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Google marches forward in taking over the world

December 18th, 2008 Augmented Environments, NYC, New Media Paul Fayngersh

When explorers eager to discover [plunder] the New World, where did they turn to? What was their most prized reference? Maps, of course.

As reported by O’Reilly, Google is continuing to heavily invest in GeoData on multiple fronts – from exclusive deals with satellite companies to their in-house projects such as Street View and Map Maker. The company has recently released a few images that illustrate their progress.

This image details what parts of the US are available on Street View. I was a bit shocked by this – it seems just recently many parts of New York weren’t available!

Speaking of our fair city, Google Earth just added photo-realistic buildings that actually make our skyline seem real. This is the type of news that scares many of my less technologically-inclined friends; what are Google’s long-term plans for Earth, especially considering they recently pulled the plug on Lively, their virtual world? Check out before and after shots of NYC at the Google Earth Blog.

Perhaps most interesting is Google’s strategy for Map Maker. The image above shows which parts of the globe are most active. In parts of the world where mapping data is unavailable, Google is allowing users to create their own maps – roads, lakes, local businesses, everything. The maps are moderated by more experienced users to prevent fraud and vandalism. It’s wonderful that Google is providing this useful service to people for free by crowdsourcing mapping data in the developing world; however, unlike OpenStreetMap, Google is retaining all intellectual property associated with the maps. Either way, it is yet another testament to the developing world’s embrace of new technologies and willingness to contribute and collaborate on social projects.

The video below is an amazing time-lapse of a Da Lat, Vietnam, being constructed in Map Maker.