The Washington Post on Google Maps

TimeSpace: World

The Washington Post have released a new amazing Flash based Google Map mashup called TimeSpace: World. The map compiles all the world news content from The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com, PostGlobal, Foreign Policy magazine, and partner sites including The Associated Press and Reuters onto one customizable map.

All the news coverage is collected into clusters around hot-spots on the map. By clicking a cluster, users can view articles, blog posts, photos, videos, and even reporter twitter feeds. A timeline at the bottom of the map illustrates peaks in coverage and allows users to customize news searches to a specific day all the way down to a particular hour.

Steven King, Editor of Innovations and Product Development at The Washington Post said that,

"The flexibility that the API provided allowed us to present thousands of items in one fluid and intuitive interface that our users were already familiar with. The original idea for TimeSpace was for the 2008 election but we built it as a framework that allows us to present multiple versions on different subjects, places or specific events."

TimeSpace: World is also available in widget form so users can embed the map on their own sites. In addition, a share function creates a unique URL for an individual story within the map that users can link to or send to friends.

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