Crowdsourcing app Leafsnap puts people in touch with nature

Leaf of Tuliptree (Photos: Leafsnap)

If you've ever wondered what kind of tree you were wandering past, finding out is just a smartphone snapshot away.

Enter Leafsnap, a free app that serves as a digital field guide by matching photos you take with your iPhone or iPad (an Android version is in the works) against a database of high-resolution images of leaves, flowers, bark, and other parts of trees.

From facial recognition to tree identification

Leafsnap uses visual recognition technology developed at the University of Maryland and Columbia University, coupled with the botanical expertise of the Smithsonian Institution and the photography of non-profit group Finding Species.

So how exactly do you use Leafsnap? This video provides a pretty nifty overview:



The response to Leafsnap has been "overwhelming"

W. John Kress, chief botanist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said the response to Leafsnap since its May 1, 2011 launch has been "overwhelming." Over half a million apps have been downloaded and over a million images have been submitted to date.



Database to expand from 200 to 800 species - and counting ...

Leafsnap at present features trees found mainly in the Northeastern United States. Someday it will cover all of North America - and maybe even span the globe.

New York's Central Park and Washington's Rock Creek Park, the initial regional focal points of Leafsnap's developers, are home to some 200 of 800 types of trees found across the country, said Kress.

Leafsnap users act as "citizen scientists" that crowdsource plant growth patterns

Flower of the Black Locust

Whenever someone takes a snapshot and sends it to Leafsnap, "it is uploaded to a server at Columbia," said Kress. This ongoing process, in turn, fuels "the crowdsourcing of plant identification."

The upshot, as industry website crowdsourcing.org has put it: "Leafsnap turns users into citizen scientists, automatically sharing images, species identifications, and geo-coded stamps of species locations with a community of scientists who will use the stream of data to map and monitor the ebb and flow of flora nationwide."

Like the "Circle of Life" celebrated in "The Lion King," Leafsnap has fostered a "Circle of Science" that connects researchers with average, smartphone-wielding citizens.

Fine-tuning of app foreseen, funding biggest roadblock

David W. Jacobs, a computer science professor who led the team that wrote the algorithm for the app at the University of Maryland in College Park, said some fine-tuning of Leafsnap is foreseen.



Yet the biggest roadblock to moving forward is funding. Leafsnap was spawned by a multi-year research project sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Before this $2-million-plus grant ran its course, smartphones started making a splash on the mobile market. So a project initially aimed at scientists was re-purposed to develop a smartphone app.

W. John Kress displays a Leafsnap image on his iPhone
in his office at the National Museum of Natural History.
(Photo by Karen Carstens)

"I knew nothing about apps - I'm a botanist," said Kress. "And it was so nice to work with these people (computer scientists) ... finally we honed it down to this beautiful little thing called an iPhone."

Expanding Leafsnap to more tropical climes, however, poses a major challenge. The reason? The "veinatian patterns" - literally the "veins" of the leaves - are more detailed. "So we would need more detailed images," said Kress.

Jacobs said the technology is in place to tackle such problems: "We feel pretty confident that if we had the funding, we could do this."

The first in a series of digital field guides?

Leafsnap might moreover serve as a model for similar apps. Jacobs and his counterparts at Columbia have, for instance, created a method for identifying dog breeds. This program could function as a "test bed" to develop new apps which could differentiate various types of fauna, such as birds or insects.

Additional funds would also be required to develop an app specialized enough to pinpoint a particular type of insect clinging to a leaf, Jacobs added. Such innovations could however become paramount to particular "user communities," such as farmers trying to prevent pests from damaging their crops.



Leafsnap brings science to a much wider - and younger - audience

European Larch Flower

Meanwhile, Leafsnap has sparked some of America's most inquiring minds.

"The Smithsonian has been very excited about this app, about bringing our science to a much wider audience," said Kress.

A teacher in New Jersey, for instance, sent him an email that included a photo in which a group of second graders are sprawled across a classroom floor with a bunch of leaves and iPads.

"You have changed my students lives," she wrote, adding that these kids were eagerly awaiting the introduction of a "Spidersnap" or a "Bugsnap" app to identify creepy crawly critters.

"That was just kind of cute and just what we want our app to be," said Kress.

Practicing with Qik video on a sunny day in Washington, D.C.

(1) Fire trucks at the German Embassy in Washington



(2) Clayton's take on the usefulness of fire drills



(3) Slow early afternoon traffic on a sunny day in Washington



(4) Amy on what she misses most about her home in upstate New York



(5) Inside the hotel lobby at the Renaissance near Dupont Circle



(6) Taking a break at the Illy coffee bar inside the Renaissance hotel



(7) Illy coffee is offered for sale at the Renaissance hotel near Dupont Circle



(8) The hard-working people behind the Illy coffee bar inside the Renaissance hotel



(9) People are always coming and going at the Illy coffee bar



(10) Patrons enjoy an afternoon break at the Renaissance hotel near Dupont Circle

Professor Ron Yaros teaches UMD grad students how to use Qik video

Professor Ron Yaros on March 17 led a group of University of Maryland mobile journalism graduate students across the campus in College Park, Md., to teach them how to use Qik to shoot video.



