Archaeological Excavations on the (Google) Map
Tijl Vereenooghe, K.U.Leuven, Belgium
vereenooghe@vision.ee.ethz.ch
Keywords: Flanders; archaeological research; cultural heritage; Google Maps

In 2005 the visualization of geographic and other spatial data was revolutionized by two new Google services : Google Maps and Google Earth . These applications are without any doubt superior to their competitors, such as MapQuest, with a better user interface, map layout and features. The earth browsing capabilities of these services have made the many maps available on the (scientific) web seem clunky, slow and dated. These new web services can also be useful for the cultural heritage community. This paper will present a location-based service which has been recently developed and focuses on archaeological research in Flanders (Belgium). The website (www.excavation.be) is based on the Google Maps API. The website integrates information about archaeological excavations in Flanders with cartographic and satellite imagery. The imagery was embedded with JavaScript. Markers were added as an overlay and indicate the precise location of the excavations. Clicking these markers produces an information window showing a relevant image, a short summary of the results of the excavations, and hyperlink to more extensive information elsewhere on the web. Visitors can zoom in real-time, click and drag maps and use the keyboard to move around. As this new website is a spin-off of the 'ArcheoNet' project (www.archeonet.be) it can be considered a good example of the 'Web 2.0' paradigm. By using existing technologies in a new and innovative way, we chose for a rich user experience, based on open and easy-to-reuse data. Moreover, the application of the Google Maps API for our archaeological purpose proved to be very time-effective and didn't require too much programming knowledge, two important factors in the cultural heritage sector.

Is Google Earth, "Digital Earth?" - Defining a Vision
Karl Grossner, University of California, Santa Barbara
grossner@geog.ucsb.edu
Keywords: Digital Earth; Google Earth; geo-browser

In a 1998 speech at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, then Vice-President Al Gore proposed an ambitious global undertaking to build a computer model of the earth, which he termed a Digital Earth. In his words, it was to be "a multi-resolution, three-dimensional representation of the planet, into which we can embed vast quantities of geo-referenced data." Within a short time, several agencies in the U.S. government undertook substantial effort towards such an application, loosely organized in a Digital Earth Initiative, steered principally by NASA. Simultaneously, a number of international organizations either began work on the issues involved, or identified efforts already under way as aimed towards achieving Gore's broad vision. Much of the early work undertaken with U.S. federal funding continues, though no longer beneath a "Digital Earth" banner. A series of bi-annual international conferences - Digital Earth Symposia - commenced in 1999 and continue to this day, as a venue for sharing progress on individual elements of what remains a loosely organized concept. The recent wave of interest in geographic displays and geo-referencing of information, highlighted by the 2005 release of the Google Earth "geo-browser," suggests the time is right to revisit the Gore vision in light of technological advances, broadening geographical awareness, and arguably, an increased need for a global perspective. In this article I present a short history of the Digital Earth vision and related activities, assess the status of progress towards its realization, and offer for discussion a particularly geographic approach to defining a digital earth application, in the context of a comprehensive heritage atlas.

Unsupported Assertions: An Analysis of Criticism of Wikipedia and Possible Solutions
Elijah Meeks, University of California, Merced, USA
emeeks@ucmerced.edu
Keywords: Wikipedia; critical analysis; commons; collaboration

This paper addresses the phenomenon of Wikipedia-a collaboratively produced, online encyclopedia The focus of the paper is on the criticisms leveled at Wikipedia in the press and academia. Specifically, it looks at the motivations of those criticisms and their merit. It offers possible solutions for some of the criticism, specifically that of the accuracy and credibility of the articles through utilization of proven peer-review techniques, while analyzing the reasons for what appears to be unsupported or uncharitable criticism. Naturally, the cultural impact of Wikipedia is addressed, as well as the economic and social impact of such commons-based peer collaboration. The overall direction of this paper is to foster the understanding of themes in the criticism of such projects with a look to the improvement of ongoing collaborative projects, such as Wikipedia, as well as nascent, related projects such as WikiMaps, WikiAtlas and Wikiteer.

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