Schmidt spends his time wandering around his hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts, using his custom cell-phone software to unmask the ID numbers on each GSM cell tower he passes. Then he associates that tower ID with a GPS-defined location, and uploads it to his website.
When his electronic surveying is complete, Schmidt will have a system that can tell him where he is at all times — without GPS — by triangulating the signals from the newly mapped cell towers.
Calling himself a "neogeographer," Schmidt is part of a generation of coders whose work is inspired by easily obtained map data, as well as the mashups made possible by Google Maps and Microsoft's Virtual Earth.
—Annalee Newitz, "Where 2.0 Gives the World Meaning," Wired News, June 16, 2006
Platial co-creator Di-Ann Eisnor, who coined the term "
neogeography," says she and fellow creator Jason Wilson got the idea for the site after returning from an extended stay in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
—Joab Jackson, "'
Neogeography' Blends Blogs With Online Maps,"
National Geographic News, April 25, 2006