They tried to shoot video while walking around.



And then he led them back to the journalism building.

Erin's weekend of nothingness!

Radio Report: Washington area workers can find healthy and sustainable downtown dining options today

AUDIO SCRIPT

Finding healthy dining options on the go in the Washington Metropolitan Area had not always been easy, as graphic designer Amy Ver Hague, who commutes every weekday to downtown DC from Vienna, Virginia, has found in the past.

<INSERT 18-SECOND SOUNDBITE>

Now, however, the DC dining scene has changed for busy commuters such as Amy.

Today, a wide range of soup-and-salad-style luncheon venues and restaurants serving up locally or sustainably sourced meals provide more healthy - and ethical - dining options for hard-working Washingtonians.

Among them are all-vegan, local businesses such as Soupergirl, a soup pick-up and delivery service in Takoma Park, and other farm-to-fork restaurants like Founding Farmers.

But what about how this stuff tastes?

Pretty good actually - as the survival of these thriving businesses easily attests.

FOR NEWS RADIO, THIS HAS BEEN KAREN CARSTENS REPORTING.

NARRATION - Karen Carstens
SOUNDBITE - Amy Ver Hague

Washington area restaurants and food markets increasingly cater to the organic, locavore and slow food movements

The Soupergirl storefront in Takoma Park (All photos by Karen Carstens)

Soupergirl is a superhero for the slow food, locavore and sustainable farming movements, bringing bowls of piping hot goodness to hungry Washingtonians who want to eat right, but do not always have enough time to whip up fresh, organic meals at home.



A family business that exemplifies the motto "doing good by doing well"

Soupergirl, a soup pick-up and delivery restaurant, is the brainchild of Sara Polon, a former tech executive, stand-up comedian and travel consultant.

Soupergirl's Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili

Together with her mother, Marilyn Polon, a.k.a. Soupermom - who develops vegan, kosher soup recipes using fresh ingredients from local farms - she is on a mission to sell good-for-you food and respect our planet.

Soupergirl's menu changes daily based on whatever is in season. All biodegradable scraps and compostable containers are deposited in compost bins at the conservation-minded building in Takoma Park where the store - opened in September 2011 - is located.

Recently I scarfed down a bowl of Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili there. I piled it high with toppings - croutons, herbs, almonds - and added a few dashes of hot sauce. It was hearty, filling - and downright delicious.

Healthy options used to be few and far between ...

But it has not always been easy to find such healthy dining options in the Washington Metropolitan Area, as graphic designer Amy Ver Hague, who commutes every weekday to downtown DC from Vienna, Va., has found in the past.

... but now there are more choices, from organic salad to vegan cupcakes

Graphic designer and DC commuter Amy Ver Hague

One way busy commuters like Amy can eat more sustainably - beyond packing a homemade, organic lunch, that is - is to seek out salad bars such as Sweetgreen or restaurants such as Founding Farmers.

Owned by a collective of American family farmers, Founding Farmers aims to "offer farm-inspired American true food and drink in a modern, casual and eco-friendly setting."

Unlike Soupergirl or the wildly popular vegan Sticky Fingers Bakery in Washington's Mount Pleasant neighborhood, however, meat is also on the menu here - having dined there carnivorously myself I can personally attest to its tastiness.

My friend Amy meanwhile has discovered a healthy, omnivorous, cafeteria-style lunch venue called Litestars, located on L Street just a few blocks from her office.



Like Soupergirl, Litestars is also a family business, run by Annie and Didier Leconte, along with their son Eric. The recipes at Litestars were crafted by Annie, a native of France, who "imagined creating a restaurant that would provide Americans with healthier alternatives," according to the Litestars Web site.

Farmers markets, CSA's are good ways to "eat local"

Going green inside the Soupergirl store

As consumers become more aware of how to shop, eat and dine out sustainably, organically, and locally, restaurants and food service providers appear to be adapting accordingly.

Clearly, this kind of food is here to stay.

A Google search for "Washington DC Organic Restaurants," for instance, yields an urbanspoon listing of more than 50 places.

Today's conscientious consumer can moreover shop for fresh produce at local farm markets or receive farm-fresh deliveries from a CSA.

FRESHFARM markets, for instance, represents 11 producer-only farmers markets in the Washington region.

If this is a response to globalization - even if eating 100 percent locally may not always be feasible in today's globalized world - then surely it is a positive one.

These local folks obviously favor the local food movement in this promotional spot for an Eat Local First campaign that included a "Farm-to-Table Restaurant Week" in July 2011:

You Tube Video: Eat Local First DC - do you eat local?

Storify, paywalls and niche publications could counteract 'filter failure'

Digital media guru Clay Shirky has identified "filter failure" - versus "information overload" - as a key challenge facing society today.

The economics of the digital age have made this possible: At no other point in human history, even though we have actually experienced information overload since printed books first became widely available in the 16th century, has it been so inexpensive for anyone to produce any kind of information anytime.

