Trends and Technologies in Where 2.0

Web 2.0 has demonstrated the power of user-generated content, personalization, and mobilization. The fear that the Internet would create a web of anonymity has proven false as users primarily use web sites and services to meet new friends and access social groups.

Similarly, we are just now seeing that the Web also didn’t abolish the importance of location and proximity. Users are using services to find local business and friends to meet up with. They are finding serendipity through advanced geographic recommendation services.

This session will discuss the current evolution of Where 2.0 and how it is affecting the entire landscape of Web 2.0 and next generation applications. Open standards such as GeoRSS, KML, and Microformats provide a huge wealth of information for mashups and applications, and libraries such as Mapstraction can be used for cartographic visualization. To illustrate the power of these tools we’ll talk about some interesting GeoHacks that have pushed the boundaries of geospatial applications.

We will also look forward to the future of location-enabled applications and services that developers can utilize today to provide users with better contextualized and localized information. Mobile sensors, augmented and immersive reality, and geo-games are just a few of the next generation Where 2.0 domains.