Time Zone Maps for Your Website
Free time zone maps that can be customized for your own website are available on the Zebra Map website. The time zone map uses Flash to display a map of the world. As you move you mouse along the map each time zone is highlighted in succession with information about that zone including:
- The name of the time zone.
- Time zone abbreviation.
- The current daylight savings time in that time zone
- The standard time in that time zone
These customizable time zone maps come with twenty color schemes to choose from. You can also add locations to the time zone map and position map labels wherever you choose. You can add clickable hotspots for the theme of you map. The example map shows the top wifi cities throughout the world. Selecting a city links you to its wikipedia article.
The Zebra Map requires javascript. However if your website is not javascript enabled you can still use Zebra Maps by creating your map on a ZebraMap page.
The free version of the Time Zone map comes with advertising. Ad free versions of the Time Zone map are available for a small fee.
I like the Zebra Map look and feel. Another fine example of what can be done with web mapping. More information on the free Zebra time zone maps is available here.
Landmark Maps Game
Here is another map game using the Google web mapping service. In the Landmark maps game you select a category from the drop down list. Map categories include natural and manmade structures and even features right down to a particular house.
When you click the “Start” button you are given the name of a random object related to your chosen category to find on a Google map of the world. For example, if the Landmark map game interface gives you the words “Ural Mountains” your task is to click on the map where you believe they are located. A timer is started and you are given the current record holder’s name and time to beat.
The Landmark maps game allows you to zoom and pan the Google map. As you click locations there is even an indicator for being “Hotter” or “Colder” to the location of the object you seek.
You can add your own objects to the Landmark maps game, which are then incorporated into the random pool of landmarks to map. One problem the mapping game currently has is people adding objects like “find me”, though it can be done with the “hotter-colder” clues.
The Landmark maps game is certainly an interesting use of Google maps and web mapping in general. The mapping game has some potential and I hope the web cartographer who authored it takes this Google Maps idea further.
You can try the Landmark mapping game here.
Home Locator
The Home Locator maps homes through its real estate search tool. The interface is clean, easy to navigate and intuitive. The Home Locator mapping application seems to tie in closely to AsFusion.com’s Real Estate Management System.
Using the Home Locator you can search for homes by clicking on a map of the US. This brings up a more detailed map of the chosen area, list of local homes for sale, and a variety of filters to help you narrow the search for a home to buy.
Home Locator currently allows you to filter homes in a certain area by price, number of bedrooms, baths, square footage, and more. When you select a home that is for sale you will be presented with an icon on the Yahoo web mapping service that represents the building’s location. You can zoom the Yahoo map right in on the neighborhood. Further information is given about the mapped home as a well as additional pictures.
As I mentioned the Home Locator’s intuitive interface makes it a very easy to use real estate map tool for those looking to purchase a home. Because it is so simple to use I can see this being very valuable to both realtors and home buyers.
You can visit the Home Locator page here.
Map Game
People use maps for all sorts of things but they also create map games that can be a great deal of fun.
Sporcle.com has a number of maps that include the continents of the world, one continent for each map. These simple javascript enabled maps are blank except for the boundaries of the various countries portrayed. Your task is to type in all the names of the countries for that particular map within a set time limit.
As you enter the country names onto the map interface those that are correct are automatically placed on the game map. A running total is displayed showing your correct guesses vs. the number of countries on that continent.
As time runs out I am usually faced with a number of unmapped countries on the game map board. These glaring holes to my knowledge about the world and geography maps might be embarrassing but for the fact that my mapping skill is then compared to all others who have played the map game.
It turns out I can hold my own. The map game tells me I rank in the upper quarter of map gamers. All the countries on that particular map are listed in order of how many players successfully guessed them.
The map game has tested my memory to its limit trying to remember those many smaller countries one rarely hears about in the news but have been on the map since long before I was born. Truthfully the only continent on which I was able to name all the countries on the map is Antarctica. How many countries are in Antarctica? I won’t spoil it for you, in case you do not already know.
The following will test your country map knowledge:
- North America map game
- South America map game
- Europe map game
- Asia map game
- Africa map game
- Oceania map game
- Antarctica map game
- United States map game
Give the map game a try. Its fun and it may force you to take another look at a map of the world’s countries.
GeoVisitors
Mapping Geo Visitors
The free GeoVisitors tool by Digital Point will map the locations of your website visitors over the last twenty-four hours.
GeoVisitors uses the Google web mapping service and a small png image to alert the digital point server of every visit to your website. The Google map displays a balloon at the location of each visit that is color coded according to recency. Click it and you are given a link to its location in Google Earth.
GeoVisitors Map is Easy to Implement
What I especially like about the GeoVisitors mapping tool is that is can be implemented on a website with a minimum of effort. I simply copied and pasted a small snippet of HTML code to the page(s) on the website I wanted to track. Within a short time a map of visitors to my website was revealing some very interesting information at a glance.
For example, using the Digital Point GeoVisitors mapping tool I find most of my website visitors are from the western hemisphere. However during my nighttime, when it is daylight in the part of the world opposite to my location, most visitors to the site are located in eastern hemisphere. This makes perfect mapping sense but did not really hit home until I saw it visually.
Other Uses for the GeoVisitors Mapping Tool
The GeoVisitors website visitors map tool can be used for website planning. I run a website that has sections related to several targeted areas of the world. Since the GeoVisitors mapping tool shows the majority of people in a particular part of the world are visiting between my 2am and 6am, I make sure articles specific to that area are posted every day prior to 2am so that they receive fresh content. Because I write several posts per day I, the GeoVisitors visitor mapping tool has given me insight into which I should write and post first.
GeoVisitor Map Drawbacks
One potential drawback to installing the GeoVisitors mapping widget is you are giving DigitalPoint access to a portion of your website stats. Essentially the png image is spying and reporting back to their server whenever your visitor’s browser requests it. This is necessary for the website visitors mapping tool to function but you should be aware of this.
I suspect that DigitalPoint may be using Geo Visitors mapping tool for its own purposes as the mapping tool could give some excellent insight toward various web metrics over the thousands of websites it’s installed on.
Regardless of Digital Points intentions in gaining access to your website visitor information, GeoVisitor will map website visitors for free. It is easy to install and gives you interesting and useful information on easy to view Google Maps.
Visit the GeoVistors page and check out the website visitor mapping tool.
