The official blog for Google Maps
It's your world. Map it.
March 18, 2008
Posted by Ramesh Balakrishnan, Software Engineer
We realize that you know your neighborhood best. So to provide the most accurate maps possible, Google Maps is open to
user edits
. People have
moved markers
of their homes and businesses all around the U.S. and Australia, making Maps work even better.
And so we thought: Why stop there? Moving placemarks is just scratching the surface. After all, when a new place opens in your neighborhood or an old favorite changes its location, wouldn't be nice to have that change reflected on Maps immediately?
Now in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, you can log into your Google account to
edit a place
on the map. You can even mark that a business has closed to save someone an extra trip. Of course, we've taken steps to help protect accuracy -- for example, you'll still be able to see the original listing information along with the history of changes made. This video shows you how to get started:
Beyond editing existing information on the map, you can also
add new places
. If you search for a business, a landmark, or even a point of interest that doesn't already appear on Google Maps, you can add it for the world to see. Within a few seconds, your addition will be searchable by everyone. Missing your neighborhood soccer field? A favorite monument downtown? A newly opened clothing store? It's your world... you know best what needs to be mapped. Here's how:
March vector updates in Google Earth
March 14, 2008
Posted by Carmen Erni, GIS Specialist
Are you already planning your summer vacation? The new Google Earth updates can help you map out your plans. We've added roads in 58 countries in Africa, 32 in Asia, and 4 in the Caribbean -- now both Maps and Earth provide the same roads coverage.
We've also launched business listings layers for Brazil and a few cities in Russia to help you find the right restaurant or bank, for example, in case you crave a special type of food or you run out of cash. And traveling through Russia is even easier, thanks to the fact that the balloons have Cyrillic or Latin-transliterated addresses
(depending on the language of your desktop), so now you can read and pronounce your hotel's address.
The New Zealand tourism board also provided Google with detailed information on New Zealand airports, so planning a trip to Kiwi Land is easier than ever. You'll find the New Zealand airports layer under the New Zealand Tourism layer group inside the Gallery folder.
And last but not least, virtually fly to your destination and read interesting new Wikipedia articles and look at new Panoramio pictures. You have the choice of over 4 million pictures worldwide, with more added every day.
Have (even more) fun.
Organizing more than one world's information
March 13, 2008
Posted by Michael Weiss-Malik, Software Engineer
We like to think big. Vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big (to paraphrase one of my
favorite authors
). And thanks to the flexibility of Google Maps technology and the world wide web, we’ve been able to work at a universal scale (literally). We first brought you
Google Mars
and
Google Moon
. And then last year's release of
Sky in Google Earth
delivered night sky imagery to the masses via a downloadable application. But we didn’t want web-based users to be left out of that cosmic exploration experience.
And so I'm delighted to announce the launch of the web version of Google Sky, which turns your browser into a virtual telescope that can zoom and pan across the entire cosmos. You now have several ways to easily explore the universe:
Powerful search that lets you browse tens of thousands of named objects.
Three optical sky surveys that show you what your naked eye would see if it had a really good zoom lens. Try switching to infrared, microwave, ultraviolet, or x-ray to see the sky in a completely different light. Or blend between these views to create unique visualizations on the fly.
Galleries highlighting the best images from Hubble and many other telescopes.
Current planet positions and constellations.
Overlays of custom
KML
content. (Simply paste a
Sky KML
URL into the search box, just like on Google Maps.)
Last but not least, the Earth & Sky podcasts gallery is not to be missed, particularly for those who run a classroom.
All of this is accessible from any web browser, on any operating system, with no extra download required. And since staring up at the cosmos is an experience shared across the globe, we decided to make Google Sky truly worldwide, with 26 localized language editions (this marks our first Maps product to support right-to-left languages). Just visit
sky.google.com
to get started.
This release wouldn't have been possible without a lot of hard work from many people, including some
outside
of Google. Check out one team member's unique story
on the Official Google Blog
.
