Virtual Ventura Live (was "Local Search Engine")

[Mark Gibbs]

Perhaps OrcaTec would consider using http://google.com/coop/ instead?

But here's the thing: What OrcaTec does (and very impressively might I add) would possibly be overkill because this isn't about collecting Web stuff on the fly and doing linguistic structuring of what's found; it should be a process more akin to creating and curating a living, dynamic exhibition. 

How about using Google Maps and Google Earth along with a Yahoo-like (i.e. human-edited) index compiled wiki-style (i.e. via collaborative editing) to build a Virtual Ventura Live? You could cruise the city visually, explore buildings modeled in SketchUp (the Mission, City Hall, the pier, and so on); examine photos; search for restaurants, hotels, and shops; zoom into Web cams, ... you name it.

We could also promote the use of Google Favorite Places QR tags on businesses, places of interest, etc., and we could engage the City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, and the Museum of History to support the initiative.

What do we think?

[m]

On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 11:10 AM, kd kelly <dotl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Is this technology something that directly competes with Google, or does it leverage the Google API in some way (I didn't see anything about using Google on their site). I wonder if that would be an issue to Google if we were celebrating a competing technology?

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Anthony Andre" <ant...@venturahighspeed.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2010 11:39 PM
To: <vg...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [vgig] Local Search Engine

That would be cool.

-----Original Message-----
From: vg...@googlegroups.com [mailto:vg...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of herb
Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2010 11:19 AM
To: Ventura Gigabit Internet Group
Subject: [vgig] Local Search Engine

Rao has suggested that we put up a local search engine to highlight some of the local capabilities.  OrcaTec, a local company in Ventura and Ojai, is willing to provide the technology.  Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Herb


--
To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.

[Anthony Andre]

I know we personally have coop setup with our website.  It is venturahighspeed.com/home and we also have created a custom search bar within Microsoft IE.  I think that would work out and not step on Google’s toes. I think it would be cool as a local searchable index of the city’s offerings.

 

-Anthony

[kd kelly]

I think anything we can do to leverage Google's existing services into a collaborative Ventura portal would be preferable over using a different search technology, and I think the things Mark's outlined below would be ideal. Between Google Maps/Earth/Local (including Street View and Image overlays, Favorite Places, and Buzz) would be amazing -- and the value would long outlast any campaign for being chosen for Google Fiber.

 

It's kind of what I had in mind for SouthSeaward.com but haven't had time to develop further.

 

Karen

From: Mark Gibbs

Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 12:37 PM

To: vg...@googlegroups.com

Subject: [vgig] Virtual Ventura Live (was "Local Search Engine")

[Daniel Richman]

Keep it local! Let Google see how our community can get together and make s#it happen. There are so many people whom I wish would join us in this push for attention. So many minds in the VC area that would kick a$$ at all this stuff. Unfortunately, my attempts at "inviting" these minds have gone unnoticed. 

--
Daniel Richman
www.RichmanandRichman.com
Ventura, CA 93003

[herb]

I don't want to argue too strongly for our own technology. I think
that what we use should be a consensus of the group. The main
advantage I think that we and other local technologies offer is that
they are local technologies. Other local technologies would be good
additions, as well or instead. I'm volunteering, not demanding.

We (OrcaTec) cannot use Google's custom search because (a) it works by
restricting the search to preselected web sites and we want to search
the "whole" web, and (b) it prevents you from re-ranking the results,
meaning that we can add no intelligence to it.

I think that the point is not to flatter Google, but to show the level
of interesting activity in Ventura. If flattery were the key, then
Topeka would already have been selected instead of being made the
target of their April Fools joke.

Although Google's ultimate motivation is to get more traffic for
Google (the faster the connection, the more searches are conducted), I
think that the justification for running fiber is that it will enable
new technologies and new ideas. Google also succeeds by identifying
new technologies and new opportunities. They already know about their
own tools. Doing something brand new with one of their technologies
might be the kind of thing that would make Ventura really interesting,
and, frankly, it might be better than doing something with an
alternative technology (calling our technology competing just seems
like hubris to me). But following a well-trod path without breaking
new ground just seems like an after-thought. Yet another example of
someone doing X, whatever X is.

Remember the old Mamas and Papas song:

Words of love, so soft and tender,
Won't win a girl's heart anymore.
If you love her,then you must send her
Somewhere where she's never been before.
Worn out phrases and longing gazes
Won't get you where you want to go. (No!)

It does not have to be us (OrcaTec) that does the sending, but it
would be great if we (Ventura) could find some local innovation to
send Google to someplace where she's never been before.

