Google's photo services regained prominence this year when Google Plus rolled in Picasa as the natural choice for hosting photos shared on the social network. But Panoramio, Google's less well-known photo service based on location data, is making moves as well.
Google has just announced Panoramio Groups for sharing photos with likeminded people. There's a directory for existing groups, and anybody can create a new one. Groups are a fundamental building block of a social network, and Panoramio has joined that club.
Panoramio is a photo-sharing network built around a different purpose than the rest. It's held together by meticulous tagging and location data, making it thoroughly searchable, and it revolves around the notions of places and exploration, rather than just the capturing of moments. It has the kinds of data that let Google implement it in Google Maps and Google Earth as a layer, and its users contribute to the photo mosaics in Street View.
We've covered Panoramio's role in Google's location-powered photo services as competition for Photosynth, Microsoft's effort to stitch together photos into 3D places and build them into Bing Maps. Panoramio's role in Google Maps and Google Earth is one of providing personal color and context to a place. This is a rather different kind of photo sharing than the kind that organizes snapshots into galleries. Some new apps, such as Trover, take this same approach to photos as ways of exploring places. Panoramio's groups will bring an element of collaboration to the adventure.
Up to 50% Off Swim
New: Kitchen & Housewares Shop - visit Barnes & Noble.com today!
Google has just announced Panoramio Groups for sharing photos with likeminded people. There's a directory for existing groups, and anybody can create a new one. Groups are a fundamental building block of a social network, and Panoramio has joined that club.
Panoramio is a photo-sharing network built around a different purpose than the rest. It's held together by meticulous tagging and location data, making it thoroughly searchable, and it revolves around the notions of places and exploration, rather than just the capturing of moments. It has the kinds of data that let Google implement it in Google Maps and Google Earth as a layer, and its users contribute to the photo mosaics in Street View.
We've covered Panoramio's role in Google's location-powered photo services as competition for Photosynth, Microsoft's effort to stitch together photos into 3D places and build them into Bing Maps. Panoramio's role in Google Maps and Google Earth is one of providing personal color and context to a place. This is a rather different kind of photo sharing than the kind that organizes snapshots into galleries. Some new apps, such as Trover, take this same approach to photos as ways of exploring places. Panoramio's groups will bring an element of collaboration to the adventure.
Up to 50% Off Swim
New: Kitchen & Housewares Shop - visit Barnes & Noble.com today!
No comments:
Post a Comment