The new breed of Web mash-up

Katie Hafner in the New York Times: Wary of a New Web Idea That Rings Old. Excerpt:

Web mash-ups, which have proliferated in recent months, can be made up of two or more sets of data. They are often based on Google Maps or Google Earth, then overlaid, or tagged, with information on the location of just about anything.

Dozens of such stitched-together maps have sprung up on Platial since the site first went up in December. They include a walking map of taco stands in Oakland, Calif.; a tour of cycling spots in Toronto; a guide to famous film locations; and a map of public biodiesel pumps across the nation.

The key to Platial, Ms. Eisnor said, is that it offers "a platform that lets anyone make their own mash-ups," which creates "this social atlas where people can document locations that are important to them." More and more, she said, she is noticing that new Platial users will add 50 to 100 places to the site's existing maps in the first week they discover the site, and often they create their own maps. ...