Framing Google’s Move in Mapping

It has really interesting to watch the reaction to Google’s release. I can’t resist offering a few comments based upon your article and the postings. I hope to frame Google’s move in a slightly different context.

First, Google is to be congratulated on a really great solution for a beta product. Clearly, the speed is impressive, and their use of existing solutions, combined in a novel way, is what it is all about. Technically, the first thing that caught my attention was the use of the zoom levels, the tiling, and the use of very small .gifs (5k on average). As any web developer will tell you, cutting graphics is the way to go and a very nice way to get map images to browsers. Monitor your temp folder and see what happens when you play. MSFT [Microsoft] uses a similar technique for Terraserver and Terraserver.NET. The other thing I noticed was a very simple interface, and using image graphics and controls to point out finds. Less is more in this game when you are trying reach a global audience who knows or cares nothing about GIS, geospatial, remote sensing, etc. etc. This site was designed for people.

Secondly, Google wants to be the primary search tool in the world. Search the World might be their next slogan. This means everything on the Grid. Finally, as we have all watched from our industry looking out, people are now getting the value of place – location. So, if you want to search the world, and you are going to do it via the Internet, then you had better figure out a way for people to find place, show them where it is, and how to get their better than your competition. Google site clearly raises the bar, increases competition for the consumer, and should be a wake up call to everyone in our collective industry of geospatial this and that.

Strategically, Google acquisition of Keyhole was profound. For the first time, you had a search engine company acquire a really niche, value-added geospatially rich fly-through company designed to let people fly around the world using KML. So, if you do a search, you can now fly-there, see it, and buy it, or go there. If you notice, Local (beta) was also launched. Now, you have the ability to search spatially (via place name embedded in URL keyword string), and get all the images about the place, a map, websites about the place, and directions to the place, and soon, very soon, the ability to fly-there, print out an image, and conduct commerce. Remember – people pay Google to advertise. The better the experience of finding stuff, the more people use Google as their engine, and the greater the value of advertising there. So, Google is now about place. What will really be profound is one Google begins to access spatial database and searches not just text in metadata services and engines, but coordinates. You can do this now in a way by using an address string in LOCAL and it will get your there. And, with Maps, you can search a street database. But, I am talking about a search engine routine translating text to coordinates. So, I say Missoula, and Missoula gets translated on the fly to a world coordinate, and then this coordinate is passed to a geodatabase and the database is queried spatially. This is power. Now, a common, usable, tool that millions use is now accessing the global spatial data infrastructure and unleashing geospatially rich systems that go beyond GDT, Tele Atlas, and NAVTEQ databases. People will want more as we all do and they will come to expect real-time. Despite our best hopes, how many folks have ever really used the National Map interface, or GOS I, and be able to deal? This is a tiny fraction of the population. Most people do not have the time it takes to learn what you need to do despite copious help bars. If people have to go to help to learn how to use it, it is over.

Finally, spatial search is spatial data mining. Google is pioneering what I believe will be the premier, accessible portal engine for distributed GIS. The googlebots are out there 24-7 finding content and cataloging it in a monster series of servers. Once googlebots are engineered to mine spatial content in our world, then we will experience of revolution in access to geographical information. This will be a massive test toward interoperability, service oriented architectures, and breaking down data and software walls. And, note, it was pure competition that created this, not a series of standards per se, or open source code, or committees, or the government. It was commerce for the consumer. It will be move toward transparency to our industry. It is happening now. The next six months will be unbelievable. More eyes than ever will be viewing geographical information in ways we could have never imagined.

Alex Philp
GCS Research LLC

http://www.directionsmag.com/letters.php?letter_id=191