A new era in trip planning

Ok, so far when planning a trip you do your research on the internet and dig for sites with tourist info and reviews from people who has been there. The next step is just selecting a location and then create your trip based on the pictures and travel paths of other. Since most digital cameras will be GPS enables in the near future (there are some already) and people use the ability of using tags more and more you just creat a trip based upon tags. So for example going to a city then look at the map and filter a trip for party or shopping or dining and you see where most people go including pictures of that area (and reviews)

Imaging doing this on your multitouch dining table:)

Anyway, planning your trip has come closer after some cleaver stuff at MIT

(un)photographed Spain
When posting photos online, users of the photo sharing platform Flickr transmit to the world their perspective of a place or event through the lens of a digital camera. Each digital photo file codes both the time when that photo was taken and the location it captures. Analyzing this information allows us to follow the trail that each Flickr photographer travels through Spain. (Un)photographed Spain maps thousands of these public, digital footprints over one year. As photos overlap in certain locations, they expose the places that attract the photographer's gaze . In contrast, the absence of images in other locations reveal the unphotographed spaces of a more introverted Spain.

Density and flows of photographers
In 2007, the Iberian Penninsula clearly splits between Portugal and Spain with Barcelona constantly acting as main hub connecting people to Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Andalucia and the Cantabrian Sea in the North. hi-res images > low-res video


(un)photographed Spain from senseablecity on Vimeo.

spaces of diversity
About 60% of Flickr users disclose information on their home country. Analysis of the time and location data embedded in their digital photo files allows us to examine the Flickr photographers' geographic presence and trails over time, and to differentiate locals from visitors. Based on this information, spaces of diversity maps the contrast between where locals capture images and where visitor communities such as Britons experience of Spain. The yellow lines reveal the most common paths photographers follow as they capture images in different places.

Britons weaving their path in Barcelona
Britons who visited Barcelona in Fall 2007 stayed on the beaten paths delimited by the city's main elements such as Parc Guel and Sagrada Familiar with Passeig de Gracia and Rambla acting as artery. The photos also confirms their pleasure for football (Camp Nou) parties (Forum) and the mediteranean sea (Barceloneta). > hi-res images > video


Spaces of diversity (where are the britons) from senseable on Vimeo.

spaces of activity
Photographers often attach descriptions and tags when posting their photos on Flickr. The data mining of these tags allows us to infer the kinds of activities that these photos capture. Spaces of activity reveals the regions and cities that host memorable parties in Spain over the course of a year. It also shows the places that attract more quiet experiences through art. The size of the glow on the map corresponds to the density of each type of activity. A greater glow implies a greater density of photographic activity.

Partying in Barcelona
This animation of the photos with tags related to "partying" in Summer 2007 shows that Barcelona confines its fun to the old town (Ciutat Vella) known for its high density of tourists, the bohemian distric of Gracia and the Forum area and its music festivals.> hi-res images > video


Spaces of activity (where are the parties?) from senseable on Vimeo.