Dienstag, 29. April 2008

Press Release MyGreatItaly

Buongiorno Italia! MyGreatWorld.com launches Italy-portal of the fast, free & acclaimed photo-community

www.mygreatitaly.com - Dorf Tirol (Village Tyrol) Home of the Roman Empire, Cradle of the Western Civilization and Centre of the Catholic Church – Italy is a rich country in many regards and offers endless motifs for any photo-enthusiast. Also complex in topography, visitors enjoy the northern lakes and beauteous tarns as much as the Alps and Apennine Mountains or the several active volcanoes.

Travellers and residents alike can now upload their pictures of this astounding country, which is blessed with an almost unrivalled diversity in nature and culture: Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, San Marino and the Vatican City - Italy has everything to fascinate visitors for more than a single holiday and impressions of this amazing country are always an eye-catcher.

With www.MyGreatItaly.com now opened for the public, the highly praised MyGreatWorld-Project takes another step to mapping the world with photos, inviting all fans and travellers to share their impressions of Bella Italia with the community.
At the main page of www.MyGreatWorld.com users find a reduced and well-planned menu without dispensable and unwanted gadgets or pop-ups. All elemental functions are within easy reach and it is not before the choice of a country that the second (and more detailed) menu expands, allowing new users to register and old users to login.

Besides the time (year or even better: year & month) and the category of a picture any further description a user enters will be additionally indexed for key-words. The same goes for the photo's title. Structures and designs are straightforward and comprehensible.

Creating new spots (or uploading to those already generated) within the map-based and simple upload-section is a breeze - as is the plain searchbar that will produce the desired results in most cases. The advanced search, on the other hand underlines the fact that the sites of MyGreatWorld.com offer more than a mere pool of pretty pictures:
It allows for combinations of various search-parameters including the time of the capture, the motive, the spot, key-words in title or description and even the filtering for a certain photographer.

Italy’s unrivalled landscapes and its ancient cities with their narrow passages and unique cultural background make visitors wonder with awe - and MyGreatItaly.com is a welcome way to present this beauty: For visitors. For residents. For friends. Worldwide.

Freitag, 25. April 2008

New maps for MyGreatItaly

www.mygreatitaly.com - Fontana Nettuno - Neptune's Well We are happy to announce that we could improve the quality of all maps on MyGreatItaly. You might have to press and hold SHIFT while clicking on the reload button of your browser or to clear your cache to notice!

Donnerstag, 24. April 2008

Press Release MyGreatGreece

Greece - a way of life - MyGreatWorld’s adds the land of the Gods to the acclaimed free Photocommunity

www.mygreatgreece.com - Parga town Greece is not just about the sun and the azure sea, about holiday and hospitality, culture and sports - Greece is far more than that: Greece is a photographer's dream come true.

With www.MyGreatGreece.com now opened for the public, the highly praised MyGreatWorld-Project takes another step to mapping the world with photos, inviting all fans and travellers to share their impressions of Greece with the community. Visitors and residents alike can now upload their pictures of this astounding country identifying each photo according to date and category like art, nature, hotels etc.

At the main page of www.MyGreatWorld.com users find a reduced and well-planned menu without dispensable and unwanted gadgets or pop-ups. All elemental functions are within easy reach and it is not before the choice of a country that the second (and more detailed) menu expands, allowing new users to register and old users to login.

Besides the time (year or even better: year & month) and the category of a picture any further description a user enters will be additionally indexed for key-words. The same goes for the photo's title. Structures and designs are straightforward and comprehensible.

Creating new spots (or uploading to those already generated) within the map-based and simple upload-section is a breeze - as is the plain searchbar that will produce the desired results in most cases. The advanced search, on the other hand underlines the fact that the sites of MyGreatWorld.com offer more than a mere pool of pretty pictures:
It allows for combinations of various search-parameters including the time of the capture, the motive, the spot, key-words in title or description and even the filtering for a certain photographer.

