I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of geotagging photos, but frustrated by some of the issues around the practice. Unless you use a smartphone as a camera, or have something like an EyeFi, it’s a chore to tag photos in this way, and a chore that not many take the time to do it seems. Those folks that have it automated thanks to tools like I just mentioned often fall prey to the opposite problem… overtagging. If you tag a picture of that spot on your jeans, is it really smart to add a geotag for it, forever locking it in to that location geographically within sites like Flickr? There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to find pictures for a location, let’s say Egypt, and having to wade through dozens of pictures of somebody’s toothbrush.

That being said, Geotagging isn’t going away, it’s only becoming more prominent. Need proof? Take a look at what Erik Fischer has manged to do. By using a few scripts, he took the millions of geotagged photos within Flickr and used the metadata to map out 50 major cities.

* Motion recorded by geotagging photographers.
* Taking all timestamps and location stamps at face value.
* Black is walking (less than 7mph)
* Red is bicycling or equivalent speed (less than 19mph)
* Blue is motor vehicles on normal roads (less than 43mph)
* Green is freeways or rapid transit.

Fascinating. Not only that so many photos are being geotagged, but that we are even able to track them based on the speed the person was moving when the photo was taken! Pretty impressive. Oh, and by the way, Chicago rates #11 on the list.

Quick informal survey: Do you geotag your photos? And if so, do you keep the setting on for ALL your photos? Or are you selective about which you tag?

Disclaimer: I’m participating in a local Chicago contest to raise awareness of first amendment issues. I’ve included the #1amend hashtag and URL to the original article in the title, so they will be included when people retweet this blog entry. Per the terms of the contest, the two people who get the most retweets using that hashtag will win a 16GB WiFi iPad. Since I already have an iPad, if I win the contest I pledge to give it away to an educator who reads this blog (details TBD). So if you enjoyed this article, help me out by clicking the Tweet button at the top!

Related Reading on Teach42

• Geotagging gone wild
• Researching a digital camera? Use Flickr!
• Flickr-fy your life!
• Drag and Drop Geotagging with Flickr
• Google Maps keeps getting cooler

As many of you have seen on Twitter lately, I’ve been promoting my wife’s new social network Jobless In Chicago. She was one of the many people who were let go from their jobs as the economy has continued it’s steady nosedive. With signs looking like things will be getting worse before they get better, she decided to create a Ning for people to support each other and their efforts to find new employment. I personally know at least 8 or 9 people that have been let go recently and many many more that are in fear of it.

When times get rough, it’s important for people to band together. We’ve all been jobless at one time or another, we’re all hurting from the economy right now, and many of us have family members and friends that have been greatly impacted by layoffs. So Jobless In Chicago is a site for people to share ideas for finding new jobs, support for people that are struggling, and suggestions for new ways to get back on the right track.

You don’t need to be jobless or live in Chicago to participate. Show your support ‘employmently challenged’ people who are banding together. Stop by the Ning and join today!

Related Reading on Teach42

• Ning: Build your own MySpace
• Habitat for Humanity, personal fundraising campaign
• Day 6: Get Some Fresh Perspective On Your Blog
• “We’re on a mission from God”
• The Technology Ninja tackles the tough ones

Been meaning to write up some quick thoughts about Google Teacher Academy: Chicago, but realize that time is fleeting and I just didn’t see myself getting to it soon. SO, I decided to go the video route and do a quick vlog wrapup about it.

FYI, that’s the last time I use the camera on the front of the phone. While it’s great because I can see comments that are typed in live, and I can see myself and make sure I’m centered and such, the quality is SO much worse than the camera on the back. So from now on, I use the good camera and even if it’s a little laggy while watching it live, at least the archive will look much better. And let’s face it, thats’ much longer lasting.

Related Reading on Teach42

• Researching a digital camera? Use Flickr!
• On blogs and relationships
• What’s next for NECC?
• BLC06: Hands on with Marco
• Podcast: Early morning NECC reflections