The Google Transit Earth Day challenge
March 11, 2008
Posted by Tom Sly, New Business Development Manager, Google Transit
I recently attended a conference for technical staff in the public transportation industry. I told them about the great progress Google Transit has been able to make in the past year:
integrating transit information directly into Google Maps by making stations and stops visible and clickable
promoting transit as an alternative each time we show driving directions in an area where we have transit data
expanding coverage from nine agencies in the U.S. to more than 30 agencies spanning three continents
But, of course, we don't do this on our own: we rely on transit agencies to share their data with us so that everyone — residents, tourists, and lifetime riders — can benefit from having the information at their fingertips. Taking public transport is a great option for people to reduce their impact on global warming, so I issued a challenge to those at the conference:
get your agency up and running
on Google Maps in time for April 22, 2008 — better known as Earth Day.
We've already had several agencies get in touch with us, but with over
200
agencies in the U.S. alone, we still have a lot of ground to cover. So now I'd like to extend this challenge to everyone: if your local agency isn't already
participating
, get in touch with them and let them know that you'd like to see their information on Google Maps.
Got 3D data?
March 4, 2008
Posted by Bruce Polderman, Product Manager
I'm pleased to announce that we've just launched the
Google Cities in 3D Program
, which invites cities, towns, and other local governments to share their 3D data with the public by adding a model of their city to
Google Earth
. With this new program we've made it simple for local governments to share their data with us and be included in the 3D Buildings layer of Google Earth.
A 3D model of a city is extremely useful to potential visitors, developers, investors, preservationists, property owners, businesses, public officials, and many other groups. By establishing a 3D representation of a city on Google Earth, local governments can more effectively engage the public and boost tourism by enabling prospective visitors to plan their visit in advance.
Prior to today, local governments could publish 3D building models to Google Earth via the
Google 3D Warehouse
. This new program expands on that approach and provides a more direct and efficient means of publishing larger datasets to Google Earth.
The Cities in 3D Program represents a continuation of our efforts to engage with content providers, including government agencies, and provide them with tools for making the information they produce more accessible to Internet users. Visit our
website
to watch a video highlighting the power of 3D!
Off to the races
March 4, 2008
Posted by Brittany Bohnet, Google Elections Team
As many poll-watchers know, this year's race for U.S. President is one of the closest in elections history. Today's primary races have the ability to change the course for both the Democratic and the Republican nominees.
To make it easier to track all the action,
we've decided to mash up all of the voting information that's out there to create
one mapping platform
for elections results -- all the way down to the precinct level.
Every state's voting data has been integrated into one
comprehensive map. Included in the map are results for all states that have already held their elections, as well as information about the primaries to come. To use the map, select a state and view results by party, by candidate, or even by precinct.
Tonight, we will be publishing live results from Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont, complete with total delegate counts by candidate so that you will be first to know the outcome of such important results.
Rather watch the map from your own website?
Embed this map
into any page on the web and keep tabs on the outcome.
Finding that free space
March 3, 2008
Posted by Lei Zhang, Software Engineer
I live in Santa Monica, so I've spent a lot of time driving around parking lots going in circles looking for an available space. If you live in a metropolitan area, you know how hard finding a parking spot can be. Don't you wish you knew which lots had available spaces ahead of time?
Google has just teamed up with
Santa Monica's Information Systems Department
to provide real-time data from the city's parking lots. Now, before I head out the door I can check the
Parking Information Mapplet
and know exactly where I can expect to find a space waiting for me. Adding the Mapplet takes just a few clicks. With it enabled, you can find the locations of Santa Monica's city-operated parking lots and get up to the minute information on how many free spaces they have. With this new tool in hand, we hope you'll spend a lot less time in the parking lot!
I also hope that this mapplet will inspire others to think of new and interesting ways to use
Mapplets
to communicate real-time information.
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