Saturday, January 23, 2010

Local Knowledge on Google Maps

Askaro

Askaro has a pretty healthy pedigree. It is the new project from Eduardo Manchónwho, co-founder of Panoramio. Askaro is a hyperlocal site, that Manchónwho has set up with Ubaldo Huerta, to try and help people find out more about their neighbourhoods.

The site lets users exchange information where it matters the most, in our neighbourhoods and places of work etc. Users can ask a question in a specific area by placing the question on a Google Map, so that people who live or know the area can give an unbiased and helpful answer.

Askaro combines geolocation, and question and answer reputations, as the basis of its inner workings. Questions are asked, or placed, in a specific area of a city, in order to reach out to the people who live or know the area. Askaro give the analogy of placing a flyer at your local grocery store to reach out to locals.

Answers can be voted as "Good" or "Bad" by anyone, which has the effect of moving them up or down. The question's author can also designate a specific answer as the "Best answer". Best answers turn green and move to the top.

The number of votes and the answers marked as "best answer" are used to calculate the reputation score, which becomes a measure of how valuable each respondent's contributions and answers are. The users with the best reputation in a city can be found in the "Local Heroes" page.

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