We will soon be launching a new LiveWhale feature called LiveWhale Places. And given the name, I must tell you that it’s not your next coupon service. What is LiveWhale Places? LiveWhale Places is an easy way for your to geo-locate your LiveWhale content (news, events, blurbs, images, etc.). You need only start typing the name (or address) of your location and you’ll see a list of matching places. If you don’t see the one you need, then you can add it rig…
We will soon be launching a new LiveWhale feature called LiveWhale Places. And given the name, I must tell you that it’s not your next coupon service.
What is LiveWhale Places?
LiveWhale Places is an easy way for your to geo-locate your LiveWhale content (news, events, blurbs, images, etc.). You need only start typing the name (or address) of your location and you’ll see a list of matching places. If you don’t see the one you need, then you can add it right there. Places has built in correspondence with Google, to help in finding the right location without having to know pesky latitudes and longitudes. A name or address is all you will ever need.
Why Geo-locate my Content?
Beyond the obvious value to events, there are a host of great uses for this new feature. LiveWhale Places comes with a front-side LiveWhale widget that allows you to drop a Google map of your geo-located content into any page, news story, event, etc.
So for example, we could create a campus map or walking tour entirely through LiveWhale, with pictures along the way. Want to show all the stories we’ve written about Lewis & Clark students in Uganda? Easy. Or like the Graduate School, maybe you want to show all of your Portland partnerships on one map. Done.
Why LiveWhale Places?
Despite our busy schedules, the NewMedia team always monitors industry trends and looks for the right times to bring in new features or services. And rather than look to our peer institutions, we often look to the industry at large. (There are some standout educational institutions, but collectively, higher education runs several years behind the curve.)
In this case, after years of pussyfooting around mobile and location-based services, we are (finally) on the cusp of these services moving into the mainstream. So, a number of months back, NewMedia partnered with WhiteWhale (maker of LiveWhale) to get this feature added to our LiveWhale first. Eventually it will become standard for all LiveWhale institutions.
When Will Places Be Available?
In conjunction with WhiteWhale, the NewMedia team is running through demo versions now and getting a few last changes into this new feature. We are probably a couple of weeks away from launch (and I’ll announce it here).
New Media is located in McAfee on the Undergraduate Campus. MSC: 19
