The Wiki For Places
PublicEarth FAQ
What is PublicEarth?
How do I access my PlaceBook™?
What kind of Places can I add?
What can I do with the places in my PlaceBook™?
How fast is PublicEarth expanding the database?
Should I add my home?
What kind of information is helpful to add?
I want to give you guys a suggestion, what do I do?
Do I need any special software to use PublicEarth?
How do I find cool places?
What if I want to create a Place that I know something about?
I’ve created a Place, what do I do now?
How do I edit a Place?
Explain “category,” “keyword” and "attribute”?
What are “moods”?
How do I rate a Place? And why?
What happens if I connect to my Facebook account?
Do you connect to other social accounts? MySpace? Twitter?
I'm seeing strange things on the site? What's the deal?
__________________________________________________
What is PublicEarth?
We are website “tool” -- the provider of your PlaceBook™-- that is designed to collect location-based information, organize it smartly, and make it easy for you to discover, share and go mobile with the info you want. We’ve been growing privately for more than a year, and in November 2009 opened to the public. Our PlaceBook, version 1, was released in December.
How do I access my PlaceBook?
You just sign in. You may sign in from the PublicEarth home page by clicking “Sign Up” at the top right. You don’t need to register to create or download places, but you do if you want to have a PlaceBook, make a user profile, rate places, get personalized suggestions, create collections, or add comments. To get the full flavor or PublicEarth, it’s good to register.
What kind of Places can I add?
All places are meant for your PlaceBook. We have over 450 categories in the PublicEarth wiki, including such esoteric topics such as “Nut Harvesting”, “Famous Death Locations”, and “Glass-blowing Studios”. So yes, we want everything that has a location that is important to you. We expect some creative and unusual uses of the wiki. So we don’t want to insist on too many rules: the overarching guideline is this “place” should be interesting to more than just one person, and “useful” – however you chose to define that.
What can I do with the places that I save to my PlaceBook?
Your PlaceBook is an index of all the places that matter to you-- they might be homes and offices, activities you enjoy, places you've seen on vacations -- everything. Once places are managed there, it's easy to print or send info about any location, it's easy to share collections you've made, you can get directions or take places mobile.
when the get mobile it gets interesting: now when you're out in the world, you can not only look up fantastic things to see or do wherever you are - finding what's near you (whether your looking for something specific, or just some ideas); but you can look through your "selected' places, arguably a list that is the things you want to look through - a mini directory of the places important. And not just your PlaceBook but those of your trusted friends. Imagine how useful it is to select a hike or restaurant from a giant index organized collectively by the people you like.
Also in your PlaceBook is a button to Create a Widget. This button takes a collection of saved places and quickly creates a widget that you can put on your blog or your website. There are hundreds of interesting uses for widgets (for business owners, for bloggers, for journalists, for families...). For advanced users, we also offer an API that lets other application providers use our places.
We'll be providing more interesting ways to view and discover places; we'll be expanding the ways you can share your discoveries and take places 'with you.' And we'll be continually improving the way we make suggestions, getting better every time you use the site.
How fast is PublicEarth expanding the database?
There are two ways that places end up in our website. First is from you and other people who simply have something to share. But we’re adding points too through our growing special interest content partnerships. Hundreds of organizations are contributing their catalogs of fantastic locations – haunted houses and corporate headquarters, tennis courts and fossil-hunting sites...all kinds of interesting, helpful, and sometimes unusual collections – all put on the same map and interconnected. This special content will improve every month. It’s good now, but it gets more and more interesting all the time.
Should I add my home?
In general, personal places that you don’t want to expose to the teeming millions are not intended for PublicEarth. However, we all find it very convenient to make a pin for our homebase (and sometimes office) and save it so it shows up on our printed maps; it’s a good reference point. To keep your home from showing up in people’s searches, however, just put it in the “homebase” category – this way it might show up, but there is no information about it, and it’s still a good marker for your occasional map making. The key is to label it generically. We prefer a partial street number or just the street name. [Upcoming features will include better hiding in the homebase category.]
