1. What about my privacy?
   Net World Map does not rely on profiling, prompting or tracking Internet users in any way.  In particular, we don't use cookies, tokens, click trails, or any other intrusive technology.  I see this as one good reason to support this project, as the technology that we are developing here has the potential to replace some of the more intrusive technologies that are currently being used on the net to determine a users location.  Many of the companies using these intrusive technologies have argued that there is no alternative, and that the ability to customize advertising and content is essential to the future viability of the net.  Well we hope that through this project, we might be able to offer an alternative.

   Kevin O'Connor the CEO of Doubleclick has already made this claim publicly in defence of DoubleClicks use of cookies - "If no targeted advertising is available on the Internet, it's almost impossible to make the Internet work.  I'm confident we all share the same goals -- keeping the Internet free."

   If we can offer a viable alternative, then maybe we can keep it free of intrusive technologies as well. [ Top ]

   

2. Am I going to get SPAMMED?
   No. Absolutely, definitely not.  Never!
   At no stage, under any circumstances, will we give out your e-mail address to anyone, or to forward messages to you on behalf of anyone. The reason that we can be so sure of this, is because the Net World Map does not record your e-mail address, or it's location. Net World Map only records the geographic location of IP Addresses, and IP addresses don't relate in anyway to your e-mail address. It is NOT our intention to build a geographical map of the e-mail network. (I am not even sure if this would be possible, because many people use an e-mail host which is vastly removed from their geographic location.)
   When we speak of commercial applications for this data, and geographically targeted marketing, we are referring to web site content and banner advertising such as that available at our geobutton site. We are in no way referring to unsolicited e-mail. [ Top ]

   

3. How can I access the map?
   There are a number of ways you can access the map, many of which are free. 

   Free Services:
   We have a number of free services which websites can start using immediately.

   The services currently available are:

   1. Geographical Visitor Analysis Reports
   2. Dynamic Geographical Site Customization.
   3. Try-It Page

   Map Access:
   We recently commenced offering access to our map via a subscription service.  For further information see http://www.geobytes.com/Services.htm or contact info@geobytes.com .

   I will have to update the above to include more info on GeoSelect, but in the meantime be sure to view our flash demo (click here to view it).

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4. Can I use the map to 'Geo-up' my own page?
   Yes.  Checkout the geophrase Page for instructions on how to access the map from your own web page.   [ Top ]
   

   

5. Why not just query the InterNic's Whois server?
   The InterNic's whois server contains the address of a site's administrator and contacts etc, and there by you can get some location information.
   We did attempt to use the data from the InterNic's whois server about 2 years ago, in version one of this project, but it just was not accurate enough.   [ Top ]

   

6. Why not use TRACERT or NSLOOKUP?
   TRACERT will identify the virtual road from one point to another, but is of little help in determining the Geographic location of any given point.
   NSLOOKUP can return location information of a domain, if the location information exits in the domains DNS record, but in reality this information is rarely included in the DNS. [ Top ]

   

7. Why are you mapping the net?
   We see that there are all kinds of commercial applications, from analyzing web traffic to geographically targeted web advertising - like our geobutton ad network, that could benefit from using this data.  We currently use the map to provide a number of free services. [ Top ]

   

8. What about dynamically allocated IP addresses?
   Dynamically allocated IP addresses don't present a problem because they are nearly always allocated within the same geographic area. The resolution of the 'map' is 'nearest city', so it is not affected by dynamic allocations of the same IP Address to different locations which share the same nearest city.  [ Top ]

   

9. What can I do to help?
   1. Tell a friend.
      We have had a lot of good people asking what they can do to help, and the single most significant thing you can do is ask one or more of your friends to visit our Site and enter their nearest city. You can compose and send an e-mail to one or more of your friends yourself, or if you prefer, you can use our Tell-A-Friend page to send to then one at a time.  This is not only the most significant thing that you can do to help, but it is probably the quickest and easiest too.
   2. Come back often.
      Come back and enter your location again next time you are on the net. Come back every day if you like. This helps because chances are that you will have a different IP address each time you connect to the net.  [ Top ]

   

10. Can you keep me informed of your progress?
    Yes. The map is always improving, so if you would like to stay across the progress of the project, then you may like to consider adding yourself to the projects list of interested persons. (This is a very low volume list, so don't be concerned with being emailed every day. It would be more like once a month.)

    Your e-mail address:
    First name
    Last name
    You can leave a comment here, if you wish. (Maximum of 250 characters.)

     
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11. Where am I located?
    Most of this project is run from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, although we do also have an office in Nevada.   Our full address and phone numbers are given at the bottom of the home page, under the heading 'Contact Information'.[ Top ]

    

12. When will we see the results?
    Check out our Map Access page for details of current applications to come out of the Net World Map Project. 

    As of Jul 24 2008 10:11PM Pacific Standard Time (West Coast USA), we have had 156384 people participate in this project, which has enabled our to 'map' 97.8% of the net, with an accuracy of 94.8%. These last two percentages are based on the guess results of the last 7 days worth of visitors to our home page.

    If you would like to be notified when something more significant hits this page, then you may like to consider adding yourself to our list of interested person on the 'Stay Informed' page. [ Top ]

    

13. Who will benefit?

    We are hoping that the development of this technology is going to be good for everyone, and here are our reasons for thinking that.

    GOOD FOR NET CITIZENS
    A geographical map will be good for the Internet.
    It will make surfing the web more enjoyable because it will help web developers customize their content to match the visitor's location.  Banner advertising and Web pages will be able to be customized WITHOUT the use of cookies or user profiling.
    It will even bring a new life in to boring old BANNER advertising, as banner ad content will now become more relevant. For instance, you may see an ad for your local pizza store, or your local car dealer - See our geobutton site for an example.
    

    GOOD FOR ADVERTISERS
    A geographical map will be good for advertisers, particularly local business serving the local market.
    Business will now be able to target their local market with Internet advertising. This has been very difficult to do in the past.
    

    GOOD FOR WEB SITE OWNERS
    A geographical map will be good for web site owners,
    Demand for advertising will go up, as local advertisers enter the market.
    

    BE PART OF IT..
    As far as we know, this is a first for the net. There is currently no geographical map which maps all of the net. We have set-up a HALL OF FAME on our site to recognize, and give credit to those that help. If you choose to be a part of it, then at the very least you can leave your mark in the Hall of Fame.  [ Top ]



14. How were you able to guess my location so accurately?
    We are glad to hear that it worked well for you. Our stats indicate that we have so far mapped about 97.8% of the net, with an accuracy of about 94.8%. Which means that our page will attempt to guess a visitors location 97.8% of the time, and when it does guess, it gets it right about 94.8% of the time.

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