Mix And Mash

Magid: Web Sites Called 'Mashups' Take The Best Of What The Internet Offers

(CBS)  Indeed, each of the sponsoring companies has content that can be used in other people’s mashups. Data from eBay and Google, for example, are both used in markovic.com mashup that lets you plot ebay items on a Google map.

Google, eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and others not only allow mashups but make them easier by publishing "API’s" (application program interface) to enable mashup developers to more easily tap into their databases.

Mashups are a good example of what some Internet insiders are calling "Web 2.0," a relatively undefined term that sort of means something like the Web serving as a platform with sites that take advantage of –- among other things -- user supplied content. Whatever it means it’s all about recognizing that being a Web entrepreneur is once again not only socially acceptable but bankable –- yep –- "VCs" (venture capitalists) are once again showing up at Internet conferences looking for new ideas.

If you’re looking for mashups, the best place to find them is at programmableweb.com which currently lists 453 mashups, 50 of which are classifies as "popular." One of the popular sites is LivePlasma.com which lets you "look for your favorite bands, movies or directors to obtain a map that details other potential interests." Type in Rod Stewart for example and a map will pop up that includes "nearby" artists such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan and you find something you like that can be bought. The site links you directly to the appropriate page on Amazon so you can buy it with a commission, of course, going to the guy who runs LivePlasma. Fair enough.

One of the most interesting mashups I discovered at the conference is Podbop.org that links mp3 files from independent artist Web sites to local concerts and other events. Founder Taylor McKnight says it mashes up data from Eventful.com (an events database) with his own database of MP3s and artists "so you can type in any city in the world into Podbop and it will give you a feed of bands playing in your area along with MP3s of those bands to help you discover new music." Folks at the mashup camp were impressed enough by McNight’s site to crown it best of show.

A number of mashups help people figure out where criminals hang out and how to avoid them. ChicagoCrime.org, which came in second place at Mashup camp, plots data from the Chicago Police Department on a Google Map allowing you to browse crimes by type, street, address, time or zip code. "You can even draw a line on the map and it will show you all the crimes that happened around that line," according to the site’s founder, Adrian Holovaty.

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A syndicated technology columnist for over two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including "The Little PC Book."