What kind of information is helpful to add?
For every place in PublicEarth, we'd eventually like a set of rich, detailed information – the more detailed the better. First priorities are a description of the place, a category and a photo. This effectively “stubs out” a new place. Then, for each category, there is a set of specific fields that make sense for these types of places. For example, museums should have opening hours and the website. Birding trails should have the types of birds you can see there. Public art should have the artist and when it was created. Finally, perhaps one of the most important aspects of the wiki are our “mood attributes.” These terms help the database have a deeper understanding of places; this helps us make better suggestions as you explore the site. As the curators of the wiki, we encourage you to share ideas for new categories, moods, or data fields. (And, don't forget about the comments - feel free to put in your point of view or ask a question.)
I want to give you guys a suggestion, what do I do?
We are not just website creators, but rather, managers of a community; consequently, we live for feedback and suggestions. We have made a number of paths available to you. Quickest: click on the Feedback button at the bottom of every page and enter your feedback. Other options: Participate here, on our community forums. (Which is where you are now.) Here you can not only give us feedback, but tap into our blog and groups. But we all participate in here and are always available to answer questions with respect to how the website works and how it will continue to evolve. You may also email us directly at feedback (at) publicearth.com.
Do I need any special software to use PublicEarth?
All you need is a browser. We’re currently compatible with Firefox 3.0 and higher and Internet Explorer 7. The site may appear to function in other browsers like Safari and Chrome, however we are not currently supporting these. Therefore if you are trying this from a Mac, it is best to install Firefox rather than trying to use the pre-installed Safari browser.
How do I find cool places?
There are many ways to get started. After you register, visit your PlaceBook and see the collections we have pre-setup for you. These will give you good starting points to getting to know PublicEarth. Think of a place you want to add, and then see if you find it. (1) Go to Search & Explore; (2) Move the map to the region you want to look closely at; (3) Search by name, or zoom the map in close, and Turn On Pins (which if you're very close to a map will reveal ALL pins in that area. If you find the place you want, SAVE it; if not, click on the CREATE tab and add it to the map. It's easy and pretty fun, and it's how the wiki grows--People adding places they like.
There are lots of ways to explore the database; if you're not building collections you might just want to look around and see what's here. Your personalized home page is a great way to start; there you can find locations that share attributes with other places you’ve been interested in. And our suggestions will improve both as you use the site more, and as we refine our recommendation software. But most often, finding places begins with some sort of search. We have a search box at the top of the "Search & Explore" tab, so you could type “dog parks” and it will find results and put them whatever map you're exploring.
The SEARCH & EXPLORE tab also offers some convenient short cuts for exploring a region. Move the map to any place you want to explore (zooming/panning the map or just putting a location into the “map mover” function at the top of most pages), and then select one of the exploration short cuts – your choices should give you some ideas of other ways to search.
If you really delve into a specific category or a small set, there is a category browser link where you can select some categories and find them on the map. Exploring is usually a combination of looking at a map, finding and saving some locations, zooming in, searching/browsing near those places, and so on. (If you're zoomed in close enough, you can also turn on ALL the pins on the map to show what's nearby, or make sure a point you'd like to add isn't already there.)
What if I want to add a Place that I know something about?
You can create new places from our CREATE tab. Simply click the tools to create a point, route or region, and follow the instructions on the screen.
I’ve created a Place, what do I do now?
You’ve done the hard part! You could add additional information (use those Mood attributes to really connect it up), or just go back to exploring. PublicEarth can also feed places you’ve created into your Facebook wall, if you’d like to share your work socially.
How do I edit a Place?
There is an Edit Place button on all Place details pages. When you click this, you will be able to edit all the information associated with that place.
What are the differences between a “category,” “keyword” and an “attribute”?
