The official blog for Google Maps
Golly Gee, look who's 3...
June 30, 2008
Posted by Mike Pegg, Product Marketing Manager
We're pretty excited about all of these birthdays that have been happening lately.
The Google Outreach program
just celebrated its first birthday, and
Google Maps Street View
is happy to also be going one year strong.
We're also pleased as punch to wish our pride and joy for geoweb developers everywhere, the
Google Maps API
, a happy
third
birthday. It was
June 29th, 2005,
but it seems like only yesterday that we were marvelling at what context the
Gmaps Pedometer
was giving us for our running routes or walk to work. Who can forget how many great real estate auctions we were finding with
2RealEstateAuctions
? Since then the API has been helping businesses like
Ace Hardware
map its store locations, and
Trulia
plot houses for sale. Thanks, Google Maps API, for making all of these great mashups and tools possible!
To mark the occasion we've created a
timeline mashup
of the
Google Maps Mania
blog, as well as the former
Google Maps API Blog
(now the
Google Geo Developers Blog
) to take you on a geolocated journey from June of 2005 to present. It will show you all of the fantastic things that people from all corners of the world have done with the Google Maps API. Stay tuned for a post over on the
Geo Developers Blog
which will help you to visualize time-based data on maps.
Mapping the Northern California wildfires
June 26, 2008
Posted by Matt Manolides, GIS Specialist
There have been many wildfires raging in Northern California in recent weeks, and with more dry weather and potential thunderstorms in the forecast, things are looking quite dangerous. According to the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
, there are currently 12,521 firefighters battling hundreds of fires which have scorched nearly 160,000 acres. To help citizens stay safe, the department has made an excellent
My Map
, plotting out the locations of all the fire, allowing anyone interested to find out where the danger zones are, which is extremely useful for everyone from residents to campers.
View Larger Map
Additionally, we have imagery courtesy of
MODIS Rapid Response Project at NASA/GSFC
available as a KML overlay, which you can
download
and display in Google Earth.
Happy First Birthday to Google Earth Outreach
June 26, 2008
Posted by Tanya Keen, Google Earth Outreach
Today marks the first birthday of the
US launch
of the
Google Earth Outreach program
. The program began as a 20% project by Googlers Rebecca Moore and Jenifer Austin Foulkes, who shared a vision of using technology like Google Earth to make the world a better place. In response to demand from non-profit organizations who wanted help using Google Earth and Maps to tell their story, their side project grew into a formal program. The Outreach website launched with teaching tutorials, a Google Earth Pro license grant program and a showcase gallery featuring great Google Earth layers created by people from around the world, and a new folder in the Google Earth layers panel called "Global Awareness" was created. From taking viewers on a virtual tour to taking them along on an expedition with a geoblog, groups have used Google Earth layers to share their compelling work in a geospatial context.
In the past year, we've more than doubled the number of layers in the Global Awareness folder, made the program available in seven languages, trained partners in nine countries, made it easier to create content in Google Earth with
Spreadsheet Mapper 2.0
and launched a new version of our site. Public benefit groups around the world have been busy creating phenomenal maps and posting them to our
Showcase Gallery
. Grants of Google Earth Pro have been issued to over 450 charitable organizations. Organizations are seeing the benefits of using mapping technology for public awareness and seeing the resulting impact in measurable terms. It's amazing to see what's transpired in just one year.
Below you'll find a video highlighting some of the great content from the past year, and
t
oday we've added the
Rosetta Project/Long Now Foundation's KML
, which allows you to explore information about endangered languages in Africa and the Americas. Take a look and join us in celebrating our first birthday!
Notes from the classroom: Exploring literary spaces via Google Earth
June 25, 2008
Posted by Jerome Burg, Retired English Teacher and creator of GoogleLitTrips.com
As I head to the Googleplex this week to speak with this year’s group of tech-savvy educators at the
Google Teacher Academy
, I wanted to share a bit about how I’ve found Google Earth useful for teaching literature.
Much of the world's greatest literature incorporates a literal journey as a metaphor representing universal experiences we share with the characters as we travel through our own life’s journeys.
The Odyssey,
Candide,
and
The Grapes of Wrath
immediately come to my mind.
Focusing on the real settings within these stories can often engage students in new ways that significantly enhance their empathy for the fictional characters and their various trials. Literature students have often been asked to mentally chart the characters' progress, but Google Earth can make this significantly more realistic and personal for them.
Compare these representations of Flagstaff, Arizona, a key location in John Steinbeck’s classic
The Grapes of Wrath
. With the imagery and 3D capabilities afforded by Google Earth, teachers and students no longer have to abstractly conceptualize the setting of a story. Instead, they now can experience a story's setting almost realistically, as if seeing it through the eyes of the characters. Students can achieve a special understanding of what it was like for the Joad family to gaze upon Flagstaff during their westward journey.
