Tagwhat Geotag App Like A Personal Tour Guide

by Chris Owen on

Geotag apps are coming out of development at a frenzied pace these days as developers rush to use new technology in one way or another. Not long ago, we tested HipGeo, which takes tagged photos, as well as pin drops we make on the road, to block in a storyline of our adventures. Now Tagwhat, the app that hopes to be the mobile tour guide for the world, has upped its game, automatically dragging in digital content from the web.

Simply engaging the app at any given location pulls relevant wiki information about attractions and features of the area where users happen to be. The idea sounds relatively simple but the technology used to make it happen is rather complex. Testing the Tagwhat app, I brought up historic locations that I had never heard of before, along with in-depth information within a few miles of my home in Orlando. First thought: this is a great app for a quick weekend road trip.

But looking deeper into the Tagwhat application, developers have created two tools that enable their advanced geotagging functionality. Like a Pinterest button for location, the “Tag it” button is a Web browser “bookmarklet” that allows users to quickly select content on any Web page in a single click and direct it to any spot on a map.

The Tagwhat Publishing Dashboard lets users upload their own digital content to real-world places and manage what they have created. Content uploaded with the new publishing tools is added to Tagwhat’s database of more than 800,000 tags, or multimedia stories, globally.

“The web has billions of pages of Web content. But the problem was that there was no way to deliver the content to real-world settings, where the information would be most meaningful,” Dave Elchoness, founder and CEO of Tagwhat told Gadling. “Rather than typing in a search and hoping for the best, location-aware mobile devices now give us new way to search for and discover web content based on a user’s location and their interests.”

Indeed, the app has different “channels” to select, bringing a customized array of information, based on the users location. Users can choose from Wikipedia, Movies, Sports, Nature, Science and Tech, Offbeat, Events, Art, Heritage, Architecture, Food, Music and/or Books. Right now, I have all channels turned on but get only Wiki info. Later, as more users join and tag their information, Tagwhat promises to bring me deeper content, like being on a tour with a local who knows all the great spots. For example, say someone from Gadling tagged all the posts here. Gadling bloggers travel around the world to bring content about a variety of places, people and events. If I were in London with the Tagwhat app engaged, the content presented would include Gadling blogger Sean McLachlin’s post “Roman Cavalry Helmet To Be Star Attraction At Royal Academy Exhibition” and Jessica Festa’s “10 Stunning And Iconic Shots Of London” if I had selected the channels in Tagwhat where those posts appeared.

Say I did not care anything about those topics; with only “Sports” selected, I would see “Facts By The Numbers For The 2012 Olympic Games In London” and any sports related posts that had something to do with the London area.

On the move, the content changes to correspond with the user’s location too. I checked the content within a few miles of my home in Orlando then went for a drive. Arriving at the first location that I found interesting, a historic monument from the civil war, I checked again and a new list of attractions appeared, geared for where I was at that time.

Without sourcing any other content from the web other than wiki information, this app is a must-have for traveling to an unfamiliar destination. Tagwhat also adds value to a short trip in your own backyard.

This latest release of Tagwhat also has a push notifications feature that proactively notifies users about interesting stories nearby, even when the app is not open on their smartphone.


Tagwhat is available for iOS and Android.

Image courtesy Tagwhat

Grouse Mountain, An Adventurous Option In Vancouver, Canada

by Jessica Festa on

Although Vancouver is a metropolitan city, it’s also a coastal seaport and home to mountain peaks and natural attractions. While many know the city for its sustainable restaurants, trendy nightlife and cultural fare, Vancouver also has options for the adventurous traveler, especially at Grouse Mountain.

Grouse is a mountain of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges. The first recorded hikers summited the 4,100-foot mountain in October 1894, which at the time took three or four days. That was before Grouse became a hub of organized adventure activities and Vancouver’s most visited attraction.

While I’d known about hiking the excruciatingly steep “Grouse Grind” and had heard about paragliding, skiing and snowboarding opportunities, I was unaware they had a zipline. On my last visit, I tried it for myself. The five-line, double-track circuit was an excellent way to explore the beauty of the mountain while getting my heart rate up. While the first section is easy and gets you used to the experience, the second zips you at rapid speed over Blue Grouse Lake.

%Gallery-166362%To get to the higher sections, we had to take a chairlift, giving another opportunity to see the peaks, forests and canyons of Grouse. The last two lines are the scariest, reaching 200 feet in height and 50 miles per hour. My group was so high in the clouds; it actually felt like we were flying into an abyss.

