Earthware Blog

At Earthware we aim to use the latest in web based mapping technology to bring our client’s products and services to life which is why we make five promises to all of our clients including ‘to challenge ourselves to meet our client’s expectations’ and ‘to care about what they care about’. It is this ethos that inspires us to work hard to do all we can to achieve this and is why we are delighted to see our client’s being rewarded for the services that they provide.

Therefore, our congratulations go to our client London Executive on winning the Best UK Technology and Web category at this year’s Estate Agent of the Year Awards.

We first got involved with Georges Verdis and the London Executive team back in September 2007 at PCS Expo (now Agency Expo). They were looking for an interactive mapping partner and thought EarthwareProperty was just the solution they were after. After working with them to brand the maps to fit the established London Executive colour and style, the maps were launched in January 2008 and became the first residential property implementation of EarthwareProperty. Since then London Executive have seen incredible growth thanks to their innovative approach to marketing property most notably their use of the Birds Eye imagery (which they have branded Property Bird) available in their property maps.

It is innovative approaches such as this that we love and which led to London Executive winning this award. The judges said, “Two particular uses of technology make this entry stand out… [the] Bird’s Eye photography enables the prospective purchaser or tenant to see exactly where the home is located and what surrounds it. The London Executive deserves credit for finding and using this photography so effectively”.

Congratulations again to the London Executive team for their hard work in using technology and the web to market property in London.

However, it was not just one of our clients that were recognised at these awards. Our congratulations also go to Wow for being finalists in the Innovation category. It’s great to see all these people being recognised for their forward thinking approaches to the estate agency world.

Cathedral Lettings are the Durham specialists when it comes to letting residential property. Their vision is to use their local knowledge and expertise in the lettings market to ‘match good tenants with good properties’ and make the process as simple as possible for both the tenant and landlord. It is in striving to meet this vision that Cathedral Lettings have become the latest company to implement Earthware’s property mapping product.

So the story goes like this: Mark Havers, Director of Cathedral Lettings, had realised that many of the tenants searching for property with Cathedral Lettings were looking to move to the Durham area from all over the country and indeed the world and that they often had little knowledge of the locality. Having recognised this knowledge gap, Mark wanted to find a solution and ensure the service his lettings agency offered did make finding property in Durham really easy. He recognised that using interactive maps was a really visually engaging way to display the locality information many of his tenants wanted to know. Having shared this idea with Aspasia, they pointed Mark in our direction. Of this Mark says, “When Aspasia told me about Earthware’s interactive mapping I was immediately interested and as soon as I saw it in operation I was very interested indeed”.

EarthwareProperty was designed to be really simple to implement; once the client has chosen which default features they want for their maps we send them a step by step guide including all the necessary code for a seamless implementation of our maps into their website. Cathedral Lettings really appreciated how simple this is saying that “working with Earthware to make the whole thing happen has been very straightforward”.

Although the maps have only been live for a short time Mark is already getting great feedback: “We’ve only been live for a week, but the response so far from our clients has been very positive”. Cathedral Lettings have achieved their aim of using the latest mapping technology to bring a residential lettings search tool to life and impart locality information in a visually compelling way making finding residential property to let in Durham much simpler.

If you have a vision to use interactive mapping to differentiate your company and bring your products and service to life then please contact us.

At Earthware, we have believed for some time that Microsoft/Multimap has been disadvantaged vs. Google API which offers embedded maps with free transactions to small mapping clients. With this in mind, we thought we would draw your attention to Multimap’s recently launched embedded mapping product which sees them fighting back Google in offering mapping for free to low volume commercial users.

This new version of the Multimap API allows website owners to embed a customised map into their site taking advantage of Microsoft Virtual Earth’s aerial imagery: all it takes is a single line of HTML code.

The key features are as follows:

· Designed for use by small businesses, personal websites and hobbyists.

· Includes up to 50,000 transactions per year (which Multimap track).

· It takes just as single line of HTML code to embed the map.

· Choice of map styles (TeleAtlas, Ordance Survey, and Barts) and map views (road view or aerial view, including coverage of the US using Microsoft Virtual Earth).

· The HTML code includes four hyperlinks back to Multimap allowing the user to see the location on Multimap with a bigger map, POI’s and business listings; view the location in Bird’s Eye; get directions to the location; get directions from the location.

To embed a map in your site simply:

1. Go to Multimap.

2. Search for your location on Find a Map.

3. Click on “link” on the top right of the map.

4. A box opens; click to accept T’s and C’s.

5. Select to “customise the map” (select the size of the map and move the red circle).

6. Copy and paste the line of HTML code.

Here’s an example of what the map will look like in your site as well as the links back to Multimap for POI’s, Bird’s eye etc:

We believe that Multimap have seen a rapid uptake in these maps into client’s websites. For a list of a few examples please click here.