A category is a high-level grouping that defines a place. A bar. A hotel. A museum. (Some places actually fall in multiple categories, and soon we’ll make that easier to assign.) Categories have attributes. In most cases you select attributes from pre-defined lists. Keywords are freeform, user generated terms that might help a place be found, when most other forms don’t seem to fit.
What is "This Place Feels..."? What are “moods”?
Different from traditional ontologies and attributes, moods cross many bounds—they are the way we think of a place, and adjectives that describe a place: spooky, calming, loud...For PublicEarth, they not only help people trying to quickly “get” what a place is like, but they are an important component of our growing recommendation engine, that will help you find places you’ll like. You might even start to learn something about yourself...
How do I rate a Place?
If you are a registered user, and logged in, click on the thumbs up/down to signal your feelings. Rating serves two purposes: it helps us give you better suggestions of places if we know the kinds of places you visit and like; grouped with other users, it also sends a signal as to whether a place is worthy or not.
What happens if I connect to my Facebook account?
The most important thing is that your friend's PlaceBooks are explorable through your PlaceBook. You won't be able to see their collections, but all your friends's saved places can be sorted, mixed with other friends, or teased apart, as you look for interesting places for yourself. Find something there, SAVE it back into your own PlaceBook for later.
Also, connecting to Facebook makes it is far easier to share some of the things you discover at PublicEarth. You'll see all your Facebook+PublicEarth pals on your Profile page, as well as under the Friends tab in your PlaceBook.
Do you connect to other social accounts? MySpace? Twitter?
We will be adding more avenues for sharing as we improve the site. Keep an eye on our blog for our latest thinking about these, and other, dynamic issues.
I'm seeing strange things on the site. What's the deal?
Depends on what you mean by strange. Here are some notes.
1) Many photographs on the home page look pixellated and low-resolution. We are generating new large thumbnail images for the homepage, which will take a few weeks.
2) The website was not designed for all browsers and systems, so some combinations can negatively impact your experience. If you ever see things that look... wrong... please forward information about what you're seeing and what browser/operating system you're on. It's the best way for us to catch and repair those kinds of problems.
How do I access my PlaceBook™?
What kind of Places can I add?
What can I do with the places in my PlaceBook™?
How fast is PublicEarth expanding the database?
Should I add my home?
What kind of information is helpful to add?
I want to give you guys a suggestion, what do I do?
Do I need any special software to use PublicEarth?
How do I find cool places?
What if I want to create a Place that I know something about?
I’ve created a Place, what do I do now?
How do I edit a Place?
Explain “category,” “keyword” and "attribute”?
What are “moods”?
How do I rate a Place? And why?
What happens if I connect to my Facebook account?
Do you connect to other social accounts? MySpace? Twitter?
I'm seeing strange things on the site? What's the deal?
__________________________________________________
What is PublicEarth?
We are website “tool” -- the provider of your PlaceBook™-- that is designed to collect location-based information, organize it smartly, and make it easy for you to discover, share and go mobile with the info you want. We’ve been growing privately for more than a year, and in November 2009 opened to the public. Our PlaceBook, version 1, was released in December.
How do I access my PlaceBook?
You just sign in. You may sign in from the PublicEarth home page by clicking “Sign Up” at the top right. You don’t need to register to create or download places, but you do if you want to have a PlaceBook, make a user profile, rate places, get personalized suggestions, create collections, or add comments. To get the full flavor or PublicEarth, it’s good to register.
What kind of Places can I add?
All places are meant for your PlaceBook. We have over 450 categories in the PublicEarth wiki, including such esoteric topics such as “Nut Harvesting”, “Famous Death Locations”, and “Glass-blowing Studios”. So yes, we want everything that has a location that is important to you. We expect some creative and unusual uses of the wiki. So we don’t want to insist on too many rules: the overarching guideline is this “place” should be interesting to more than just one person, and “useful” – however you chose to define that.
What can I do with the places that I save to my PlaceBook?
