Opening up the data

That's right, I've opened up the database for TownRenowned via a public XML webservice. It is now possible for a developer to query/extract the same data you see on TownRenowned.com.

Why? TownRenowned.com's main goal is to help users find "hidden gems" in a given town through modern social tools like tagging and user reviews. The problem is - this social data must sit on top of a database of detailed information about every business and that is difficult for a handful of individuals to compile and maintain.

So to get this "platform of business data" I was faced with the following choices:

#1) License business data from a commercial provider.
#2) Ask the community to input and maintain this data.

Route 1 was way way too expensive, not to mention the data still needs to be maintained. I've chosen to do route two - however I couldn't do it with our existing business model. I can't ask local residents to input and maintain data and keep the rights to the data (and profits!) to myself.

So I'm providing this data under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence. Anyone is free to consume and remix this data for any purpose. My hope is that this will create even more tools to help the public.

This public API is first step towards TownRenowned.com's new business model. The second phase will be setting up a profit sharing system that helps support local charities and events to help cultivate even more "hidden gems". These changes will be coming in early 2008, so stay tuned!

TownRenowned V1.1

If you've been using TR for the past month you'll have noticed that it was updated incrementally. This post is a summary/recap of all the things done recently.

User side - General Changes

1. Clustering of news feed items, no need for 3 news items if a person submits, comments, votes and marks something as a favourite.


2. Overhaul of mapping / page data. Reduced page load time and uses AJAX technology to pull data dynamically based on a users unique demand.


3. User profile editor upgraded, mostly visual effects but now Users can change passwords. Also shows favourite summary.

Facebook Application

1. Profile Page upgraded, now shows user favourites and last activity recorded.


2. Sidebar Application, now shows what your friends have voted for in your town that you haven't voted on yet.


3. When visiting the sidebar, last activity is brought into your Facebook minifeed.

Admin tools

1. Common look and feel. All admin tools now look and behave in the same way.


2. Item editor fields have been spread across multiple tabs. Reduced complexity by moving non-critical data off screen.


3. Traffic reports for site and item. Admins can now see a wide range of data showing what is popular on their site as well as how users are finding content.


4. Tagging wizard has been upgraded. Now uses AJAX technology to dynamically suggest new tags as a user enters tags. Rapid fire tagging so fingers don't need to leave the keyboard.


5. Map manager upgraded, admins can now drag and drop map icons anywhere through out the site to fine-tune adjust map placement.

General/Other

1. JQuery has been implemented through-out the entire
   site. This high speed javascript library enables a better user experience.


2. Standard look and feel emails are now being sent. Everything email now indicated it was sent by TownRenowned/Bitporters Ltd /w a reference to the official admin contact email.


3. Various security upgrades to ensure user data is protected. Database is now encrypted to ensure user passwords are kept private if data is lost / stolen


4. Subsystem overhaul for system performance increase. Data was structured in a way that caused needless operations to be preformed to structure data.
   

If you have any suggestions or see any bugs, please let me know! You can comment here or send an email to admin@townrenowned.com.

TownRenowned Major Update

Two days ago I launched a big update for TownRenowned.

New Interface Design

This was a major refresh in the UI/look and feel department. Thanks to the feedback over the past few months I realized that the dark look was not the best idea for a website of this nature. We went with a lighter look that's easier on the eyes - Thanks again to the designer Matt Brett.

New Mapping Control

The mapping control on a town's homepage/listing now have a upgraded map control. This new control allows users to zoom the map or add/remove items from the map. The new control uses a great deal of Javascript to reposition the map as well make assumptions on the zoom level for certian situations. Hopefully it has a more fluid feel than previous iterations.

Mini-Feed

The mini-feed is now in full swing throughout the site. It now shows up on the root of the website - showing the entire networks activity, every town's homepage - showing activity for that town and on every users profile - showing that users latest actions. It now has the users profile image, icons for the activity type and links to multiple locations.

Facebook

TownRenowned now has a Facebook application. The application brings your mini-feed to your facebook profile to let your friends know your recent activity. The sidebar shows you the combined feeds of all of your friends that are on the system.

Revision System

This tool makes it easier for users to submit updates or send notes to a town manager about certain content. To the left are quick buttons to send specific messages i.e. This content is old. On the right is a form with the existing data pre-loaded. The user can make changes or re-write the information completely.

So thats it for now - still more to come soon. Please comment if you have any comment or suggestions about these features.

Feed upgrade, profile enhancement

Did a minor update this weekend, I decided to break up the links used in the feed. Now I show the user icon, link to the user profile as well as the item in question.



Now you will see a users mini-feed in their profile as well. This will give a quick history so you don't need to click through the tabs. Also you will see the launch link for Facebook just above, this is almost done - however nobody can see the application on Facebook until it gets approved. I'll blog about it when that's ready to go.




The site is now running faster - I did a performance tune earlier this week that effects TownRenowned but also DashboardThemes.com (running the same content engine). They both share the same server at the moment so this tweak should free up a massive amount of resources!

A lot of new stuff we be coming very shortly - A new template has been made and it's being integrated this week. If you have any suggestions to make TR better I'd love to hear it!

The Mini-Map

I posted a new build last night that has our new mini-map system.

For every item listed (that has a location) we show a map that has three tabs. The first is a basic map that only shows the item in question, the second shows related items based on tag and the third is all nearby items.



This is the first feature I've added in a while that helps users find new information. The thinking here is that someone will Google a location and using this control will maybe find something better - or perhaps something to do before and after.

I've decided to stop using the basic "zoom" controls provided by Google Maps. You will notice that when you click on tabs it will change your current zoom level. I am going to attempt to make this control intelligent so that you don't need to zoom in and out to see all the related items.

I've been thinking that perhaps I should drop the "Tab" system and just have checkboxes that toggle the related and nearby items - what do you think?

Deveopment Blog kickoff

It's about time I started blogging the micro-changes being made to TownRenowned. We've been "live" since November 2006 and the site is now starting to get some traction in the marketplace.

I will be making some big changes in the next few weeks as well as our designer will improve our template - so keep an eye here to see what's new!