Google’s Maps – a very functional, often inaccurate mapping program is now using the satellite images from Keyhole, acquired last year by Google, to supplement their offerings. To the right, I’ve added a map of the Lake Union and University District areas of Seattle, WA in both formats.
Google maps has also been recently added to Craigslist postings for apartments and other geographical classifieds, which has surely been boosting their page views and general awareness of the service. Sadly, this reveals many flaws in Google’s mapping system as hundreds of posts contain “Yahoo! map is accurate, Google isn’t.” Hopefully, Google will get their act together on this issue quickly.
In other map-related news, Grumpus from Cre8asite forums (where I was recently made a moderator) has posted a fantastic analogy of the web as a system of roads and cities. He touches lightly on the similiarity between small roads and big highways and how they can make a small town more important (just as a strong link can boost the importance of an unknown site). In the near future, I hope to create a graphic or animation illustrating this point more directly. Kudos to Grumpus for being the first to recognize the many ways in which the two ideas mesh.
