Christmas Lights Web 2.0 (From Bonners)

Bonner’s has provided us a means to upload and vote on who has the best Christmas Lights.

I love mashups like this one. It uses the Google maps API to help deliver location based information. In this case the info is “Christmas Decorations” in your neighborhood. You are encouraged to upload your photos and vote on other’s decorations.

Outside.in is another mashup that is intended to give you a location based “blog” news channel.  It works with the Google Map API too. You put in a zipcode and it gives you posts that indicate they are in your area. A brilliant mashup and usable application of user generated content and existing Web 2.0 tools.

Trial of YouTube TestTube

The YouTube TestTube has just launched. In the TestTube is an experiment called “streaming” and I immediately thought of “Google’s Hello” when I saw it.

What TestTube allows you to do is have a continual video chat with a group of participants much like Hello. (And if it gets integrated into “picasa’s” direct publishing, I could see it working pretty well). My only concern is that like much other user sharing environments before, the appeal will be immediate and quick followed by non usage – much like the present at Christmas that you play with at Christmas day only.

I am anxious to see if an environment like this can replace my traditional “emailing” of funny youtube videos or not… or possibly be the next “training” software for our company? Hmmm?

Try it and see.