Greece is the perfect country for families as well as for backpackers who rightfully commend the open-hearted cordiality and hospitality of the Greek and their strong belief in tradition and family.

With a unique language and rich culture dating back at least 3,500 years, Greece has performed drama and tragedy a long time before many other countries. Science and philosophy have been nurtured in this part of the earth early and thoroughly. Today it is mostly the unrivalled landscape and the white pearls of Aegean and Ionian islands on the blue sheet of ocean that make visitors wonder with awe - and MyGreatGreece.com is a welcome way to present this beauty. For visitors. For residents. For friends. Worldwide.

Freitag, 18. April 2008

MyGreatWorld on KillerStartups

We are proud of being reviewed on KillerStartups. KillerStartups.com is a user driven Internet startups community. It's intended for entrepreneurs, investors and bloggers to stay updated on up-and-coming Internet startups. As we like to say it: KillerStartups.com: tapping the wisdom of crowds to find the next big thing on the internet."
Thank you for taking www.mygreatworld.com into your list.

Donnerstag, 17. April 2008

MyGreatWorld on Web2Null

Thanks to the guys from Web2Null for taking us in the list. You can now see the MyGreatWorld profile here.

MyGreatWorld on Technorati

You can now visit our Technorati Profile. Make it your favourite profile ;)

Montag, 14. April 2008

Press Release MyGreatTurkey

Bosporus, Black Sea & Anatolia: MyGreatWorld.com warmly welcomes the Republic of Turkey

www.mygreatturkey.com - Sunken history With Turkey the highly acclaimed new database and alternative photo-community at MyGreatWorld.com adds another key-country to its free, fast & rapidly growing online-platform of the world.

Turkey is one of the oldest continually inhabited areas on the whole planet - and a photographer's dream come true: Rooted in Western as well as in Eastern tradition, history has left visible footprints all over this country, vivid reminders of early Byzantine architecture and centuries of Ottoman influence.

Blessed with an almost unrivalled diversity in nature and culture Turkey has everything to fascinate visitors for more than a single holiday and impressions of this amazing country are always an eye-catcher.

With MyGreatTurkey.com now opened for the public, the MyGreatWorld-Project takes another giant step, inviting all fans and travellers to share their impressions of and with the world.

At the main page of MyGreatWorld.com users find a reduced and well-planned menu without dispensable and unwanted gadgets or pop-ups. All elemental functions are within easy reach and it is not before the choice of a country that the second (and more detailed) menu expands, allowing new users to register and old users to login.

To make the database work, users are asked for the time (year or even better: year & month) and a category their picture fits in best. Any further description a user enters will be additionally indexed for key-words. The same goes for the photo's title. Structures and designs are straightforward and comprehensible.

No matter if users want to document the famous river Euphrates, Lake Van or Mount Ararat, creating new spots (or uploading to those already generated) within the map-based and coherent upload-section is a breeze - as is the plain searchbar that will produce the desired results in most cases. The advanced search, on the other hand underlines the fact that the sites of MyGreatWorld.com offer more than a mere pool of pretty pictures:

The Advanced Search allows for combinations of various search-parameters including the time of the capture, the motive, the spot, key-words in title or description and even the filtering for a certain photographer.

"The site lives from the users' engagement and from the belief that on an international level there are no 'mundane' or ‘mediocre’ photos: The world in all its facets is very well worth seeing and what's 'interesting' is in the eye of the beholder..."

What's worth visiting in Istanbul? Where to stay in Izmir? What to do at the Turkish Riviera? What to avoid at the Black Sea? Users may depict their recommendations on MyGreatTurkey.com - For tourists. For residents. For friends. Worldwide.

The change of Turkey’s face is sometimes subtle (and sometimes not). It becomes obvious by comparing the chronological advancement in housing and construction and the varying styles in design and architecture. The further an observer is travelling back in time the more evident growth and progress become. This might be fortunate -- but it is not by default.