At the end, you can visit the Eye of the Wind, a 1.5-megawatt turbine and the first wind turbine in North America to be built at such an extreme height. You’ll be able to go to the top – 214 feet in the air and less than 10 feet from the spinning blades – and enjoy 360 degree views of the mountains and surroundings.

Additionally, don’t forget to checkout the Lumberjack Show. While I wasn’t sure what to expect, it was hilarious. You’ll see Willie McGee from Blue Mountain and Johnny Nelson from Green River crack jokes while battling each other to see who is the best at log rolling, scaling 60-foot trees unharnessed, sculpture carving, axe throwing, springboard chopping and speed sawing. There is also a twist at the end that I won’t spoil, but actually seemed so real I had to close my eyes. Ironically, I have no trouble propelling myself above the trees, but get frightened sitting through a family-friendly show. The free event takes place daily at 12 P.M., 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Ziplining prices range from $70 to $109, depending on what package you choose. For a more visual idea of adventures on Grouse Mountain, check out the gallery above.

[Image above via Jessie on a Journey; Gallery images via Jessie on a Journey, Jeremiah John McBride, Marcin Chandy, www.metaphoricalplatapus.com, Sam DCruz, Shutterstock.com]

Let’s Bring Capitalism To America’s Beaches

by Dave Seminara on

America is a paradise for consumers. We can satisfy just about any consumer desire that strikes our fancy, even if it’s 3 a.m. on a holiday weekend. The one big exception to this rule is on our beaches, where most of the time we’re forced to lug coolers, chairs, umbrellas, beach toys and anything else we’ll need. There are some exceptions to this rule, but at many beaches around the country municipal restrictions prohibit entrepreneurs from renting chairs and umbrellas on the beach or selling food or drinks.

This point was driven home for us on a recent visit to the Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) in Massachusetts. The CCNS is a glorious 40-mile stretch of sand that encompasses six beaches. We were there in late August – peak season – and had to park about a mile away from the entrance to Marconi Beach. I pulled up to drop off our gear – we had no chairs or umbrellas – so it wasn’t that much effort to carry our cooler and my children’s beach toys.

But other people, particularly seniors, who were schlepping all kinds of stuff looked like they were ready to pass out from the exertion of hauling their gear in the heat. There are no chairs or umbrellas for rent at this beach and I didn’t see any food or drink for sale. The result of this dynamic is that 90 percent of beachgoers cluster right at the bottom of the stairs leading down from the parking lot.

Right at the bottom of the stairs the beach was absolutely jam packed with people so close that their towels practically touched. I know that some like to people watch and be where the action is, but I was happy to keep walking for about ten minutes to reach a spot where we had the place all to ourselves. The video that accompanies this post illustrates the crazy dynamic of this beach – it’s enormous but 90 percent of it is empty because people don’t want to haul their gear very far.

The weird dynamic at this and many other American beaches is in stark contrast to the way beaches are set up in many other parts of the world. We spent several weeks in the Greek islands earlier this year, and there, all of the most popular beaches have either chairs and umbrellas for rent at a reasonable price or cafes and tavernas with the same – right on the beach.

I’m usually the last person to argue for public spaces to be given over to commercialization. In fact, I get really sick of how we’re constantly bombarded with advertising and sales pitches here, even when we’re going to the bathroom in some cases. But I have to admit: I love having the option of renting a lounge chair and umbrella at a beach. And if there is reasonably priced food and drink available – even better.

If you’re visiting a beach close to your home, bringing your own gear is less of a pain, but when you visit a beach on vacation, bringing your own chairs, umbrellas and cooler isn’t very practical.

In late May, we were at a beach bar near Lecce, in Italy, where the lounge chairs and thatched roof shelters were free if you ordered a meal. In Italy, you can always eat well and I had a linguini with clam sauce dish that was out of this world for 7€, right from the comfort of my beach chair. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven, but couldn’t help but wish we had the same sort of beach café culture here in the U.S.

That said, I do like my peace and quiet at the beach, so I am not enamored of countries that allow roving vendors to aggressively hawk their wares on the beach. And beach bars that play music so loud that you can’t hear the waves are a plague. No, I don’t want to turn our beaches into shopping malls or discos, I just want to have the option of not hauling chairs, umbrellas, and coolers. With our economy still a mess, municipalities around the country should be thinking about how to create opportunities for entrepreneurs that want to fill this void.

Airport, Airline Weather System Updates To Save Time, Fuel, Eventually

by Chris Owen on

When unavoidable bad weather causes turbulence in the air, passengers can expect a rocky ride. In the past, while pilots have aimed to avoid turbulence, they have been limited in the number of available tools. Now, a new turbulence avoidance system promises to change that.