Herb
www.truevert.com

On Apr 5, 12:37 pm, Mark Gibbs <mgi...@gibbs.com> wrote:
> Perhaps OrcaTec would consider usinghttp://google.com/coop/instead?

>
> But here's the thing: What OrcaTec does (and very impressively might I add)
> would possibly be overkill because this isn't about collecting Web stuff on
> the fly and doing linguistic structuring of what's found; it should be a
> process more akin to creating and curating a living, dynamic exhibition.
>
> How about using Google Maps and Google Earth along with a Yahoo-like (i.e.
> human-edited) index compiled wiki-style (i.e. via collaborative editing) to
> build a Virtual Ventura Live? You could cruise the city visually, explore
> buildings modeled in SketchUp (the Mission, City Hall, the pier, and so on);
> examine photos; search for restaurants, hotels, and shops; zoom into Web
> cams, ... you name it.
>
> We could also promote the use of Google Favorite

> Places<http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces/business/barcode.html>QR

> tags on businesses, places of interest, etc., and we could engage the
> City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, and the Museum of History to
> support the initiative.
>
> What do we think?
>
> [m]
>

> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 11:10 AM, kd kelly <dotliz...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Is this technology something that directly competes with Google, or does it
> > leverage the Google API in some way (I didn't see anything about using
> > Google on their site). I wonder if that would be an issue to Google if we
> > were celebrating a competing technology?
>
> > --------------------------------------------------

> > From: "Anthony Andre" <anth...@venturahighspeed.com>

[N. R. Machiraju]

Herb: Your note makes lots of sense to me. Thank you for sharing the poem
as well.

All:
Google is all about invention and invention by connecting dots.
If Ventura can show that we have that spirit of invention and connect
the dots for non-linear returns for our community and world at large,
we will be able to engage Google and beyond.

If Ventura wants to get Google Fiber, we need to prototype and show
that we can do some very interesting things that are locally grown.
Putting up home grown technology is a great way to attract the
attention of google and I can't think of a better way to make
news headlines and differentiate Ventura's Fiber initiative with
all of other cities.

Imagine a press release going out from the City of Ventura that expresses
sentiment like (Mark: If you agree I know you can make this awesome)

Track the latest developments with Google Fiber projects with VenturaFiber.com

In a Bold Move VenturaFiber.com show cases a semantic search engine
for the months of April and May on their website to search for anything about
happenings of the Google Fiber project and about anything Ventura.

When asked why not use google to search instead of this search, Ventura
Citizen and inventor of the underlying semantic search technology Herb said
" blah, blah, blah....."
City of Ventura's Manager, Rick Cole said" It is exciting to see a citizen lead
initiative such as this take shape and etc, etc, etc..............
According to Mark Gibbs a long time Ventura resident, " the idea of show casing
home grown technologies as part of the website is a way for us to build the
momentum to gear up for GoogleFiber, etc. etc......"
Rao Machiraju a longtime Ventura resident said " balh, blah, blah...."
and so on.

There is a high probability that such a move will be picked up by national press.

I can also assure you that google will no way be threatened by it. BTW, I work
for a company that develops for Blackberry, iPhone as well as Android. We do a
bunch of things with google as well as other companies. Even, Apple does not
stop us from doing things on competing platforms.

Such a move is right at the heart of what Google Fiber is all about. What can
communities do, how they can reinvent themselves with Google Fiber, what
kind of social inventions that may come about and how they can be spread.

Rao

Herb
www.truevert.com

N. Rao Machiraju
http://www.reqall.com/
Phone: 1 408 538-0413

[Anthony Andre]

Well put Rao! I would like to see something like that happen.

-Anthony

[Mark Gibbs]

As I tried to point out earlier, I don't think the problem here is one of searching but rather one of curating. Search would be a great thing to add but it's building a useful index that will be where the value, and PR, lies ... when you hit VVL you should see a topical list such as:

Restaurants | Bars | Hotels | Bed and Breakfasts | Points of Interest | Garages | Supermarkets | Major Retailers | Specialist Retailers | Car Washes | Car Dealers | Cafes | Theaters | Movies | Weather | Tides | Maps | Photographs | Events | Government | Live Cams | Search

And if you were to go to Hotels you'd get something like:

Locations | Prices | Availability | Bookings | Ratings | Photographs | Search

And under Location you'd first get a Google (or Bing) map of all hotels in the city with popups that showed price, rating, etc.

In other words, it's a simple and slightly eccentric taxonomy that mixes text, images, maps, video, live cams, etc. to deliver the kind of organized information people need. The first phase would be to make the index useful for visitors, the second, useful for residents, and the third, useful for business.

[m]