When I first heard that Google was going to map India using vans, I was surprised…..I mean even mapping a city in India would take for ages given that they have no accurate public data to access and they would have to keep driving forever in the traffic to do the mapping themselves. But Google is smarter than that, they are going to use the best resource from India, millions of Indians, to create the maps for them with the Google Internet Bus initiative.
With people getting educated about internet, maps and map making, it will sure be exciting for them to create maps of their neighbourhood. It brings with it an excitement that is akin to what one experienced when one first created an email id or got exposed to a chat tool or even Orkut. I remember how hooked I was in the first 10 days, I spent most of my time awake glued to my laptop and this is exactly what they are counting on, I guess !
They have first started in Kerala…maybe because of the google team using this as an excuse to get ayurvedic massages and boat-house stays while they are touring :D or maybe because of the browsing stats from Kerala!
I am excited, really excited to see the power of user-generated content from a country with millions of users (yes, yes, we have more than a billion people but not all of them use Google, right ?)...and am keeping my fingers crossed....
Update 1:
The bus has apparently already toured Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Did anyone see it, take a tour ? Let me know !
Update 2, as on 18 Dec:
I read another article on this subject and I find the technique of using landmarks for giving directions simply brilliant especially in a place like India where street names have very less value unless it is a prominent one (like Mount Road, CP Ramaswamy road in Chennai). I thought about the street where my school is located and I think it is 4th trust cross street but I am not sure and I went to this school for 12 years ! But everyone in Mandaveli knows where St.John's is and that will definitely be used for giving directions.
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Website Hit Counter I had decided to have a counter only after I hit a 1000 views and since it happened last week (as on 14 Dec 2009), now is the time to see some stats :)
How do you get ideas for the posts so frequently in your blog ??
ReplyDeleteRoom pottu yosippaingalo ???
Namakku dhan thonave mattengudhu ... (Perumoochu) ... :)
@Gokul
ReplyDeletescene podanumna (goundamani stylela) - naan idea depot, idea complex, idea godown, lorrya ulla vittu apdiye allikalam :D
unmaya sollanumna - naan pakardhu, kekardhu, panradhu ellathayum pathi enakku pesanum, pesa al matala, adhan blog :D
tip kudukanumna - read, read a lot, the more you read, the more you learn, think and hence write
complimentku nandri :)
A good one,Im nt sure about whether they strted out in kerala first.their website says they started out in tamilnadu then andra..check it out :D
ReplyDeleteIts quiet an old news.. they started this from TN only i guess.
ReplyDeleteI recommend google to look at your posts and make u as their brand ambassdor :)
Maps and Indians doesn't go togther well!! If you ask directions on the road ppl are too egoistic to say they don't know (or enthusiastic to help you !!!!) they will randomly point you to some location.
@Gautam
ReplyDeleteyup, thats right, thats why I added an update.
@Bharath
keeping track of Google has become one of my passtime activities....ellathalayum kala vekkara, ellarayum use panra, kasu mattum Googleku poradhu...enna oru business model..ada..ada..
@Bharath
ReplyDeleteforgot to respond to the other part of your comment - What you say is completely true. The first good map I saw of India was last year in Canada (a colleague had it) and I got all excited (much to his surprise). But with travel and out door activities increasing at an exponential rate in India, I am sure maps will come in demand since the current generation is absorbing it like a sponge. I see even real estate vendors using google maps to show the location.
ok Rightu :-) romba padikkareenga
ReplyDelete