Note: Gary is Director of Online Resources at Ask.com. Below he shares some background and links in the remainder of this post. Access it by clicking the "Read the rest of this entry." link.
However, if you would like to skip his commentary and examples, no problem. We've linked to some info from Ask.com official blog post..
When Ask.com first launched AskCity in December we pointed out that it was not only a database to find info about local businesses (everything from dentists to seafood restaurants) but also events (in some cases, one click to buy a ticket) movies, etc.
We also mentioned that Ask Maps were also a part of the AskCity service. You can personalize and share the maps and add various markings (shapes, colors and even text content). You also can add locations to these maps (just like you can on Ask Maps) by selecting and moving the yellow color pin and placing it at the desired location or by simply right-clicking on the location and selecting "Add Location." No typing required.
Another thing that's part of AskCity is that you can search by neighborhood and Zip Code and then see those areas outlined on the map. Here's an example outlining a neighborhood. Another example, using a Zip Code.
2) Select a drawing tool at the bottom of the map. I selected the circle. At the top of the circle, look for a magnifying glass. Click it. Now, here's the cool part, you can search for businesses, events, and events in or around the specific area you've selected. Here are two examples. 1 (Using a Circle) ||| 2 (Using a Square
Very exciting, not only for the residents of an area but perhaps even more exciting for travelers and also for business researchers trying to get a handle of where certain businesses are located in an unfamiliar city or town.
A family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success. Read more »
Recently I have found myself cooing over visualisation maps (and heat maps) of health and well being resources. The content rich data is overlayed with mapping technologies, and some interesting themes and patterns are emerging.
A lot of the talk around social media in the last year has been around information overload. Social media has provided us with new and exciting ways to create content. But it has also meant learning new ways to manage and engage with social media tools. Are we teetering on the edge of an information overload precipice?
Information overload is a figment of your imagination. Or a failure of your filter. Or a symptom of your technological submissiveness. Depends on who you ask.
What if you had to sort through 3.5 million articles and social media posts a day and try to pull out the most relevant items for your organisation? What if you then had to cobble it all together into something readable for your top groups and executives in your organisation?
Alacra Compliance saves time by aggregating information from both free and fee-based sources and enabling users to conduct an accurate federated search across these sources (coined “simultaneous search” by Alacra).
FreePint Family
Quilting big data threads
The fallacy of information overload
Information overload: fact, fantasy or filter failure? 