Combining these different approaches (to a vast mass of digital photography laying dormant on harddrives around the globe), www.MyGreatTurkey.com opens up its services to the community to build an online-database of literally any spot in this country. Even the very streets users are living in are subject to continuous changes - and to make these trends visible is one of the goals of the site.

Freitag, 11. April 2008

Press Release MyGreatIceland

Geysers, Waterfalls & Volcanoes - MyGreatWorld.com crosses the Arctic Circle
Tourism, Cars, Traffic

Critically acclaimed database and alternative photo-community at MyGreatWorld.com adds with Iceland another country to its free, fast & rapidly growing online-platform of the world.

Blessed with the warm North Atlantic Current at its doorstep, Iceland could be called the 'hot spot' in the regions of the Arctic. The island - which is the 2nd largest in Europe - is also the 5th most productive country in the world regarding the per capita GDP and Iceland is also rightfully famous for its unrivalled geology and locations to make every photographer's heart pound with joy:

Eldfell, Hekla and Laki are just three of the more well known volcanoes on Iceland and together with the countless rivers, waterfalls and hot springs they are a reason both, for the geothermal independence of Iceland as well as for its natural beauty and diversity that is so often praised by impressed visitors.

As the sturdy Icelandic Pony is often seen on Iceland's rolling hills of grassland which cover roughly three quarters of the landmass, flocks of sea-birds inhabit the steep coastline with its infinite fjords and hidden bays.

Iceland is a photographer's dream come true. With MyGreatIceland.com now opened for the public, the MyGreatWorld-Project takes another giant step, inviting all fans and travellers to share their impressions of and with the world.

New maps for MyGreatTurkey

www.mygreatturkey.com - Barber Shop We are happy to announce that we could improve the quality of all maps on MyGreatTurkey. You might have to press and hold SHIFT while clicking on the reload button of your browser or to clear your cache to notice!

Mittwoch, 9. April 2008

Press Release MyGreatWorld (German)

Die Welt zu Gast in Haan - Eine neue, alternative Foto-Community lädt ein

Internetseiten, die dem User einen kleinen digitalen Raum für die eigenen Bilder bieten, gibt es viele: Erfahrungsgemäß haben derlei Angebote den einen oder anderen Haken, sind entweder zeitlich oder hinsichtlich der Bildgröße begrenzt oder werbefinanziert (oder beides), horten Bilderberge ohne Struktur oder sind dermaßen überlaufen, dass wahre Perlen schlicht untergehen.

Leidensgeprüft durch zahlreiche eigene Erfahrungen mit den gängigen Bilderportalen, wollen Marco Stüwe und Thorsten Scherff es mit MyGreatWorld.com besser machen. Partybilder und Nacktfotos sucht man hier vergebens: Als freie Alternative zu den kommerziellen und anonymen Portalen verbirgt sich hinter dem Namen vielmehr eine offene Community zur fotografischen Erfassung der Welt, in der Bilder von jedem Ort in jedem Land und zu jeder Zeit willkommen sind.

Auf der Suche nach sinnvollen Ordnungskriterien haben sie sich die beiden gebürtigen Mettmanner und Wahlhaaner entsprechend an erster Stelle für eine geographische Einteilung entschieden, was bedeutet, dass jedes Foto beim Upload einem Land und dort einer Stadt, einer Landschaft oder einem Ort von Interesse zugeordnet werden muss. Neue Orte können praktischerweise im Upload-Dialog sofort vom User angelegt werden, wobei Kartensegmente eine Hilfestellung bei der geographischen Zuordnung leisten. Zusätzlich zur eindeutigen geographischen Zuordnung zu einem Fleck, ist jedes Bild auch vorgegebenen Kategorien zuzuordnen und sollte mit dem Monat und Jahr der Aufnahme versehen werden. Zusammen mit dem Titel eines Fotos und dem Text der Beschreibung entsteht so eine komplexe Datenbank, die nach praktisch allen Kriterien durchsucht werden kann.