Before you think this is the panacea of mapping we ought to mention that there are some downsides to the ‘embedded maps’ compared to a licensing for full commercial usage. These being:

• Branding – when using the free mapping, the user leaves the client site to view the data and information within a clearly Multimap branded site. This may mean the user will associate the experience as much with the Multimap brand as they do with your brand.
• Advertising – In the Terms and Conditions, Multimap reserve the right to add advertising to the embedded maps which is controlled solely by them and cannot be removed in the free version. There is always the possibility that the advertising will not fit well with your own site branding or content.
• Usage – the maps cannot be embedded in internal business applications such as BI or CRM systems.

After all, it wouldn’t be reasonable to release an all singing and dancing version with unlimited transations for free – Microsoft and Multimap are businesses after all.

If you want our view, we think this is great news for clients who now have more choices in mapping technologies for low volume usage, or where they want to test out user experiences before dipping into their pockets for significant licence fees for wider usage. A thumbs up from us for Multimap!

It has now been a couple of weeks since Earthware launched Street Level View in EarthwareProperty maps and implemented it in NovaLoca.com and people far and wide have been talking about it.

Who has been saying what?

The Rat and  Mouse, London’s Property Blog thinks the photography is sharp and the maps easy to navigate.

Property Technology, IT solutions news for the property market discusses the benefits of using Street Level View when looking for property.

All In London, London Forum offers a space for people to talk about what they think of Street Level View.

The Londonist, a website about London describes where the Street Level imagery came from and that it can now be ‘played with’ in NovaLoca.com

Digital Urban which explores how urban environments can be and are represented digitally explains how Street Level View has been implemented into Earthware’s maps and describes Earthware as "a company worth watching".

If you have seen an article about what Earthware have been doing with Street Level View or if you have something to say about Street Level View please contact us.

Earthware are celebrating having become finalists for Team of the Year at the 2008 Business Startups Awards.

So what is it like working for Earthware?

From the outset Neil and Brian, Earthware’s directors, had a vision to be innovative and different from many other companies in terms of their attitude towards staff. At Earthware job titles are irrelevant, the whole team has a say in decisions regarding the company, everyone has access to the company finances, an open plan office space is essential and hierarchy has little, if any, bearing on how the company operates, (for an idea of our aspirations see Ricardo Semler’s “Maverick”).

We make every effort to identify the core strengths we have available within the Earthware team and armed with this knowledge we make sure the right person is doing the task to ensure the company is run as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. We also find that this is a great way to attract and keep excellent staff!

Features editor of Startups.co.uk Sara Rizk says "Earthware is a great example of  the kind of innovative and fresh thinking company that the Startups love to champion. The business keeps a strong focus on technology at its core while constantly thinking about how its products engage with its clients’ needs".

Discover what the Earthware team have to say and find out more about careers at Earthware and see what one newspaper had to say about us.

Earthware have now made live their latest web development project, an online estate agency website for residential property in Buckinghamshire, DreamSpot.

The journey began back in April 2008 when the two Neil’s first met. Neil Osmond, Earthware’s Operations Director and Neil Wood Managing Director of DreamSpot wanted to discuss how Earthware could help with the development and launch of this new online estate agency. The first step was for Earthware to build schematics for the site. Upon receipt of this Neil Wood became sure his dream of a website that made buying and selling property in Buckinghamshire really easy was possible and asked Earthware to submit a formal proposal for the entire site development and launch. The result of this is now available for all to see at DreamSpot.co.uk and Neil Wood is very happy with the process as much as he is with the result.

“I just want to put in record how easy and enjoyable it has been working with all of you; I have always felt that the project was under control and at no stage was my confidence in your abilities to deliver unfounded! With all the other parts of setting up this business causing various amounts of stress it was so nice to know the major component, the website, was in capable hands.” Neil Wood, Managing Director, DreamSpot.

The site, which is split into two main sections, a buyer area and a seller area, aims to bring tomorrow’s estate agency services to the market today. Through being an online estate agent, DreamSpot are able to keep their overheads down, a saving which they pass on to their clients. But being online does not mean there is no-one to talk to or that you cannot control what is happening; not only can buyers ask the seller or the DreamSpot team a question using the websites messaging system they can book a viewing directly with the seller and the DreamSpot team are always at the end of a phone too.

In addition to developing the DreamSpot site, we have also implemented our residential property mapping, EarthwareProperty, allowing users to search for and see their next property in its actual location with road, aerial and Bird’s Eye imagery. Covering the Amersham, Beaconsfield, Chesham, High Wycombe, Chiltern and West Wycombe regions of Buckinghamshire, DreamSpot.co.uk provides information about what it is like to live in these areas of the county, as well as all providing financial and legal services for buyers and sellers and Home Information Packs (HIPs).

Contact DreamSpot to discover more about buying and selling property in Buckinghamshire or read the DreamSpot blog or if you are looking for web development services please contact us.

