Flickr has added a new mapping application to its list of imaging services. Since Flickr is a Yahoo company it uses the new Yahoo maps. Google may have an advantage over Yahoo with more accurate maps and integration with Google Earth. However Flickr does have a slick new interface and a cool map page for each user.
There is a big difference in how third-party services such as Robogeo and Yuan.cc and location data and how Flickr maps images. The other services can read either the triple tags or the EXIF location data. Flickr uses only EXIF data. This is nice because it could reduce the tag cloud clutter created by triple tagging. I’m still wondering if this is actually EXIF, or if it’s some proprietary format. Flickr has said that it will make API available for third party applications, but I’m sure folks that have already developed cool apps using triple tags don’t want to have to re-write everything.
Most of my photos don’t have geodata in the EXIF data. Fortunately, Flickr has an import function which will take the manual triple tags and convert them to EXIF (or whatever Flickr uses.) There is also a need coding function which allows users to drag and drop images onto the map and create the required codes.
I got into a bit of trouble with that drag-n-drop function, though. Seems Flickr’s instructions weren’t too clear. It simply said to drag the images to the map. I assumed they would convert the existing geotags and place the picture in the appropriate spot. Wrong. They place them where ever you drop them on the map. For awhile all of my images were sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean. However, I still had my old geotags, so in Google Earth and other services, the pictures were in the correct place. This had me puzzled for quite awhile until I figured it out. I was able to remove the images and re-import them correctly.
This method of geocoding is quick and easy. I will be using it on most of my geotagged images. However, I’ll still use my old triple-tags until someone comes up with a better standard.
[tags]Flickr, Flickr Maps, geotagging, photography[/tags]