FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON DC – Bloom, the mapping platform for news, has introduced a universal coding schema called Geo Metadata to improve the consistency of locations in web content. The schema has been defined to help web authors accurately store the geographic location of a web page, separate from user-facing text and media. Integrating the schema into a webpage, transforms it into a location-tagged object that can be accessible by online applications, such as search engines and social networks.
Geo Metadata defines a location by using three HTML meta tags. Meta tags are a common coding method for storing key-value data of a webpage, such as title, author, date, and image. The schema contains meta tags for latitude, longitude, and a formatted address. The tag’s key-value format is a reliable technique for online applications to interpret compared to scanning paragraphs or hashtags.
“The adoption of this schema will support the evolution of location-based technology and introduce local opportunities for websites.” says Bloom co-founder Matt Jefferson. “Here at Bloom, we’ve begun to use the schema for news articles and have built our plugins to read directly from the meta tags rather than blindly interpreting keywords or querying a database. We’re very anxious to see how other applications use it for their industries.”
A few location-based schemes currently exist but are either too specific to a company or are strictly limited to businesses. Therefore, Bloom has defined Geo Metadata to be a universal schema that can be used by any company and applied to any type of online content, such as a calendar event, business, or coupon. The adoption of this schema can introduce opportunities for web pages and applications alike, making the future of technology more accurate and locally-focused.
Bloom’s website provides tools to test Geo Metadata along with a WordPress plugin.
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