#epicswap

Guest Artist: @maebeanie (I colored...)

We decided to use a MapBox map because of its extremely easy styling. You style the map on their website in their GUI and then reference it in your code. 

MapBox is built on OpenStreetMaps which is built on Leaflet. Although the MapBox API is excellent, there are three levels of APIs that allow you to work with the maps which can create some confusion.

I am looking to graphically convey the skills of a user on the map. There are multiple ways to render markers on the map. I wanted three things:

1. To be able to control the markers, color and icon

2. To be able to control a property that would allow me to toggle its visibility with jquery .show(), .hide()

3. To be able to bind additional properties to it such as click listeners, and text boxes.

After some trial and error, I discovered GeoJson. GeoJson appears to be an industry standard for conveying map data. Using SimpleStyle with Geo JSON and the incredible MAKI library of icons. I was able to have all of the control that I wanted over creating and dropping my markers. Below is my GeoJson marker class

This morning I pitched my app for a skills haring network to everyone at DBC. Speaking to 100 people is certainly a nerve-wracking experience but it is also very valuable. Anyway, I my app was selected and some of my very talented cohort mates decided to join me on the journey of developing this app.

I am going to explain in two parts:

The Polemic:

This app is designed to get you off the computer and in front of another person. It takes advantage of a talented population and peoples desire to learn and teach. In addition, it is easy for people to bond over the shared acquisition of knowledge. We want people to visually be able to see the community of people.

The Thesis: 

We are using mapping technologies to visually display the community of people interested in learning and teaching. Using color coding and icons on the markers we are going to filter the available skills by category. In addition, users will have a profile page which is where users can get to know a little more about another user and contact them for an in person meeting.

My Team:

We are a group of 5 people. I feel like we got really lucky with this group. There is certainly a lot of talent.

I am posting two mockups for the app.