Although it seemed that both exhibitor numbers and attendees were down at Agency Expo this year, there was a lot of enthusiasm for those that stopped by at the Microsoft / Multimap stand.

Multimap have recently released a new “embedded” mapping option for users with less than 50,000 transactions per year.  If you want any further information I would recommend contacting Multimap directly via their website www.multimap.com.  We also witnessed many attendees still being “wow”ed by Bird’s Eye imagery which is available through either Multimap or Microsoft Virtual Earth.

We had a really good time explaining how you can get the best of the Virtual Earth platform especially using Earthware’s residential and commercial property mapping products.  We have been delighted to partner with Microsoft and Multimap to give every Estate Agent in the UK (irrespective of size) the opportunity to integrate Virtual Earth into their website and create a highly visual experience for their customers.

Enough of the sales pitch though.  What we also really enjoyed showing was where mapping is really going.  We were delighted to show Earthware’s big first in getting StreetView for 1,000 km of London streets launched before Google.  Please see our other blog article for more details or just click on the following links to have a look for yourself at Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge or even an attack from a giant spider.

We were also delighted to show off what was possible using the new photosynth product released from Microsoft labs.  This can be integrated with mapping to enhance the visual experience for users/customers.  I even had a play myself and so click here (or see the insert below) to see the stand in photosynth.  You might also want to have a look at how Microsoft’s Tim Warr has integrated photosynth into a mapping environment in his blog article.

Neil

It’s an exciting day here at Earthware, after months of development on the latest version of our Earthware Property real estate mapping solution it’s now live on the commercial property portal Novaloca.com  with brilliant street level views of central London from our partners Seety.

To try out street level views for yourself, try the links below to some famous London landmarks:

• Piccadilly Circus
• Buckingham Palace
• Tower Bridge

Earthware Property already includes the best aerial and birdseye imagery available by using Microsoft Virtual Earth as its mapping provider, now with Seety’s street side views Earthware Property offers a world leading mapping solutions to estate agents and property web sites.

We are proud to be partnering with Seety on this project who are an amazing company taking consumer level electronics and proprietary software and producing street level views all over the world. Not only are Seety innovators in the street level view market but they have beaten the biggest player in the market, Google, to making one of Europe’s major cities publicly available.

The area currently available covers central London as shown below:

If you want to find our more about using Earthware Property for your own web site or about licensing and commissioning street level views of your city please contact us.

Earthware’s aim has always been to “use the latest mapping technology to create compelling visual experiences to bring our clients’ products and services to life”. Therefore you can imagine our excitement when we saw the latest development in mapping being released: panoramic street level imagery. What better way to make a map compelling and to bring something to life than being able to see a location on your PC as though you are actually standing there and taking a walk around?!

Seety were the first to bring street level panoramic views to the UK having driven over 1000km of the streets in central London and taken over 170,000 photographs. Now to realise our commitment to using the latest mapping technology, Earthware have joined forces with them. Street Level View as we are calling it will be implemented into our existing EarthwareProperty maps in the coming days to become the first implementation of this latest mapping technology in the UK. Our Operations Director, Neil Osmond says of this development;

“At Earthware, we are delighted to be involved in somewhat of a coup in partnering with Seety to bring Street Level View to the UK before anyone else.  We are sure that people will really enjoy experiencing travelling round the streets of London through their PC.”

Having had a long standing relationship with commercial property finder NovaLoca, (Earthware built the NovaLoca site which also became the first implementation of EarthwareProperty) it seemed natural that NovaLoca also be the launch place for the first implementation of Street Level View imagery in the UK. Key to NovaLoca’s success has been their use of technology to differentiate them against similar offerings in its goal to make marketing commercial property easier for agents and finding commercial property easier for occupiers. Therefore it is not surprising that they were keen to be on board too. With Street Level View site users looking for commercial property in London will be able to ‘stand’ in front of a chosen property (see the facia not just the roof!), look at the one next door and even take a ‘walk’ to the nearest tube station or shop.

A note for the security and privacy conscious among you; Seety have carefully processed every image and blurred out all car registration plates and people’s faces to ensure their identity is not shown.

Keep an eye on the Earthware blog; we will be announcing the release of Street Level View in EarthwareProperty here first and if you would like any more information please contact us on 0845 6429880 or email us at info@earthware.co.uk.

Earthware were delighted to be invited to join the Microsoft / Multimap team for the upcoming Agency Expo event.  Microsoft were very keen to involve a partner organisation to explain to potential clients what the full range of possibilities are for their mapping products to drive business opportunities and conversions

Neil Osmond and Lauren Eden from Earthware will both be available over the 14th and 15th October to answer questions and demonstrate the possibilities for mapping.  If you would like to meet with one of us, or any member of the Microsoft / Multimap team, please either contact us beforehand to set up an appointment or drop by the stand.

Attendance of the Agency Expo event is free and you can register at http://www.agencyexpo.co.uk/.