Hacking IT: Mashups to fry your brain
March 17, 2006
 By Ronnie Apteker
Of the Internet initiatives that are going to explode in the year ahead, I will put a bet on "mashups" as being one of the next hot tickets.
A mashup is a web application or simply, a web site, that combines data (content) from more than one source and creates with it an integrated experience. Data used in mashups is generally obtained from third parties by way of a public interface or an API (application programming interface). There are other ways to source data for mashups as well, such as RSS feeds and JavaScript.
All the big players on the Net are exploring mashups - Google, Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, AOL, you name it. AOL is soon to release an instant messaging toolkit with a view to extend its AIM network, and Microsoft just launched its "live clipboard" which aims to apply the Windows clipboard idea to all web services. Yes, the race is on!
The term "mashup" comes from the music world. The term was first used in pop music when musicians and DJs began playing two songs simultaneously, and sounds were mixed and combined. In simplest terms, a mashup in the networked music world can be described as a song that is composed, say, by taking a drum beat from one online service and combining it with, say, a guitar riff obtained from another networked site. By overlapping and combining various musical inputs a song can be created.
Now imagine combining, say, crime statistics with a geographical map - the result is a visual guide as where to live and what to avoid. Take a look at http://www.chicagocrime.org/ for a good example here.
Information and content are being broken down into basic building blocks that allow for inspired forms of re-use in what ultimately is a new form of presentation.
At this stage, the most intriguing applications of mashups involve mapping some form of data onto a geographical map. The opportunities here are evident for such areas as real estate, travel, weather services, traffic reports, local shopping, online dating, movie locations, community organising, crime stats, and so on. And let's not forget that all-American favourite, UFO sightings.
Then there are novel applications as well, like the whereabouts of last week's Oscar winners. You can see where your favourite actor was born by going to www.mibazaar.com/oscars/index.html
The real estate example is highly compelling. Imagine mixing real estate data with a mapping application - you could see exactly where homes that are listed for sale are located on an actual physical map. Without even having to think of the address you could look at an image and see if you would you be interesting in purchasing a house or not. Check out www.housingmaps.com - this is poetry in motion.
Maps have been around forever. But all of sudden the map opens up a world of possibilities. Another good site to explore here is www.zillow.com
The mashup I am waiting for is the one which will combine Google maps and a flight simulator. And on that note I am off to surf the web for some more cool mashups.
Ronnie Apteker is one of the founders of Internet Solutions, the country's largest corporate Internet service provider. He is also a movie producer, an author of two books and sometimes a stand up comedian.
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