Your PlaceBook is an index of all the places that matter to you-- they might be homes and offices, activities you enjoy, places you've seen on vacations -- everything. Once places are managed there, it's easy to print or send info about any location, it's easy to share collections you've made, you can get directions or take places mobile.
when the get mobile it gets interesting: now when you're out in the world, you can not only look up fantastic things to see or do wherever you are - finding what's near you (whether your looking for something specific, or just some ideas); but you can look through your "selected' places, arguably a list that is the things you want to look through - a mini directory of the places important. And not just your PlaceBook but those of your trusted friends. Imagine how useful it is to select a hike or restaurant from a giant index organized collectively by the people you like.
Also in your PlaceBook is a button to Create a Widget. This button takes a collection of saved places and quickly creates a widget that you can put on your blog or your website. There are hundreds of interesting uses for widgets (for business owners, for bloggers, for journalists, for families...). For advanced users, we also offer an API that lets other application providers use our places.
We'll be providing more interesting ways to view and discover places; we'll be expanding the ways you can share your discoveries and take places 'with you.' And we'll be continually improving the way we make suggestions, getting better every time you use the site.
How fast is PublicEarth expanding the database?
There are two ways that places end up in our website. First is from you and other people who simply have something to share. But we’re adding points too through our growing special interest content partnerships. Hundreds of organizations are contributing their catalogs of fantastic locations – haunted houses and corporate headquarters, tennis courts and fossil-hunting sites...all kinds of interesting, helpful, and sometimes unusual collections – all put on the same map and interconnected. This special content will improve every month. It’s good now, but it gets more and more interesting all the time.
Should I add my home?
In general, personal places that you don’t want to expose to the teeming millions are not intended for PublicEarth. However, we all find it very convenient to make a pin for our homebase (and sometimes office) and save it so it shows up on our printed maps; it’s a good reference point. To keep your home from showing up in people’s searches, however, just put it in the “homebase” category – this way it might show up, but there is no information about it, and it’s still a good marker for your occasional map making. The key is to label it generically. We prefer a partial street number or just the street name. [Upcoming features will include better hiding in the homebase category.]
What kind of information is helpful to add?
For every place in PublicEarth, we'd eventually like a set of rich, detailed information – the more detailed the better. First priorities are a description of the place, a category and a photo. This effectively “stubs out” a new place. Then, for each category, there is a set of specific fields that make sense for these types of places. For example, museums should have opening hours and the website. Birding trails should have the types of birds you can see there. Public art should have the artist and when it was created. Finally, perhaps one of the most important aspects of the wiki are our “mood attributes.” These terms help the database have a deeper understanding of places; this helps us make better suggestions as you explore the site. As the curators of the wiki, we encourage you to share ideas for new categories, moods, or data fields. (And, don't forget about the comments - feel free to put in your point of view or ask a question.)
I want to give you guys a suggestion, what do I do?
We are not just website creators, but rather, managers of a community; consequently, we live for feedback and suggestions. We have made a number of paths available to you. Quickest: click on the Feedback button at the bottom of every page and enter your feedback. Other options: Participate here, on our community forums. (Which is where you are now.) Here you can not only give us feedback, but tap into our blog and groups. But we all participate in here and are always available to answer questions with respect to how the website works and how it will continue to evolve. You may also email us directly at feedback (at) publicearth.com.
Do I need any special software to use PublicEarth?
All you need is a browser. We’re currently compatible with Firefox 3.0 and higher and Internet Explorer 7. The site may appear to function in other browsers like Safari and Chrome, however we are not currently supporting these. Therefore if you are trying this from a Mac, it is best to install Firefox rather than trying to use the pre-installed Safari browser.
How do I find cool places?
There are many ways to get started. After you register, visit your PlaceBook and see the collections we have pre-setup for you. These will give you good starting points to getting to know PublicEarth. Think of a place you want to add, and then see if you find it. (1) Go to Search & Explore; (2) Move the map to the region you want to look closely at; (3) Search by name, or zoom the map in close, and Turn On Pins (which if you're very close to a map will reveal ALL pins in that area. If you find the place you want, SAVE it; if not, click on the CREATE tab and add it to the map. It's easy and pretty fun, and it's how the wiki grows--People adding places they like.
