Schmap is one of those elegant Web 2.0 applications that if you have anything to do with web development, you kick yourself for not thinking about it. Schmap provides travel guides through an integration of maps, travel data, photos, book recommendations and of course, the ubiquitous Google AdSense. In Web 2.0 parlance, Schmap is a mashup but it is so well done and with such a high level of sophistication that all the independent pieces that make-up this great WebApp integrate into a smooth and pleasant experience. For example, the Yahoo Maps are nicely implemented as a long vertical left-hand panel. I happen to think that of the big three Web Mapping API's (Google and MS Virtual Earth are the other two) Yahoo Maps is the most aesthetically pleasing. Yahoo Maps is also the latest to enter the fray which explains why is not as popular as the other two. Where Schmap shines is in the integration of its Yahoo Maps with a center-panel full of summarized content which is easy to navigate via links, tags and an intuitive “big” menu which further explodes into a right-hand panel with detailed information and additional references.
Most of the content for Schmap seems to be provided by wcities, a company specializing in "...compiling, and aggregating location-based information..." Now I am really kicking myself; My company, PROCON, has been providing this type of Location Based Services for our B2B Partners but it has always been tailored to emergency, roadside assistance and concierge services. How wonderful to see LBS implemented in an application available to the general public for the travel guide niche that Schmap has chosen.
What is striking about Schmap is how many photos are included on their website and how well those photos are integrated into the content. They are all beautiful pictures of every conceivable point of interest arranged in neat travel guides. When one starts analyzing the sheer number of quality photos available on Schmap, the obvious question is: Who is providing these photos? Well, I'll tell you who is providing that content: You and me and every other flickr and creative commons shutterbugs. Using one of the main tenets of Web 2.0, Schmap has recruited every Joe Schmoe with a digital camera to provide free quality content for their website. And why would anyone happily do that? Because, once all the social-networking is done, it is flattering to have a serious outfit ask for one of your photos, which they apparently thought was good and want to include in their travel guide website. Your photo may even help some other Joe Schmoe decide to visit one of Schmap's Top Attractions and snap a better shot than yours.
Schmap also provides a downloadable Player which is a desktop application that presents essentially the same content provided on the website. The Schmap Player provides a slightly better interactive experience than the website. However, the website is so exquisitely designed that the only reason I think anyone would use the desktop application is to have the travel guide content available off-line on a laptop. I did not get to test Schmap for the iPhone™ and iPod® touch but it looks apfel cool. I still have to test how well Schmap runs on a Windows Mobile device (On the skyfire™ browser, of course!) I hope, Schmap is making money from their superb effort; They obviously generate some income from the Google AdSense and Amazon Books recommendations but is difficult to tell if that would be enough to make this compelling Web 2.0 application a viable enterprise in the long run.
Schmap is so Web 2.0 cool that it also provide easy-to-build widgets that can be customized into fun and interesting content for other websites. The three Schmap widgets included in this blog are for the Toledo, Spain city guide which is where my selected flickr picture is included. The picture is grouped under the Churches and Temples points of interest. It is of the door to the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca and part of a puertas series I shot on a wonderful holiday trip during Christmas of 2006. I think it is the worst picture I shot during that trip but probably the only publicly available one of that particular door. And it is included in the very cool Schmap website!
