and Jack’s address and Mezzoman will find sushi places right smack dab in the middle of where they both are. Alright, it’s not exactly in the middle, but you’ll get recommendations for places around the center point. It’s not rocket-science, but it sure is handy! Oh, Mezzo means half or middle in Italian – now do you get the name? Here’s my screencast tour of Mezzoman:

Click Here To Watch The Screencast 2m33s

Want this screencast on your site? Click here to get the code for this and other DemoGirl screencasts!

[via Lifehacker]