The Boston Marathon is coming up next Monday, and we thought it would be fun to see if people could come up with a bunch of Spots near the marathon’s course.

In preparation, we went up and down the course to seek out all of the mile markers. (This is why I was playing in the middle of the highway.) We’ve collected them in a Boston Marathon Mile Marker tour.  So, if you’re near the course, create some Spots of your own!

There is something peculiar about traveling a route in one mile hops.  It brought to mind two thoughts which would not have appeared with the same clarity had I been bombing through in an automobile; or walking or biking at a much slower pace.

The first was a realization of just how long the course is!  IT’S LONG.  I know everyone knows that it’s long, but something about moving along one measured segment at a time, being aware that I was traveling a mile, made me appreciate what kind of distance I was really covering.

Secondly, stopping for ten to fifteen minutes at each mile marker gave me time to observe how the landscape was changing at each stop: town center becoming wooded area becoming industrial center becoming suburb becoming city.  It was a lot of fun.

I hope you’ll join in, add your own Spots and observations, and give folks something to look at while they’re waiting for the athletes to arrive at their viewing place!

I’m sure we’ve each been told at least once in our lives to “go play in traffic.”  Recently, I’ve actually been spending a lot of time standing in the middle of major Boston roadways and thoroughfares.  More specifically, I’ve been taking photos.

I am not advocating this behavior, but if you find yourself having to stand in the middle of the road, here are some pointers.  I didn’t follow all of my own advice this time, but next time I will! (There’s going to be a next time!?)

• Go early in the morning, preferably on a weekend  There’s less traffic!  Fewer cars means fewer chances of getting hit.  The sound of an approaching auto is also more apparent.
• Wear some bright colors  This time, I wore black.  This probably wasn’t a good choice.  Next time (!?) I’ll wear some sort of fluorescent vest.
• Bring a friend, preferably two, as lookout  This is especially helpful if you’re going to be doing something that causes you to take your eyes off of the road.  It’s even more useful if you’re going to be on roads with hills and curves which limit visibility.
• Be patient  If traffic is heavy, wait!  Unless you’ve gone during rush hour or around lunch, you’ll find a break in the traffic.

Okay, you didn’t need me to tell you any of that, unless you’re less than six years old.

Details on exactly why I was doing this will be forthcoming!

We spent a couple hours today, like everyone else who uses the Google Maps API, trying to understand if this morning’s rollout of KML support and MyMaps was an opportunity or a crisis.

Pundits say the sky is falling.  Others who actually have something at stake (like other people’s money) are saying it’s almost a non-event.  The sky is in its place, but when the The Big G shakes things up in your vicinity, there are going to be some consequences.

So, yes, we use Google Maps on our site, and location-based information is a major part of what we offer on Spotstory.  But honestly, the map, though neat, is not the whole ball of wax.  (In fact, once the novelty of getting a map to display wore off, it became a smaller part of the Spotstory concept, if not in screen real estate.)  The site contains neutral point of view information, personal observations, tagging, photo sharing, comments, social networking, syndication, and more.

But, enough of the brave face.  What’s the real impact of Google Maps’ new features on Spotstory?

First, the good news.  The KML support is a good thing: Google released a better search engine for us today.  Now, we just have to understand how to best take advantage of this for our users.

Then there is MyMaps.  Aron and I often come back to a particular point when discussing Spotstory: if we have great content, a lot of problems are just going to solve themselves.  Today was another one of those discussions.

With MyMaps, Google becomes another place to create and store content.   Will that content end up being extremely useful, MySpacey, or just plain spam?  We’ll see.  Do we wish we didn’t have to add Google to the long list of others competing for that content?  Yes!

Our challenge is the same as it has always been: to attract folks and give them a great community and environment to create Spots (and Tours and Visits.)  Google is keeping us honest.  We have to do things that innovate and add value or we’ll, deservedly, wither and die.

Google Maps is an important piece of many web offerings.  If Google is going to continue to evolve Maps–and why wouldn’t they?–they will undoubtedly overtake and make redundant some of the things others have built on their platform.  It’s our job to stay ahead of them, or find ways to serve audiences too small for them, etc.

So, there is some good, and there is some bad.  Certainly, we’re not hoping for more surprises like today’s, but the truth is that for a tiny company like us (and all companies, I’m sure) there is always something unexpected, negative, unhelpful, or anxiety-inducing to work through!  You work through it.

A couple of days ago, I read (via some other blog, no doubt) that there’s a movement afoot in Vermont to form a “Second Vermont Republic.” That’s right, The Green Mountain State, or at least some number of her citizens, is looking to secede from the Union.

It’s not my intent to debate the details, merits, likelihood, or legality of this effort. I’m just here to offer a couple of thoughts.

Thought number one was, “Wow, the list of states wanting out of the Union is getting pretty long.” I know that there are factions in New Hampshire and Hawaii trying to re-establish the independence of those states. And that was just off the top of my head. A moment of research revealed that Oregon, Washington, and New England play host their own nascent rebellions. Doubtless, there are others.

My other thought was, “How will this effect the supply of maple syrup!?” This wonder was short lived. Today, I came upon this map which reveals that Massachusetts has a robust domestic maple syrup supply.

