GeoRSS
Mikel Maron from GeoRSS.org gave an overview of GeoRSS this morning. As you can imagine, GeoRSS has a lot in common with RSS — it’s an XML standard for defining and sharing “where” data. GeoRSS is basically a way of moving geodata from service to service. The data can be collected by feed readers and inserted into maps or other services.
The first large organization to use GeoRSS was the USGS, who made their earthquake data available as a GeoRSS feed. The data can be collected from a feed and them mapped using an open map API. Anyone who wants to can build their own earthquake map using the feed. Since the GeoRSS format provides polygonal data, 3D maps can also be generated.
There’s support for GeoRSS in several major services, like Yahoo Maps and Upcoming.org, which have native support, and Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth, which will have native support soon. Ning, Platial, and other open collaborative services also provide have support for GeoRSS feeds.
Mikel runs mapufacture.com. Users can create a map based on GeoRSS feeds and create sharable maps. Mikel showed off his “Where 2.0″ map that shows locations of organizations publishing GeoRSS feeds tagged with “Where 2.0.” I’ll see if I can find the map, and I’ll post a link.
