Web mashups are skyrocketing in popularity. A mashup's ability to take information from different areas of the web such as Google Maps and Twitter and combine that information into a small application can create some unique, useful and downright entertaining results.
The best mashups are both visually appealing and either useful or, at least, entertaining to the point of needing to come with a warning label not to view at work if you want to get anything done.
1. MusicMesh
Description: This fantastic web mashup allows you to visually browse through bands starting with a single artist and easily watch videos of the artist that are posted on YouTube. Definitely a fun way to discover new music or just watch videos of your favorite band.
2. WeatherBonk
Description: If you have ever wanted to be a weather forecaster or traffic reporter, Weatherbonk is the web mashup for you. Combining Google Maps with multiple weather resources including WeatherBug and the National Weather Service, WeatherBonk is the best mashup for pretending to be a forecaster. Weatherbonk also gives traffic details and you can even plot out a trip with weather information included.
3. HousingMaps
Description: A great mashup for anyone in the market for a new home, HousingMaps takes information from Craigslist and combines it with Google Maps to create a great utility for finding a house for sale or one for rent.
4. FindNearby
Description: If you've ever become frustrated trying to hunt down a hard-to-find item, look no further. FindNearby is the best mashup for locating items near your location. It even has a special version for finding that ever-elusive Nintendo Wii.
5. Mapdango
6. Popurls
Description: If you are really into social news, Popurls is the best mashup for keeping a handle on things. Popurls displays the latest and greatest from sites like Digg and Del.icio.us as well as images from Flickr, YouTube videos, and much, much more.
7. Twittervision
Description: Twittervision is a great mashup that allows you to see tweets across the map in real time. You can also switch to 3D mode to see tweet coming from a revolving Earth as seen from space. More entertainment than useful, Twittervision can be quite mesmerizing.
8. Flappr
Description: Flappr is a great mashup for Flickr fans wanting to find a better way of browsing through photos. Flappr uses Flash to provide a slick interface to Flickr and a visual method of finding cool images.
9. Yahoo Newsglobe
Description: The best mashup for getting your news in an entertaining way, Newsglobe plots realtime news stories on a globe of the earth using Yahoo's top stories RSS feed and hooking it into Yahoo! Maps to create an excellent visual tool for keeping up on what's going on in the world.
10. Twitter Answers
Description: Tap into the power of the world's most popular micro-blogging and chatting service, Twitter, and use it to get quick answers to questions with this great mashup.
