Static Map in Facebook feed

[Nea]

I have a rather unique problem. We have an application which uploads
static Google Map images to a user's Facebook Wall. This works really
neat except for one thing, sometimes the map isn't shown in the feed
even though the link to the Google Maps is correct.

Consider the following map for example:

http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?markers=color:blue|55.684318,13.17488&key=ABQIAAAAjvof_rFK2zvwuB3AuRwmHRTXAhPPf4CNr6kME-1EeFs5ozKZkRTnYNx6-wsEs6ZkqbWLoquP507vVQ&sensor=false&size=90x90&zoom=10

This image didn't pop up in the user's feed.

After some investigation I found out that if you remove the zoom bit
at the end of the link (&zoom=10) the map would be seen in the feed.

I tried to decrease and increase the zoom level but the result is the
same. Why is that so? I don't understand why it won't show in the feed
and what can be done to get around it? Because it works for most maps
and we need to zoom out the static map to city level so it makes sense
in the feed.

Any help or ideas is appreciated! :)

[Miguel Angel Vilela]

Try removing the key, because:

- it's not required for the Static Maps API V2 that you're using

- it will be matched against the URL you're visiting, which may or may not be facebook.com

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[Nea]

@Miguel

Thanks for the reply. I tried what you said and the first time the map
wasn't shown in the facebook feed, but the second and third time it
was shown. So it doesn't seem to entirely solve the problem, put
perhaps it will make it happen less frequent so I'll remove the key
from now on.

[Miguel Angel Vilela]

Did you try with a brand new Static Map image never used before?

Caching may be tricking you otherwise.

--

[Daxon]

I have the same problem.

They just never appear with programatic publishes to the fb graph.

They sometimes work in a share link scenario. E.g. Posting a link on facebook itself, or sharing with JS on the actual page

I tired Bing static maps aswell, doesn't work.

Any hope with this? 

[Rossko]

> Any hope with this?

I doubt it, no-one else can see your demonstration of the problem.

[Daxon]

Using the restfb.com API I'm posting to the users FB wall.

The Google image url is made, the link works in the browser, but not when posted to the fb service.

 

def image = "http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=${event.latitude},${event.longitude}&zoom=13&size=110x110&markers=color:red|size:mid|${event.latitude},${.event.longitude}&sensor=false"

                                   FacebookType publishMessageResponse = facebookClient.publish("me/feed", FacebookType.class,

                                       Parameter.with("picture", image.toString()),

                                       Parameter.with("link", eventLink),

                                       Parameter.with("name", "name"),

                                       Parameter.with("caption", "caption"),

                                       Parameter.with("description", "description"),
                                       Parameter.with("actions", ["name": userName, "link": profileLink]))

 

[Rossko]

Doesn't really help. What counts is what gets delivered to the end-
viewers browser, and no-one has yet revealed that or given anyone an
opportunity to see.

[en4ce]

haha, i have the same problem, some times it works, sometimes not, i
gave up to understand this, the pic is always available anyways *gosh

do you know facebook lint? there you can check the behavior quite
well: http://developers.facebook.com/tools/lint/

[en4ce]

you can see some examples there, http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000318414658

the main problem is that facebook parse the link as well (so the
picture is not being loaded in the profile), i think the error is
within fb ;)

On 30 Jun., 02:16, Rossko <ros...@culzean.clara.co.uk> wrote:

[Rossko]

> you can see some examples there,http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000318414658

I don't see any static map there. I checked the source, and there is
no <img> or other tag with a static map href.

[en4ce]

there you go: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3179336/youspots/fbstatic.jpg

but prolly this is the best example:

here it works:

http://developers.facebook.com/tools/lint/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youspots.com%2Fen%2Ffind-spots.html%3Fmapid%3D3042%26action%3Dgo

here not:

http://developers.facebook.com/tools/lint/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youspots.com%2Fen%2Ffind-spots.html%3Fmapid%3D2720%26action%3Dgo

if the picture appears in lint, it appears in the users profile and
visa vis

bests

[Andrew Leach]

On 30 June 2011 20:29, en4ce <dje...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> but prolly this is the best example:
>
> here it works:
>
> http://developers.facebook.com/tools/lint/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youspots.com%2Fen%2Ffind-spots.html%3Fmapid%3D3042%26action%3Dgo
>
> here not:
>
> http://developers.facebook.com/tools/lint/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youspots.com%2Fen%2Ffind-spots.html%3Fmapid%3D2720%26action%3Dgo

That second one does work for me (second time, after viewing the first
one). I don't have a Facebook account -- but it doesn't look as though
that's relevant here anyway.

Perhaps Facebook is simply unreliable at including the image.
Sometimes, it doesn't work.

[Rossko]

> here it works:
>
> http://developers.facebook.com/tools/lint/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yousp...

Oddly, it didn't for me. Or at least, the thumbnail on the 'URL
Linter' page didn't.
If I click the thumbnasil's placeholder rectangle, it opens a link to
the "real" static map which works just fine - for me. Does that work
for everybody else?? If so, then Static Maps works fine.

What is supposed to be shown in the preview/thumbnail isn't a static
map, its some image served from Facebook
<img class="img" width="50" alt="" src="http://external.ak.fbcdn.net/
safe_image.php?d=AQAFP-1nW .... etc.

Of course it is supposed to be the static map, but as fetched and
processed and maybe cached by FB servers.

I'll hazard a guess that FB servers are going over quota and don't
always get an image from static maps. So far as I can tell, static
maps aren't intended to be processed server-side, in fact that is
prohibited for ordinary people.

[en4ce]

and you are most likely 100% percent right with that (as usual), this
was my conclusion as well BUT this is annoying ^^ so i guess we should
write the fb support/forum?

[Rossko]

> so i guess we should
> write the fb support/forum?

Probably.
*if* the problem is about quotas, you may be able to ask Google to
'whitelist' Facebook's servers. Of course they might say "no, that
isn't an intended usage"

But perhaps it isn't about that - perhaps something else upsets FB,
like a slow response. I doubt its about URL lengths or character
content or it would be consistent for a given map... unless ...
Possibly it's only one or two out of many FB servers that have an
issue, I guess thay must have a distributed platform.

You really need to know what problem FB servers perceive when fetching
static maps, and only FB will tell you that.

[en4ce]

>>You really need to know what problem FB servers perceive when fetching
static maps, and only FB will tell you that.

i tried to figure it out, the length of the url is not the problem, i
played a lot on that but the result stay´s the same, maybe there are
servers within fb that break the thing, maybe not.... i see if i can
find a forum within fb and ask the needed questions, if ill find
something useful ill post it up here

cheers! thanks for the effort