GeoGuessr

GeoGuessr is a geography game which takes you on a journey around the world and challenges your ability to recognize your surroundings.  It's a simple yet addictive
use of Google Maps & Streetview.  Here's how it works, you're dropped into a random location on Google Street View and you have to guess where in the world you are.  Pan, tilt, and zoom around your Streetview location to help you narrow down your location then plot where you think you are on the map.  You are awarded points based on how close your guess was to the actual location.

While this has nothing to do with advertising, you can imagine how hotels, airlines or other travel brands in particular could use this as a compelling way to show off various destinations that they serve as well as run a competition.  I wouldn't be surprised if we see this idea co-opted by a brand in the near future.  Check out a walk through video below or head on over to GeoGuessr to play.





Posted by: Reuben Halper

A Man Like Me In A Place Like This

Here's a fascinating usage/display of personal location tracking.  Rather than place himself on a flat map a la Foursquare, Facebook Check-In or Google Latitude, Tristan Smith has used Google Streetview in combination with Google latitude to show his current location in a way that closer represents reality.  As the about section of A Man Like Me In A Place Like This site describes:

Fame or Privacy. (Not Both.)

By combining data from Google Latitude and Google Streetview, this site introduces a new form of self-surveillance: An almost livestream of the creator's location using Google's extensive photo database.

Both a digital nod to the graffiti tradition of "_____ WAS HERE" and a new form of life sharing.

"A Man Like Me In A Place Like This" asks the question, "just how much of our experience are we willing to put on display?"

See below or head on over to A Man Like Me In A Place Like This to check it out yourself

SafeStyle Windows - Secret Door

You don't need to be a big brand or have a huge marketing budget to create an amazing digital experience.  Case in point, see this beautiful and delightful experience created by Safestyle UK.  Safestyle are 'the largest independent company in the UK that provides top-quality, affordable uPVC double glazed windows, doors, French doors, sliding patio doors and composite doors.'  Perhaps not the most obvious candidate to create an immersive experience using Google Streetview, but that's the power of the web.  It democratizes marketing and provides the means to reach a tremendous audience without needing a massive budget (case in point see Dollar Shave Club or Orabrush on YouTube).   Interestingly, I've read articles that indicate that this is an SEO play by Safestyle UK to maintain it's organic search position.  Whatever the objective, it's a lovely experience for the user.

But I digress...the idea behind the Secret Door is that you step through it and are transported to some of the 'most quirky and interesting places Google Maps has to offer.'  The experience is essentially a curated version of Google Streetview (both indoor and outdoor) and provides serendipity and delight as you allow the Secret Door to take you to various places around the world.

Additionally the site can be embedded around the web, ensuring the experience can be spread far and wide.  So have a play around with the experience which is embedded below.

The Secret Door is presented by Safestyle UK

The Beat - Instagram Meets Google Street View

The Beat is an experiment from the social media information lab at Rutgers University.  It blends together geotagged Instagram posts with Google Streetview imagery from that location.  The aim is to give users insight into the life of an area by exploring topics in a new way.  It's preloaded with a #Christmas Instagram hashtag so try putting in your own hashtag either geography such as #London or more interestingly exploring other topics via hashtag such as #Movember

It's a really cool way to give context to Instagram photos by seeing what's around them using Google Streetview.  It'd be interesting to see this also integrated into the This Is Now Instagram project that showed a few weeks ago.

Check it out below or have a play around yourself at The Beat
via PSFK

Volkswagen - Street Quest

I don't know if it's just an American thing, but I have vivid (and often painful) memories of long car trips playing punch buggy with my brother.  Note: for those of you who have never heard of Punch Buggy; it's a children's game where whoever spots a VW beetle first shouts 'punch buggy, no punch backs' and gets to punch the arm of the person next to them.  See wiki entry here.  Now Volkswagen South Africa & Ogilvy Cape Town have created a contest that brings Punch Buggy into the digital world (minus the pain)

The campaign features a nice integration of Google Street View & Facebook.  Over the course of a month, users are challenged to find and pin as many VWs as they can find on South African  roads in Google Street View.  Each week, the user who pins the most will be flown to Cape Town for a final showdown with the other winners.  They'll then go forth into the real world to spot the most VWs to win the grand prize.  See below for more details or have a play for yourself here.