I got a very nice mention on the Times website today. The Times’ Communities editor Tom Whitwell (thanks Tom) has added to a survey they did for the upcoming budget with a “now legally-required Google maps mashup“

The map was built using Yahoo pipes and google maps, based on a post of mine with a little google forms magic built in. (Later: Just to clarify, that’s about the sum of my advice here. My boss just asked me when I started working with the Times!)

I mentioned in my post that, combined with Google forms, turning surveys in to ‘geotagged’ surveys is pretty darn easy.

As Journalism.co.uk reports

“The Times has a long history of commissioning opinion polls,” wrote Tom Whitwell, Communities Editor, Times Online, about the origin of the survey.

“These are scientifically rigorous, using a carefully selected panel of maybe 1,000 people. At Times Online, we can do things very differently. We can throw out questions to our readers and capture their mood quickly, cheaply and easily.

He admits the online poll isn’t that rigorous but it offers a cheap and easy way to add depth to your content.

Great stuff and it gives me a great example to show the students.