As Shirky puts it: "There's no economic logic that says you have to filter for quality before you publish." 

New filters needed

What this means for users of new media is that the traditional "filters" of yesteryear - such as publishers who sought to print only the most marketable books, lest they incur financial losses - are no longer in place.

So how can journalists help people overcome this new phenomenon of "filter failure," while at the same time attracting users to their own "product" via digital platforms?

Always be a reliable source

In the past, journalists followed fixed news cycles that no longer really exist. Beyond updating breaking news stories online, many reporters will now, for instance, provide up-to-the-minute "live" tweets from courtrooms as verdicts unfold or upload files from mobile devices directly to news sites.

The best way to build a reputation as a reliable source is to produce good content in a timely fashion.

This part should be a no-brainer: To drive traffic to their own sites, all media folk still need to stick to the basic nuts and bolts of good journalism and apply these fundamental tenets to a user-friendly format, including clear headlines, good ledes and nut grafs, concise subheadings and short grafs throughout (bar of course for long-form features and less time-sensitive content, such as most items published, for instance, in The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, or Teen Ink).

Think in terms of the sum of a sites' multimedia parts

Now, however, all of this content must be packaged online - not to mention formatted to fit mobile devices - in an appealing way. Simply posting "shovelware" just doesn't cut it anymore.

Incorporating interactive elements, such as video or audio files, usually helps draw traffic to your site.

Using social media, including Twitter and Facebook updates might moreover expand your audience, boost today's "two-way conversation" between journalists and the public, and generally keep people - some of whom have taken on roles as "citizen journalists" - talking about your coverage.

At the same time, overdoing it could have the opposite effect, so best practices ideally should be identified.

This need to get the balance right has produced "The Rise of the Social Media Editor," as Saya Weissman recently reported for Digiday in an interview with new AP Social Media Editor Eric Carvin.

"Social media helps us see what people are interested in, what they are commenting on. Social media allows us to go to the public for news tips, eyewitness accounts, amateur videos. It’s a tool that makes journalism better if you know how to use it," said Carvin. 

Use new interfaces like Storify to aggregate disparate strands of information

Journalists can also help users in search of a one-stop-shop for accurate information by harnessing the power of nifty new tools such as Storify.

As reported in April 2011 by Claire Cain Miller for The New York Times "filtering the social web" can help journalists present news items via startups such as Storify, as well as Storyful, Tumblr and Color.

Fans of Storify include ReadWriteWeb's Jon Mitchell, who has hailed it as "the best way to gather tweets, comments, snippets and images from all around the Web and put them into one post." 

"Form follows funding"

One way newspapers, in particular, can help readers overcome filter failure is by providing paywalls for content - a trend predicted by industry experts to now be on the rise with the "appification" of media via mobile devices.

Shirky, for instance, in a recent blogpost entitled "Newspapers, Paywalls and Core Users" suggests that "form follows funding."

This means that as paywalls increasingly appear, only the more serious "politically engaged readers" will be willing to invest in this particular content. As a result, newspapers will start providing better content as they "figure out how to reward the people most committed to their long-term survival."

So this possible trend, in and of itself, could serve as a kind of "filter." 

Find your niche

Niche publications - focused on topics ranging from restaurants to antiques to travel - moreover have begun to flourish across today's digital media landscape like a riotous cacophony of dazzling wildflowers carpeting once barren grasslands after monsoon rains.

People interested in the latest tech trends, for instance, will likely follow sites such as TechCruch or ReadWriteWeb, or perhaps check out the recently launched Pandodaily. If they find it informative, it might eventually become one of their favorites, just as Politico has become indispensible to many political junkies.

Cultivate hyperlocal habits

Another trend is hyperlocal journalism. If hyperlocal sites are good, they will attract advertising and users. A popular hyperlocal site in Washington, D.C., for instance, is Prince of Petworth.

By focusing on very specific topics, hobbies, passions, pet peeves or geographic locations, both niche products and hyperlocal sites help users zero in on the information that most interests them individually. It's like an information "smörgåsbord" with everyone invited to the dinner table.

Filter, filter, filter ...

At the end of the day no one can ever possibly read or view everything online that might be of interest to them. People essentially need to act as their own personal "filters" much more so than they did in the past.

According to Shirky search engines such as Digg and Delicious, to a certain extent, have replaced the old "filters" of a bygone era.

But search engines alone do not a brand spanking new filtration system make. On a much deeper level, this is "not a design problem" but rather "more of a mental shift" that is required, according to Shirky.

A lot of how we find new filters is going to center "around rethinking social norms," he suggests.

So we should not ask ourselves "what's happened to the information?" but "what filter just broke, what was I relying on before that stopped functioning?" according to Shirky. "Because when you start asking that question, you're going to get some clue as to where to put the design effort."

Adapt, adapt, adapt ...

Journalism today is no longer a one-way conversation, but a two-way street, including seemingly endless possibilities for dialogue via various fora than ever before.

The part that journalists play in this ever evolving process will need to be continuously revisited and redefined as new technologies open up new avenues of information flow.