Ziel der Seite ist es nicht, einfach Massen von Fotos zu sammeln, sondern durch einen sinnvollen Rahmen Örtlichkeiten visuell zu erfassen. Die Gründe dafür sind vielfältig: Sei es, um vor den katastrophalen Bedingungen eines Urlaubsortes zu warnen oder sei es, um den Nachbarn im Ort den einen oder anderen Geheimtipp in der Umgebung oder gar der eigenen Straße näher zu bringen. Allzu oft passiert es, dass Prospekte, Kataloge und Hochglanzmagazine Erwartungen wecken, ohne sie erfüllen zu können. Nicht selten stellen sich als ‘heimeliger Geheimtipp’ angepriesene Plätze als nepp-überladene Touristenfallen heraus und ‘ruhige Hotels’ oder ‘romantische Cafés’ entpuppen sich als grelle und verstopfte Fließbandabfertigungen.

Demgegenüber kennen die Menschen vor Ort und die Stammgäste die Stätten, die sich ein ursprüngliches Flair erhalten haben. Orte, in denen die Magie eines Landes oder einer Region überdauern konnte und die den Besuch tatsächlich lohnen. Durch die Angabe des Aufnahmedatums eines Bildes ist es zudem möglich, Örtlichkeiten in ihrer Entwicklung zu dokumentieren, um zum Beispiel den Fortschritt in Bebauung oder die Veränderung in Stilen sichtbar zu machen.

Eben weil nicht alle Museen, Geschäfte oder Denkmäler notwendig die Investition wertvoller - weil begrenzter - Urlaubszeit verdienen, ist die Kommunikation des Wissens ein kostbarer Dienst. Fotografen erhalten zudem ein verlässliches Feedback zu ihren Bildern, da jeder Upload kommentiert, diskutiert und mit Punkten bewertet werden kann.

Da die Seiten schlank und funktional programmiert wurden und ohne überflüssige Spielereien auskommen, sind sie schnell im Aufbau und ermöglichen dank einer durchdachten Menüführung einen raschen Zugriff auf alle wesentlichen Elemente.

"Der Spaß mit www.MyGreatWorld.com wird ganz klar vom Mitmachen und Engagement der Teilnehmer und Besucher abhängen", erklärt Thorsten Scherff von der MyGreat GbR, der sich für die technische Umsetzung verantwortlich zeigt. "Wir stellen mit der Webseite lediglich die Plattform zur Verfügung, mit Leben wird die Seite erst durch die Bilder von Usern überall auf der ganzen Welt gefüllt."

MyGreat GbR
-Presse-
Guetchen 7
42781 Haan
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 7000-6947328
info@mygreatworld.com
www.MyGreatWorld.com

Als Marco Stuewe und Thorsten Scherff das ‘MyGreat-Projekt’ ins Leben riefen, geschah dies mit dem Ziel, eine (welt-) offene, nicht-kommerzielle Plattform zu etablieren, auf der jeder Benutzer seine Eindrücke von jedem Fleck der Welt würde einstellen können.
Ihre Vorstellung war eine Datenbank, die einfach bedienbar und schnörkellos den Zugang sowohl zu Bildern von einem beliebigen Punkt der Erde erlauben würde, als auch zu Kommentaren zu diesem Ort oder dieser Landschaft.

Im Verlauf der Projektplanung mussten sie jedoch schnell erkennen, dass die Welt in ihrer Einzigartigkeit weit mehr spektakuläre Plätze bot, als sie zu ahnen gewagt hatten … und dass einige Interessensbereiche ihr Datenbankprojekt nett abrunden könnten: In weniger als zwei Tagen wurden mehr als 150 Domains verschiedener Themen registriert, die nun allmählich und frei von Gebühren der Gemeinschaft zum Nutzen aller überlassen werden.

Obwohl sich die Seite offiziell noch im Beta-Stadium befindet, hat sie bereits positive Darstellung in der Zeitschrift NATURFOTO erhalten. Im April 2008 wurde www.MyGreatWorld.com zudem als 'Web-Liebling der Redaktion' in der Studentenzeitschrift UNICUM vorgestellt.