Monday, September 07, 2009

Winter Forage Google Maps Mashup

Haymapr

Haymapr.com helps people find local winter forage (hay) for sale and gives farmers an easy way to list forage for sale on-line. The site uses Google Maps to allow users to search for their nearest hay providers.

To search for winter forage users enter which type of forage they are looking for, their location and the distance they wish to travel. The user's address is geocoded and displayed on a map with a dragable location and travel radius.

Two searches are then performed, an outward search to find the nearest sellers the searcher could collect from, and an inward search to find sellers willing to deliver. The resulting sellers are displayed on the map, with their details displayed below it.

The site uses reverse geocoding to find each seller's geographical area from their latitude and longitude. This information is then used to form a (non javascript) directory of sellers. This allows Haymapr to make the content available to browsers unable to use Google maps, including accessibility browsers (like screen readers for the blind).

The site is currently focused on the UK, but there is nothing to stop sellers joining from other English language countries.

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