GeoPo - Turn Location Data into Short, Shareable URLs

Shorten Map Links That Never Fit Before! Location Information for Twitter

Twitter messages can only be up to 140 characters. It's difficult to include map links within that character limit, isn't it?

With GeoPo, map URLs are only 19 to 24 characters (with the location part being 3 to 8 characters).
You can create map links with this short character count!

Previously, methods for sharing location information on Twitter included:

1. Writing part of an address as text → Low precision and poor permanence
2. Using special notation formats → Only works with certain specialized clients
3. Writing in profile location → Doesn't convey as a message to recipients
4. Embedding geotags in photos → Requires separate photo posting

All of these have pros and cons, making them inconvenient for simply recording location information.

That's where GeoPo comes in!

Just as TwitPic exists for photo posting, try using GeoPo for location recording.

Worldwide Location Shortening - Not Just a Japan-Only Service

It's not that GeoPo achieves such short codes by only handling Japanese locations - worldwide location information can be compressed to this same short length.

We plan to expand to multiple languages in the future, so it's safe to send to overseas friends.

Easy Client-Side Encoding and Decoding

When you hear "URL shortening service," you might think of services like TinyURL, but TinyURL stores the URLs you want to shorten in a server database and retrieves them later, so you can't tell what a shortened URL represents without querying the server.

In contrast, the encoded location information portion of GeoPo can be decoded by anyone using any programming language.

For developer information explaining the specifications and more:
GeoPo Developer Information

GeoPo is Free for Everyone to Use for Any Purpose

Since GeoPo was created to make location information handling easier, we welcome its free use.
No permission is needed from anyone, whether for personal or corporate, commercial or non-commercial use.

If you find interesting ways to use it, please let us know!

Scalable Precision - Adjust Location Accuracy Even After Creation

GeoPo actually contains location information with just a single character.
GeoPo divides the Earth into 64 areas with the first character, then divides that area into 64 areas with the next character, and so on, becoming increasingly detailed location information.

For example, if you create an 8-character GeoPo but find the location precision too detailed, revealing your exact home address, you can simply remove characters from the end. Each character removed changes the GeoPo to represent an area 64 times larger - the reverse of the previous process.

Just 3 Characters Cover a 40km×60km Mesh, 7 Characters Cover a 10m×15m Mesh

We use the term "mesh" to represent the granularity of the areas mentioned in the previous section.

In the case of Tokyo (since longitude interval width varies by latitude):

• 3-character GeoPo: Latitude (vertical) ~39km × Longitude (horizontal) ~63.6km
• 4-character GeoPo: ~4.88km × ~7.96km
• 5-character GeoPo: ~609.5m × ~994.5m
• 6-character GeoPo: ~76.18m × ~124.31m
• 7-character GeoPo: ~9.523m × ~15.539m
• 8-character GeoPo: ~1.190m × ~1.942m

This means that if you're at the edge of a mesh, the maximum error equals the distance from the mesh center (for a 6-character code at a corner, this would be the distance calculated by taking the square root of 38m² + 62m²).

GeoPo URLs Provide Map Accessibility

The reason GeoPo is recognizable as GeoPo is because it includes the URL http://v1.geopo.creco.net/.
Those who know about it can immediately recognize that this represents location information (like a namespace).

Even those unfamiliar with it can simply access the URL to understand immediately. This is how the GeoPo user base can grow.

Adaptive Map Display Based on Recipient's Environment

Previously, when trying to send map links to someone, you had to create links tailored to that person. Have you ever made the mistake of sending a Google Maps link that only works on PC to someone using a mobile phone?

With GeoPo, the displayed map can be changed according to the recipient's viewing environment (whether PC, mobile phone, TV, or even game console). This eliminates the need to prepare separate maps for PC and mobile users.

Currently supports PC display (shows familiar Google Maps [Display Example]), mobile phone display (maps displayed as images [Display Example]), and iPhone display (launches the Maps app) [Display Example].

Easy Real-Time Tracking Service Using Twitter Timeline

It would be convenient to easily communicate where you are and what you're doing on Twitter, wouldn't it?

Using GeoPo's tracking service, you can access real-time tracking features (showing current location moving on a map) that previously required extensive setup!

This is still an experimental service.

If you'd like to try it, enter a Twitter username or user ID after http://v1.geopo.creco.net/track/. If that user has tweets containing GeoPo codes, they'll be displayed as a trajectory on the map. However, it may not work due to Twitter API limitations (100 calls per minute), though logging into Twitter may resolve this.

This service is currently experimental, so specifications and URLs may change. Please understand this in advance.