BBC Berkshire has created a Google Map mash-up that plots and displays the areas affected by flood warnings, the location of council emergency centres, places where BBC Radio Berkshire has reported from (called outside broadcasts or OB's), videos of the flooding on YouTube and photos emailed to the website by audience members.
It's a good example of how a mainstream media company can use third party tools to better collect and display information during a breaking news story or, in this instance, provide a valuable public service during a natural disaster affecting many thousands of audience members.
It's tricky to get my head round the events that led me to seeing my former school underwater at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLsWt6l-V0A - essentially, and putting aside the difference made by phonecams and so on, cybersoc points at interesting stuff, BBC Berkshire did fine work aggregating UGC, Google Maps let me navigate to the bits from where I grew up and taghopping at YouTube got me to the point where I was watching the Languages Block in a newly-formed lake.
Hooray to all of it.
Posted by: Alan Connor | 27 July 2007 at 01:41 PM
Was it pleasant viewing? Seeing the languages wing of my former school underwater would, I fear, bring much happiness to my day! ;-)
Posted by: Robin Hamman | 27 July 2007 at 03:27 PM
As it happens, Mrs Wood and Mrs Humphries were exemplary French teachers. The rugby pitch, on the other hand... :)
Posted by: Alan Connor | 27 July 2007 at 06:35 PM