Pipes and Mashups

This week I had a go at Mashups. Like the concept of "Library 2.0" I think I have been using it without even thinking I was. They seem like a useful thing, especially for people with hobbies that work well when many different sites are integrated. Or for people who want to create complex websites.

I had a go at making a Pipe on Yahoo Pipes. I watched the Lee Le Fever video which explained how to do it, and attached a little Pipe to a baking blog I look at on the side of this blog. I was impressed at how easy it was just to make this simple one, but I couldn't work out what all the other pipes were for, so this is all you'll get!

I like that you can make lists for public and private interests and I'm sure it would be useful in a business or study environment. Being a novice programmer it seems like a bit too much effort just to make a list I could put on Diigo, Feedly or Delicious easily and share with a network. I did like how you can limit what comes up on your lists. For instance the Pipe on my blog is one that should contain the key work "Cake."

This is what a pipe looks like (remember its my first!):

My Mum showed me a great mashup last night. Its called Rome to Rio, and is fantastic for anyone who is dreaming about going travelling. You put in your start and end point, and it will give you options for how to get there, including price, transfers, and travel time. If there are multiple forms of travel, you can choose whether you want a bus, train, plane etc.

The site not only integrates Google Map, but there are also links to to sites of the companies that offer travel options and you can search for hotels in the area as well.

I searched for transport from London to Paris, as I though it would best demonstrate what Rome to Rio does. It gives me ten options for this trip, from plane, train, ferry, bus, and carshare.

This is the first option, train from St Pancras to Paris Nord, which costs $192 and takes 2hrs, 24 mins. You can see its very clear, and shows you not just the travel specifics but also tracks your route.

This is what you get in the side bar, this time showing the ferry option.

I really like this site, not only is it easy to use, but it also is an example of how useful a mashup can be. It seems like a great starting point when planning a trip, and far less complicated then trying to research all the different ways yourself.