Search Engine Optimization and Online Marketing Blog

      

When I decided I wanted to write something about my favourite tools many applications popped in to my head from desktop applications to web based tools. I thought long and hard about what I actually wanted to write about and finally decided to write about Google Maps, a tool I use frequently to find directions and as of recent to view places I always wanted to visit using Google Street View. I have listed some of the features and uses I like best about Google Maps below:

Directions

Do you get lost easily? Google Maps allow you to get directions (driving or walking) between virtually any two points. Just search for your start destination and end destination (point of interests or physical address) then click the “Get Directions” button. Google then generates visual directions (shown with the blue line bellow Fig 1.1) and text directions (fig. 1.2) which shows you turn by turn directions.

If you do not like the directions Google Maps has generated for you or if you would prefer a different route, simply change the directions by moving the direction indicator to suit you by dragging it to a new point.

Fig 1.1

Fig 1.2

Street View

Ever wondered what it looks like at a destination or a point of interest before travelling there? Google Street View allows you to view a point easily by dragging the yellow man to the point you want to look at. Google will then place the Street View to the closest Street View position available to the point of interest you chose.

With Google Street View you can explore your surroundings in a 360 degree angle and move to another position within the canvas just by clicking on an available position. Street View is made possible by a series of stitched photos that have been taken by the Google Maps Vehicles and is only available in certain countries/regions.

Personalised Maps with Google My Maps

It’s never been easier to create personalized maps – log in to your Google account, create a map (public or unlisted) draw lines, add markers etc. Then personalize it even more by adding photographs, video (e.g. YouTube videos) or saving existing POI (Point of Interest) e.g. your favourite coffee shop. To learn more watch the Official Google My Maps video below.

Find Businesses

To find a listed business in a certain location is easy. Google allows businesses to add their business on Google Maps. Just enter a search phrase and hit enter to see a list of businesses in the immediate area. (Left hand side) You can then click on the business to view more information on the business e.g. telephone number(s).

Websites (Quick implementation)

Google Maps allow you too easily generate a map you can use on your own website. Just search for the point on the map you want to put on your website click link (as in the image below) select the HTML code to embed on your website (you can edit the canvas size of the map by editing the html width/height parameters) and paste it into your html code of your website. It will then display a canvas on your website of the location you chose to embed.

Google Maps API (for developers: Advanced implementation)

Google Maps has a wide array of Map API’s (application programming interfaces) you can use to implement advanced map functionality within your websites / applications.

The Maps API allows you to add your own overlay / multiple overlays which can contain your own data. For example you can create your own markers to show where you company’s branches are and display it on your website to help customers find you easily. You can also customize the map colours e.g. if you want to place focus on a certain element within a map you can highlight that element with a bright colour and give all the other elements darker colours. You can also give your markers custom icons (too make it more personal).

Google is well known for creating tools that are pretty useful and Google Maps isn’t any different. I found the Google Maps tool very advanced, easy to use and fast compared to other mapping tools/services out there. All that is left to say is – Give it a try.

      

Telephone vs. Skype.

A week ago some friends and I were talking about today’s technology and what we would have done if we were still living in the 1900’s. How did our parents manage without mobile phones? How did they know where their kids were, how did they manage to contact anyone during an emergency, just think of all the frustration they must have experienced by the lack of technology.  Now if you think back a little bit further, do you remember the old landline phone connected to the wall?  Yes that phone on the brown antique table with the Yellow Pages right next to it.  The old landline telephone was not very flexible in terms of providing privacy, for example when speaking to your boyfriend or girlfriend you would wish you could take the phone into your room. Sometimes you wished you could see the person you were speaking to.

Thanks to the technology of today we don’t have to struggle as people did in the 1900’s.  The mobile phone almost replaces the landline and most of you started to make use of Skype.

In today’s article I’m going to discuss the mobile phone and the usage of Skype with you.

As said earlier, the mobile phone has almost replaced the landline phone. Well, we all have a mobile phone.  There are some advantages and disadvantages of having a mobile phone.

Advantages:

• You can carry a mobile phone with you so you don’t miss important calls
• If you are lost, you can call for directions.
• If you are in an accident, you can call the police or ambulance – and if the phone has a camera, you can take pictures of the accident.
• You can use a mobile phone to call your customers or boss if you are running late to a meeting.
• You can surf Internet & Connect with the whole world by Mobile.
• You can chat & video conference.
• Keep in touch with friends and family
• Good for emergencies

Disadvantages:

• Mobile phones can be expensive
• They can cause damage to your ears
• Sometimes the reception is poor in some areas, limiting your connectivity (you can’t talk underground or on planes).
• People use the phone while they are driving, and this can cause accidents.
• They can limit your face to face time with friends and family
• They can get you in trouble at school

Okay, let’s t take it a step further.  You have a mobile phone but you live abroad and you struggle to keep in touch with your loved ones.  Let’s see how Skype can help you communicate with your loved ones.

According to Wikipedia Skype is a proprietary software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system.

The innovative and high-speed technology is quickly replacing cumbersome methods of communication. Skype is a method of online communication that allows users to speak and type as well as see one another.

You can use Skype from any phone; it doesn’t have to be from your computer.  All calls and video calls are free and with video calling you can talk to your loved ones face to face without traveling.

With Skype you can see if your loved ones are online or in a business the staff can see who is online anytime of the day – they can chat to each other, transfer very large files, start group conversations and set up conference calls.

Skype is very user-friendly, has no hassles and is easy to install. And the best of all, you don’t have to be a computer geek to set the program.  You can call somebody via Internet whether he or she is just a doorstep away or oceans apart, and this can be done either on mobile phones or on your computer.

Calls are free from Skype to Skype and while there is a fee charged to make calls from Skype to a phone, it is still relatively cheaper than a phone to phone call. You can also make video calls. This tool is ideal if people cannot make it to an event like a business meeting or job interview. Skype can also easily transfer files quickly from one person’s account to another’s computer.

The art of information and communication technology is set amid constant change, and its advances capture people’s interest as the tools of carrying messages evolve over time. The brilliant innovation of Skype has made communicating easier and has broken down a number of barriers such as distance, time, and money.

Well I think if it wasn’t for Alexander Graham Bell back in the 1870’2 who discovered the phone we would not be able to experience the technology as it is today.

      

Technology today is evolving at an exceptional pace, if you look at things we take for granted today some of them didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Google the most popular search engine in the world is only 12 years old. Can you even remember how you used to find any information? It used to be quite a painful process of reading a lot of books which where probably outdated by the time you read it.

If you look at the modern day mobile phone these have really had exceptional advancements in the last couple of years. Apple really kick started this innovation when they released the iPhone. This was a phone that was in a different class, it included functionality that had never even been imagined by anybody. This also only grew as developer continued upgrading the functionality with every app they released.

Now Human nature has always been to avoid change. For some reason we have been programmed to avoid change like the plague. This however seems to be a characteristic which the younger generation has lost. Most of the young adults and younger generation are able to change the technology they are using as quickly as flicking a switch. This could probably be attributed to growing up in a environment where technology changed must faster than in the past. This has also probably driven innovation because of there being quite a big consumer group which would be willing to try new technology if it has benefits.

Now because of all the advances in technology and this human resistance to change we have seen the rise of battles between the new and old. The rest of the team will this week discuss some of the more famous battles at the moment. These include ebooks vs printed books,  skype vs telephone, desktop computer vs laptops and the iPad vs laptops.

So check back to find out if it will be in with the new and out with the old. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed to stay up to date.