KEY POINTS:
It provides the maps that greet thousands of TradeMe users looking to rent or buy property.
Now ZoomIn is going "dynamic", allowing users to scroll around the country while locations of interest based on their search queries are automatically plotted on the map.
The new dynamic mapping function is the first use of its kind and is part of a major revamp of ZoomIn, the product of Wellington technology start-up Project X Technology.
It means bus stops, banks or nightclubs in a region do not have to be searched for individually but can be found browsing the map.
Project X founder John Clegg said user-generated locations and those from official sources, such as city councils, made up the plotted data supplemented by comments, tags and photos of users.
"The ordering of the results is determined by the popularity of the place, the number of visits it has received, collective user rating, number of photos, comments and tags," said Clegg. "In this way, the 'cream' will raise to the top. Already, we have seen places with photos are more popular than those without."
As more locations and businesses were plotted on the maps, Clegg expected people to shift from searching for a street name to specific businesses or services.
"To be honest, using the old ZoomIn, it wasn't easy to find places on the site. Now we expect users will search for places more and more."
Official information plotting police stations, fire stations, schools, hospitals, post offices and public car parks was already available on ZoomIn.
Soon to be added are petrol stations, wi-fi hotspots, banks and ATMs, bus stops in all main centres and private businesses.
Work was under way on a mobile version of ZoomIn.
"We're working on a prototype for the phone. Our goal is to provide basic functionality of the ZoomIn on phone and PDA," said Clegg. "We will look to support most mobiles and PDAs."
Targeted advertising will soon be added to the website too.