I was unaware of this as I am a native of Eastern Massachusetts, and like all natives of Eastern Massachusetts, I am almost wholly ignorant of the goings on of Western Massachusetts. (Aron, a native son of Western Massachusetts, will, rightly, heap scorn upon me.)

Now I’m craving a taste of my native state’s offering, but it appears that the sugarhouses are just about done with the season, which extends from late February through early April. It should be noted that both International Pancake Day and International Waffle Day occur during this period, which only makes sense.

In a piece entitled “Temples for tourists” Umberto Eco comments on plans to build a facsimile Greek temple in the town of Albanella when an authentic, though ruined, Greek temple exists only ten miles away in Paestum. On its face, the idea my seem absurd, be he goes on to argue that it might actually not be such a bad idea.

That’s because all tourists are not created alike. He goes on to identify three groups of tourists—”aristocratic”, “bourgeois”, and “mass”—each with its particular history and taste:

There was a time when important historical and cultural sites were visited only by aristocratic travelers making the Grand Tour or exploring Italy. Those people thought it was just fine that the churches and palazzi were falling to bits[.]

Then came “bourgeois” tourism, which was still an elite affair but involved hundreds of thousands of cultivated and sensitive travelers. In order to satisfy their requirements both locations and artworks were restored[.]

With the advent of mass tourism, some important sites increased their income, but at the cost of ugliness and vandalism. They became dumps for discarded soda cans and plastic bags […]. The feet of certain statues of saints have been worn smooth by the constant handling of the faithful […]

Commentary

First, I’d like to point out that I consider myself part of the aristocracy in outlook though I realize my financial condition puts me firmly in with the masses!

Joking aside, I’ve a more serious reason for pointing out the article, beyond general interest.

Spotstory was started with the idea that there were lots of people out there who shared the temperament and curiosity of the aristocrat and the bourgeois, but whose tastes, although firmly interested in the classical world, also encompassed things more contemporary or even just a little offbeat. (Although, honestly, I would have never expressed it in such class-based language before reading this article!)

Spotstory’s is a bet that there are lots of people more interested in Paestum than Albanella.

While contemplating Spotstory, it did occur to me it that the concept could have harmful side effects. How many formerly obscure or otherwise sensitive locations might be injured by the revelation of their existence and location? How many saints’ feet would we be smoothing? How many riverside paths would we be eroding? How many historically or culturally significant places would we be disturbing?

In the end, I decided—hoped—that the people who would contribute to the site and constitute the community would simply be people who shared such concerns, and who would behave in a responsible way. People interested in visiting Paestum today are going to be like folks interested in visiting Paestum in the past. To quote Mr. Eco a bit more:

“Just think how many people will be more satisfied by the fake temple at Albanella, all in one piece, shining and splendid, than by the real thing that has struggled to survive in nearby Paestum. Let the crowds in search of easy satisfaction be directed to Albanella, leaving Paestum to those who know why they want to see it and who won’t litter.”

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for making our launch week a success!

Happily, we find ourselves at the end of the week having met all the goals we’d set, having met some cool folks, and–of course–having learned about a bunch of interesting spots!

Special thanks goes out to all of the folks that have taken the time to report problems and to offer suggestions. We can’t overstate the value of your many contributions.

Thanks again for being part of Spotstory’s story!

GregPC from Over the River reveals that he is really getting a kick out of Spotstory. I wonder how many more Picasso statues will be uncovered? (This will make sense when you read his post!)

Greg’s spots include two of my recent favorites: the MIT Skull and The Longfellow Bridge Towers.

We’re looking for someone to help us re-envision the page designs we’ve been staring at for the last six months! We want to improve usability, appearance, and ultimately provide a more delightful experience for our users.

We’re looking for someone who is:

• at least a little experienced and/or trained in design/UI/UX
• passionate about finding innovative, attractive, and elegant ways to present information
• user centric
• reliable
• preferably in the Boston, MA area

We can actually pay for this work though our budget is limited. We can also offer Ruby on Rails development services in exchange. We might consider a more strategic relationship with the right person.

If you’d like the opportunity to work on a neat site with a couple decent and fun guys, email me at matthew@spotstory.com for more details.

When you launch your website, you’re supposed to have a schwanky launch party. Not wanting to flout tradition, that’s just what we did.

We held ours at the Bruegger’s Bagels in Belmont Center (Belmont, MA), yesterday at 10 AM. The event was held in the booth in the corner, which is ideal since it is near an outlet.

The first photo is of Aron enjoying himself. Aron had already eaten his bagel by the time I had arrived. He’s usually not that hungry and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t even late.

The photo to the right shows the lavish spread laid out for the festivities. That’s a honey grain bagel with jalapeno cream cheese and some sort of mango juice drink.

A great time was had by all.

Tonight, we took down the ever-so-mysterious landing page from www.spotstory.com, and put up the site we’ve been plugging away on for the past few months.

This doesn’t mean we’re done working on the site—not even close! We’re still looking for any and all feedback: complaints, suggestions, questions, or whatever. You can reply to this email, or look on the “contact us” page to find all the ways you can reach us.

To those who’ve already been on the site, thank you so much for your help and your time. It is difficult for us to express how much we appreciate your support. Thank you. Thank you.

If you haven’t been to the site yet: welcome to Spotstory!

Now, for a little entertainment! Here is the worldwide premier of the Spotstory Launch Theme:

Update

Here is an write up and video interview from MarksGuide.