Google Lat Long

Calling all business owners

February 13, 2009

As an avid Google Maps user, I find myself turning to the map to search for increasingly varied types of local information. From simply locating an address to looking for a very specific type of business, I always check the map first.

In fact, Google Maps was the only way I was able to find Ski Guides Hawaii, a small ski and snowboard rental operation that rents equipment to those looking for the ultimate adventure--skiing on the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii. When I arrived to pick up my skis, the owner was amazed to hear that I'd found him on Google Maps. Like many business owners, he didn't know about Local Business Center or realize that he could edit his listing on Google Maps.

Local Business Center allows business owners to edit the content of their existing listing, or to add a brand new listing to Google's local database. By ensuring that basic information is up-to-date and providing additional details, like photos, hours, and coupons, business owners can stand out on the map to attract more customers. To make the process even easier, we've put together a getting started video that walks through the sign up process and benefits of Local Business Center. Enjoy, and share with your entrepreneurial friends!

Posted by Laura Melahn, Associate Product Marketing Manager

Tour 3D models in the new Ocean layer

February 12, 2009

[Cross-posted with the SketchUp blog]
exciting releaseGoogle Earth 5.0Oceandownload the kml fileTitanicBatttleship BismarkAquarius underwater laboratory,

Google Earth - Ocean Layer collection

Posted by Adam Hecht, 3D Data Specialist

Happy trails with My Tracks

February 12, 2009

Last week you heard about the new GPS track functionality in Google Earth 5.0. Well, you now have another way to record and visualize your outdoor activities with today's launch of My Tracks. My Tracks is an application for Android-powered phones such as the T-Mobile G1 that makes use of the phone's built-in GPS to let you record your adventures, which you can then visualize and share using Google Maps. You can find out more about My Tracks in the video below and over on the Official Google Blog.

Posted by Dylan Casey, Product Manager and former professional cyclist

Australian fires update

February 11, 2009

The Google Australia Blog continues to update its map of the Victoria fires, and it now includes recent satellite imagery from the Modis Rapid Response project at NASA/GSFC. You can also view the map, further information about the fires, and recent news on this site.

Posted by Elaine Filadelfo, Lat Long Blog Team

Mapping the Australian fires

February 8, 2009

Cross-posted from the Google Australia Blog. Updates will be posted on the Google Australia Blog. --Ed.
Over the weekend, a terrible bushfire tragedy has been unfolding in Victoria, Australia.

We've today pulled together a Flash Map, containing the latest up-to-date information about fire locations and their status from the Country Fire Authority (CFA). The Flash Map is updated in real-time from the CFA website via an RSS feed. We hope that it's of some use to people who may be affected, to emergency services personnel, and that it takes some load off other websites which are being inundated. The map certainly makes the scale of this disaster immediately apparent.

Update at 6:10pm Victoria time: To explain the map, the number in each marker shows the number of fires at the location. A green marker means the area is called "safe" by the CFA. Yellow means "controlled". Orange means "contained". Red means "going".

Update at 8:45pm. Address search functionality added.

Victoria Fires Map


	Gadgets powered by Google

If you want to embed a gadget containing this map on your website, you can do so by clicking here.

We're working to incorporate additional bushfire information into the map and will let you know of any additional updates on this blog.

There's a lot of additional information on the web about the location and status of fires and road closures, and what to do to keep safe. Due to traffic load, please only visit the first three sites below if your personal safety is potentially impacted by the fires.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment has more information on major fires on public land.
The CFA have incident reports (this is the source for the Flash Map)
VicRoads has information about road closures.
V-Line has information about rail closures.
The teams at news.com.au and theage.com.au have created useful My Maps on Google Maps, containing news and information about major fires and casualties.

Our thoughts go out to all those affected by this tragedy, and our thanks to the brave members of the Victorian police, Country Fire Authority and emergency services who are working so hard to save lives.

Posted by Alan Noble, Raul Vera and Pamela Fox, Google Engineering

See your friends on a map with Google Latitude

February 6, 2009

I'm a pretty spontaneous gal; I moved to London a few months ago just to see what it was like [for those of you wondering, this side of the pond is brilliant!]. This personality trait has made it difficult to keep in touch with my friends, which is why I'm so excited about Google Latitude. Latitude is a new feature for Google Maps for mobile (and an iGoogle gadget using Google Maps), which allows you to share your location with the friends you choose. You can get an idea of where they are and what they are up to, and easily keep in touch with them.

A couple of weeks back I decided--last-minute as usual--to hop on a plane to Washington D.C. to take in the Inauguration. I wasn't entirely sure where I'd stay or whom I'd run into during my patriotic ex-pat frenzy, but shortly after my arrival I got an email from Steve Lee (a Google Mountain View Product Manager) that said "You are in DC? Me too! How long are you in town? Let's meet up!"

Steve's a pretty smart guy, but he doesn't have ESP -- it was Google Maps for mobile's new Latitude feature that made this cross-the-pond meetup possible. I had shared my location with Steve on Latitude, so he just opened up Google Maps on his phone and saw my new location.

Thanks to Latitude, I feel connected to the people I care about no matter where I am. I can be spontaneous and still have a great time with the friends I love all around the world. Be spontaneous! Try Google Latitude by visiting google.com/latitude from your phone browser or PC browser. You can control your location and who gets to see it; to learn more about the privacy features, check out this video.

To find out more about Google Latitude, check out this post on the Google Mobile blog and watch this demo video:

Posted by Sara Rowghani, Product Marketing Manager, Google UK

Taking in the view: Introducing Google's Imagery Partner Program

February 5, 2009

When people think about Google Earth, they often think satellite imagery. Yet, since the early days of Google Earth, we've been working with local governments and other public sector organizations to add their aerial imagery as well. Thanks to this data sharing, we're able to offer our users a more current representation of thousands of communities and a higher resolution view of countless geographic features. With this week's launch of the historical imagery feature in Google Earth, we're now able to partner with public sector organizations and other imagery content providers to present users a view of their community or geographic features, such as mountains or lakes, evolving over time.

For organizations that would like to share their aerial imagery, we’ve just put out the welcome mat — a new website for our Imagery Partner Program where you can learn the ins and outs of adding your organization’s imagery to Google's services. As you'll see, we've learned from our partnerships with many governments and have structured this program to make it as easy as possible for your organization to license and deliver your data to Google. Wondering what aerial imagery formats we welcome or how we handle data transfer or other details? Visit the site and check out the FAQ.

Now that we've expanded the number of partner programs we offer, which already include the Cities in 3D Program and Google Transit Partner Program, we want to make it easier for you and your colleagues to learn and stay informed about all the ways you can add your map content to Google's services. Check out our new site for Map Content Partners, with the easy to remember URL, google.com/mapcontent, and spread the word.

Posted by Scott Ciabattari, Content Partnerships

Calling all business owners

Tour 3D models in the new Ocean layer

Happy trails with My Tracks

Australian fires update

Mapping the Australian fires

See your friends on a map with Google Latitude

Taking in the view: Introducing Google's Imagery Partner Program

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