A smoother ride
Called the Juneau Airport Wind System (JAWS), it was developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and provides information pilots can use to route aircraft away from patches of potentially dangerous turbulence.

“By alerting pilots to areas of moderate and severe turbulence, this system enables them to fly more frequently and safely in and out of the Juneau airport in poor weather,” says Alan Yates, an NCAR program manager who helped oversee the system’s development in an R&D Magazine article. “It allows pilots to plan better routes, helping to reduce the bumpy rides that passengers have come to associate with airports in these mountainous settings.”

The system uses a network of wind measuring instruments and computational formulas to interpret rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. The Federal Aviation Administration accepted JAWS for operational use this year.

Just how bad can turbulence in the air be? Check this video:


Sliding in for a landing
In the works and delayed for several years, another system relies on satellites and GPS rather than the radar system developed in the 1950s to direct planes and jets from takeoff to landing.

Called the NextGen system, it will be initially used in Orlando, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, northern and southern California, Houston, Charlotte and northern Texas. The new system should allow planes to fly with less spacing between them on more direct routes, and allowing them to glide to a landing rather than following a step down pattern that is not fuel efficient.

The NextGen system has been compared to walking down a flight of stairs vs. sliding down the banister.

“In addition to improving safety and increasing capacity, this plan will allow for more direct routing for airplanes, less holding at the destination and better planning for constant descent arrivals mentioned above, resulting in less carbon emissions, fuel consumption, and noise.” said Gadling’s Kent Wien in Plane Answers: Airlines see green in appearing green back in 2009, just to show how long this one has been in the works.

This video tells the whole story:



Flickr photo by Ack Ook

3 Stand-Out Sushi Restaurants In Vancouver, Canada

by Jessica Festa on

Vancouver, Canada, is filled with restaurants serving Asian cuisine, especially sushi. With hundreds of these types of venues sprawled across the city, it can be difficult to choose where to go. If you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary, try one of these stand-out sushi restaurants in Vancouver.

Let’s Roll
104-1184 Denman Street

Located in Vancouver’s West End, Let’s Roll allows sushi lovers to make their own rolls. The process takes five steps. First, choose whether you want traditional seaweed or modern soy as your wrap. Next, decide between white, green or mixed grain rice. Once this is done, you’re on to the best part: stuffing your roll. You can choose two vegetables and two meats from a colorful showcase of items like salmon, tuna, avocado, prawn tempura, crab, beef, cucumber, spinach and more. Then, it’s time to select two toppings from conventional choices like fake crab and tempura flakes or unusual items like potato chips. When you’re finished, pick your sauces and you’re good to go. Remember, this isn’t traditional Japanese style, and the rolls you’ll make are huge. That being said, all ingredients are fresh, it’s fun and you’ll get exactly what you want.The Eatery
3431 West Broadway

The Eatery is unofficially Vancouver’s funkiest sushi restaurant. Located in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver, it’s been serving quirky Japanese fare since 1983. Signs reading “Funky Sushi” and an Astro Boy logo adorn the facade, while inside electronic music fills the air. The main attraction on the quirky cartoon-covered menu is the innovative rolls, although there are traditional-style options for those who want them. Some interesting fare includes the “Miss Piggy Roll,” which has bacon, scallops, asparagus, roe and unagi sauce, the “Found Nemo” roll, with crab tempura, asparagus and avocado wrapped with seared salmon or the “Volcano” roll, which has salmon, tuna, scallops and avocado on a bed of spicy crab meat. Expect fun roll names like “Erotica Roll,” “Italian Stallion” and the “S&S Roll,” as this is one of the sexiest sushi venues in Vancouver. You can also go here for a fun night out, as it’s more of an eclectic restaurant and bar then a quick sushi stop.

Juno Vancouver Sushi Bistro
572 Davie Street

Although you’ll find a plethora of sushi restaurants in Vancouver, most of them are quickly churning out rolls without thinking about quality or fresh ingredients. That’s where Yaletown’s Juno Vancouver Sushi Bistro differs. I’m a big sushi fan, and I found this place by asking numerous chefs, managers and wait staff at local restaurants where I could get the best sushi in the city. It was almost unanimous that Juno was the best. This place employs serious Japanese chefs who are committed to making the highest quality sushi rolls possible. My main reason for recommending Juno is they’re also sustainable. Ingredients include wild seafood, natural beef, free range chicken and heritage KUROBUTA pork, all locally-sourced from British Columbia farms. This is also a good place to try local libations, as Juno serves sakes from the Granville Island Artisan Sake Maker and BC “Vintners Quality Alliance” (VQA) wines.

[Image via Shutterstock]