There are lots of ways to explore the database; if you're not building collections you might just want to look around and see what's here. Your personalized home page is a great way to start; there you can find locations that share attributes with other places you’ve been interested in. And our suggestions will improve both as you use the site more, and as we refine our recommendation software. But most often, finding places begins with some sort of search. We have a search box at the top of the "Search & Explore" tab, so you could type “dog parks” and it will find results and put them whatever map you're exploring.
The SEARCH & EXPLORE tab also offers some convenient short cuts for exploring a region. Move the map to any place you want to explore (zooming/panning the map or just putting a location into the “map mover” function at the top of most pages), and then select one of the exploration short cuts – your choices should give you some ideas of other ways to search.
If you really delve into a specific category or a small set, there is a category browser link where you can select some categories and find them on the map. Exploring is usually a combination of looking at a map, finding and saving some locations, zooming in, searching/browsing near those places, and so on. (If you're zoomed in close enough, you can also turn on ALL the pins on the map to show what's nearby, or make sure a point you'd like to add isn't already there.)
What if I want to add a Place that I know something about?
You can create new places from our CREATE tab. Simply click the tools to create a point, route or region, and follow the instructions on the screen.
I’ve created a Place, what do I do now?
You’ve done the hard part! You could add additional information (use those Mood attributes to really connect it up), or just go back to exploring. PublicEarth can also feed places you’ve created into your Facebook wall, if you’d like to share your work socially.
How do I edit a Place?
There is an Edit Place button on all Place details pages. When you click this, you will be able to edit all the information associated with that place.
What are the differences between a “category,” “keyword” and an “attribute”?
A category is a high-level grouping that defines a place. A bar. A hotel. A museum. (Some places actually fall in multiple categories, and soon we’ll make that easier to assign.) Categories have attributes. In most cases you select attributes from pre-defined lists. Keywords are freeform, user generated terms that might help a place be found, when most other forms don’t seem to fit.
What is "This Place Feels..."? What are “moods”?
Different from traditional ontologies and attributes, moods cross many bounds—they are the way we think of a place, and adjectives that describe a place: spooky, calming, loud...For PublicEarth, they not only help people trying to quickly “get” what a place is like, but they are an important component of our growing recommendation engine, that will help you find places you’ll like. You might even start to learn something about yourself...
How do I rate a Place?
If you are a registered user, and logged in, click on the thumbs up/down to signal your feelings. Rating serves two purposes: it helps us give you better suggestions of places if we know the kinds of places you visit and like; grouped with other users, it also sends a signal as to whether a place is worthy or not.
What happens if I connect to my Facebook account?
The most important thing is that your friend's PlaceBooks are explorable through your PlaceBook. You won't be able to see their collections, but all your friends's saved places can be sorted, mixed with other friends, or teased apart, as you look for interesting places for yourself. Find something there, SAVE it back into your own PlaceBook for later.
Also, connecting to Facebook makes it is far easier to share some of the things you discover at PublicEarth. You'll see all your Facebook+PublicEarth pals on your Profile page, as well as under the Friends tab in your PlaceBook.
Do you connect to other social accounts? MySpace? Twitter?
We will be adding more avenues for sharing as we improve the site. Keep an eye on our blog for our latest thinking about these, and other, dynamic issues.
I'm seeing strange things on the site. What's the deal?
Depends on what you mean by strange. Here are some notes.
1) Many photographs on the home page look pixellated and low-resolution. We are generating new large thumbnail images for the homepage, which will take a few weeks.
2) The website was not designed for all browsers and systems, so some combinations can negatively impact your experience. If you ever see things that look... wrong... please forward information about what you're seeing and what browser/operating system you're on. It's the best way for us to catch and repair those kinds of problems.
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