World Archipelago Buzz

Smart Technology in action

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:39:00 +0100

The Independent is the latest publisher to take our innovative Picture Gallery tool. Designed to...

Yet another new domain extension

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:13:00 +0000

The .tel domain names will be available from this afternoon. Apparently they will cost $210 for 3...

The end of newspapers?

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:42:00 +0000

“Read all about it: newspapers are done for” - The Sunday Times (Dec ‘08). Apart...

Another Tech Crash?

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Is the technology industry headed for a worse downturn than the one that followed the internet crash...

John D Wood look to WAI for the next generation site

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:52:00 +0100

John D Wood have just launched their latest site, www.johndwood.co.uk, which takes a unique and...

Real Estate TV goes live

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:44:30 +0100

We’ve recently launched a new concept in portals with the Real Estate TV site -...

"It’s the mid-1990s for the mobile industry: lots of walled gardens, lots of fragmentation, and..."

Wed, 21 May 2008 21:49:02 +0100

“It’s the mid-1990s for the mobile industry: lots of walled gardens, lots of...

Yo everybody, Gene Simmons is in the house. Actually,...

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:15:00 +0100

Yo everybody, Gene Simmons is in the house. Actually, we’re in Gene Simmons’ house.

WAI worked with A&E Television Networks to give fans of their hit show Gene Simmons Family Jewels the chance to get an up-close and personal view of Gene’s life by interacting with a timeline rich with images and video clips.

Check it out here to find out more about Gene’s rockin’ family history.

Imagine giving large quantities of your hard-earned cash to some...

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:59:21 +0100

Imagine giving large quantities of your hard-earned cash to some slightly odd strangers to throw around as they please. In the UK, this national pastime has been given the name “politics”.

But whether you’re on the left, right, center or somewhere in between - one thing that’s certain is that politics gives us the chance to work on some pretty cool data visualization projects.

WAI recently launched this very nifty mapping appliction for The Telegraph as part of its coverage of the UK Local Elections. Users can navigate the map and find a wealth of information on their local governement, from crime statistics to taxation levels. All-in-all a great project that not only looks good, but is also provides a great service to the electorate.

Imagine if you went to the grocery store and discovered that...

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:14:23 +0100

Imagine if you went to the grocery store and discovered that Boeing had decided to start making vanilla cupcakes. You might feel compelled to try them, but it would probably come as a shock to your sweet treat snacking sensibilities.

Well something very simlar is happening in the interactive space. Intel - the chip manufacturingi giant - recently rolled out a new Mash-up Maker browser plug-in.

The plug-in allows users to create their own mash-ups, and also add mash-ups to specific pages that others have built. Right now there’s some interesting mash-ups available for Facebook, CraigsList and Expedia which range from mapping applications to address finders.

Exactly why Intel would release such a product is somewat intriguing, but nevertheless this illustrates how the Web 2.0 philosophy continues to march into the mainstream. Users want to digest and interact with content on their terms, removing many of the restrictions that were inherent in the Web browsing experience. We’ll be watching this one with interest.

Another week brings another award for the World Archipelago team...

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:25:45 +0100

Another week brings another award for the World Archipelago team - this time courtesy of the IVCA. We were declared a bronze winner in the Online Sales and Promotion category for a multi-player game we developed for Jetix Power Rangers. You can check it out here.

We’re a fairly modest bunch at WAI but every now and again...

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:22:12 +0100

We’re a fairly modest bunch at WAI but every now and again we like to give ourselves a pat on the back. The 12th Annual Webby Awards list of Honorees has been published and we have been recognized in the Newspapers Category for a user generated content project we worked on with the Daily Telegraph.

Titled the Ford Film Challenge, the project encouraged budding movie makers to submit their short films to the site. At the end of the submission period, users were asked to vote for their favorite. Well done to everyone involved.

After weeks of hard work a really interesting project is ready...

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:51:00 +0100

After weeks of hard work a really interesting project is ready for prime-time, and if we dare say so we’ve hit this one right out of the park.

The NY Daily News launched its New York Yankees Stadium special yesterday, which includes an interactive timeline and image gallery slideshow built by the lovable scamps at WAI Central.

What makes this project interesting is that these components form part of an interactive “toolbox” that we’re developing. This toolbox gives content owners the ability to create, configure and publish an unlimited number of components - such as polls, sweepstakes, quizzes and video players - using our unique Asset Library tool.

A CMS component builder that is intuitive and actually benefits the end user? Now there’s a thought…

Novel Idea For Google Maps

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:28:00 +0100

While there are a wealth of possible applications for data visualization/location based services,...

Imagine the scenario. You’re walking out the door after a...

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:40:52 +0100

Imagine the scenario. You’re walking out the door after a scintillating visit to your favorite wild bird sanctuary and suddenly the uncontrollable urge to buy an illustrated book on the feeding habits of the Northern Pygmy Owl blankets your entire body. Driving over to the nearest book store means sitting in traffic, and waiting until you get home to hop on you PC just seems so….well so darn far away. So what is a frustrated owl lover to do in this situation? Enter Amazon TextBuyIt - a new service introduced by the e-commerce giant that lets users purchase items by sending an SMS text message on their mobile phone. Mobile commerce has been somewhat slow to get off the ground, but with a company like Amazon throwing their hat in the ring this is definitely one to watch…

New location based/mapping products are emerging all the time -...

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:44:07 +0100

New location based/mapping products are emerging all the time - albeit in some very unlikely areas. The folks over at Trapster are using GPS-enabled phones and a mapping application to alert drivers of active speed traps based on their location. The speed trap locations come from members of the site, who are encouraged to sign-up and submit their sightings - thus creating a huger user generated database of traps.

Social networking and mobile devices go together like...

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:48:00 +0000

Social networking and mobile devices go together like politicians and corruption - they’re very natural bed-fellows. Throw some data visualization action into the mix, and we have a digital menage a trois with bags of potential. Mobile social networking company Loopt has announced a deal with US mobile carrier Verizon to install its software on all the carrier’s phones. The map-based experience lets you see where your friends are via a map on your mobile device (no stalking please), share photos with friends and IM buddies and get suggestions of places to eat and drink based on friends’ recommendations. It’s a very interesting app., and yet another example of how data visualization and social location based services are starting to gain traction within the mobile arena.

Want to find a swanky restaurant to take the special person in...

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:25:54 +0000

Want to find a swanky restaurant to take the special person in your life on a hot date? Looking for a reliable plumber that won’t accidentally drown you and your neighbors in dirty dishwater? Why bother trawling through the wild west of the web when you can search recommendations suggested by your network of friends on Facebook. Step forward Loladex. In order for the site to be a success it’s heavily reliant on thousands of Facebook users actually installing the application, but nevertheless this represents an interesting foray into the world of social search.

Data Visualization may not sound like the most exciting thing in...

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:34:18 +0000

Data Visualization may not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but it’s a concept our clients are starting to embrace with increasing enthusiasm. We launched this very cool project for A&E Television Networks today in support of their hit show Paranormal State. Some of the most haunted locations in America are plotted on the map and users have the opportunity to give each one a “Spooky Rating”. Check it out….if you dare!

"We have very much hit a watershed moment in terms of mobile Internet. We are seeing that mobile..."

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:26:24 +0000

“We have very much hit a watershed moment in terms of mobile Internet. We are seeing that...