YouTube videos

Google Map Maker – wisdom of a crowd

Official Google Blog shares yet another milestone in the life of Google Map Maker. Google Map Maker is the tool that allows anyone in the world add and correct information on Google Maps. Google might know more about famous places, but there are millions and millions of neighborhoods in the world with local businesses and other tiny little features that only the locals know. Google Map Maker makes sharing and accessing this knowledge possible and easy.

Yes, it is yet another one of those “wisdom of a crowd” things. But no matter how skeptical you are about the approach, it is hard to argue with the success Google had in utilizing the masses. Have a look at this before and after comparison of Tbilisi, Georgia map and you’ll be amazed as to how much “after” has improved.

As with anything that humans do, there might be mistakes and inaccuracies there. But given the will and the right tools, these are getting fixed and corrected. Have you tried it? If no, please do. You’ll be amazed as to how easy and intuitive it is. And as they say in the video, try adding your local coffee shop. Share the knowledge.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znCPgldRWTc]

Mark Malkoff offers New Yorkers a free cab drive. Or does he?

Long-time readers of this blog who are good with names will probably remember Mark Malkoff – a creative New York comedian. I’ve mentioned him once or twice before. And I’m going to do that again. You might like him or you might not, I don’t really care. I like what he does. He creates videos, which are inspirational and kind. He promotes humanity, compassion and optimism, but he does it in a very easy and entertaining way. This time around Mark was giving people free taxi rides. With a twist. Or twists. Some were probably not free, given what people had to do. Some were easy and free, but not as useful as you might think. Why am I telling you all these? I don’t know, I guess I just want you to watch this video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk4uTDK-wOU]

Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies – Kino Der Toten Music Video

Yeah, yeah, after the poll I know that some of you prefer other games to Call of Duty : Black Ops. But I still haven’t lost hope that at least you guys can appreciate a good video, like this one. Warning: if you are sensitive about video game violence, blood, Nazi symbols, zombies, or heavy metal music you probably should skip this one. The rest of you – enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7b6EkTNOPA]

Warco – the news game

As someone who spends many hours in FPS games, I found the concept of an FPS game with no shooting – Warco – interesting and thought provoking. As Ars Technica puts it:

Warco is a first-person game where players shoot footage instead of a gun. A work in progress at Brisbane-based studio Defiant Development, the game is a collaboration of sorts; Defiant is working with both a journalist and a filmmaker to create a game that puts you in the role of a journalist embedded in a warzone.

The game is still in production and it is not clear whether it will ever come out. There is a trailer which gives a feel to how it might be.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQlkYY88wLM]

Slashdot thread already picked up the argument of whether you will be able to choose between Canon and Nikon equipment for the missions in the game.

Update (September 28, 2011): Also check out this Newsy video that shares a few more opinions about the possible impact of the game. That’s where I’ve heard the term ‘war porn‘ for the first time.

Russian heavy bands

A few days ago I was enjoying a company of people who organize events in Cyprus. In particular, they are bringing musicians and singers. Of course, everyone at the table was asked who would they like to see and who they would pay money for. To my shame, I don’t follow the music scene in Russia at all. All the bands that I’ve listened to when I was living there are way too old now. And I have no idea who is doing what nowadays. So, I couldn’t really answer the question. That’s not a big problem anyway, since the kind of music that I listen to is probably not something many people would be interested in in the first place.

I spent some time getting familiar with the current state of the Russian music and I have to say that I am positively surprised. There are plenty of bands that play hard and heavy alternative music that I am a fan off. I’ve created a new YouTube playlist – Russian heavy bands – which I populated with a few tunes that I liked. I will keep this thing around and when and if I come across something worthy, I’ll add it there. So feel free to subscribe, share, and bookmark. Also, if you have any suggestions, please comment. Thanks.

Here is a little preview of what’s going to be in the playlist:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yW1n8iuoDU]