Both through
my website
and the enthusiastic messages I receive from teachers around the world, I’ve learned how clearly
Google Earth
helps students engage in the predicaments of the characters and develop empathy for their trials and tribulations; imagine being able to view the desolate terrain of the New Mexico desert in which the Joads’ car breaks down. One of the best parts about this virtual journey is that students literally get excited when they “see” the
connections between the literature they're reading and their own lives and the world as they know it.
Making your mark on the world
June 23, 2008
Posted by Lalitesh Katragadda, Software Engineer and Sanjay Jain, Product Manager
Have you ever wondered why some parts of the world don't have great maps and thought how nice it would be if they did? Building a map is an exceedingly complex process, and it is a challenge to reach all parts of the world. Today we unveiled
Google Map Maker
,
a new product that allows users to contribute and edit Maps data for regions around the world.
Google Map Maker is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to engage Google Maps users and equip them with an easy-to-use tool to build high quality maps of their neighborhoods, cities and countries. Map Maker allows you and your peers to add, edit and moderate most features you see on maps including roads, lakes, parks, points of interest, businesses, cities and localities. You will be able to trace many of these features using satellite images; as you trace, maps are immediately updated.
As of today, you can build maps in the countries of Cyprus, Iceland, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Caribbean nations of: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago. The existing mapping data for these countries could benefit tremendously from local knowledge and expertise that you and other map makers posses, and we're excited to see how you put that to use.
This product is a labor of love by many engineers based in Bangalore who have a desire to see the world mapped. Take a look at the before and after images from
the Mapplet
created to support relief efforts in Myanmar that
we shared with you
-- it was created with Map Maker!
Map of Wisconsin road closures
June 23, 2008
Posted by Timothy Vik, WisDOT State Traffic Operations Center
Due to the rain and flooding in Wisconsin, we at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's State Traffic Operations Center and Emergency Operation Center have utilized Google Maps to create a My Map to display up-to-date road closures due to flooding. The map has been viewed over 1.4 million times. Visitors to the map have left more than 300 comments providing additional information about road closures and flooding, allowing the map to have the most comprehensive information possible.
View Larger Map
The Presidential Showcase
June 18, 2008
Posted by Brittany Bohnet, Google Maps Special Projects
If you've
been following
politics (or our blog)
closely
this year, you may have seen some Google Maps mashups from the
Iowa Caucus
,
Super Tuesday
, and the
US state primaries
--including an extra special
primary map in Pennsylvania
. We've recently discovered several other elections map mashups on the web that are just as interesting
and we couldn't help but share.
In order to better showcase these maps to you, we've created a
Google Maps Elections Gallery
that will serve as a collection of the best political maps mashups during the US campaign season. Here's a sneak peek at what's inside:
Primary Results
: Take a look back in time as you view the final outcome of the United States primaries. Check results down to the county level and measure how close the final votes were between democratic candidates Clinton and Obama.
Fundrace
: The
Huffington Post
brings you a map that tracks campaign donors by party, candidate, and location. Already have the
Earth API
plug-in installed? Try switching on the Earth mode for an even richer experience!
Twitter
: Use the Twitter map to discover what people around the world are saying about the US elections.
Obama's Journey
/
McCain's Journey
: Follow Obama and McCain's lives, as written by Wikipedia. Whose will lead to the White House?
Search Queries
: Can search queries predict the elections? View the most popular candidate queries around the United States and discover historical trends up to six months back.
Campaign Trail
: A one-stop shop that showcases each candidate's next campaign stop.
Whether you're a citizen journalist, online news producer, or just love staying on top of the political news, you now have the opportunity to further engage yourself (and your readers) with the 2008 elections by adding any of these maps to your site.
To get the embeddable code for these maps, click the "Embed this map" link on any of the gallery pages. You will be taken to a new page where you can customize the size, title, and border of the map. Once you are happy with the parameters you've set, click on the "Get the Code" button and simply copy/paste the source code into the HTML of your website -- it's as simple as that.
Are you a developer? Browse through our
getting started guide
to view a list of free open source political content on the web. Use this content to come up with an elections mashup of your own. Once you're finished building, let us help you show it off to the world by submitting your map back to us at elections@google.com.
Labels
#streetview
#treasuremap
+1
3D
8bitmaps
Adwords Express
Africa
Amazon
Andorra
Android
api
Art Project
Audi
biking
Boost
Boulder
Brazil
Bulgaria
Business Photos
Business View
businesses
Canada
check-in
community
competition
contest
crisis response
Culture
custom maps
developer
Developers
directions
disaster response
discovery
earth outreach
education
Emmy Awards
Enterprise
Estonia
Europe
Explore
Fusion Tables
gadgets
Gibraltar
GMM
google
Google Earth
Google Earth Engine
Google Map Maker
Google Maps
Google Maps API
Google Maps Engine
Google Maps for Mobile
Google Maps Gallery
Google Maps Navigation
Google Maps Transit
Google Places
Google Plus
Google Search
Google Street View
google.org
Google+
googlenew
Grand Canyon
ground truth
Halloween
historical
history
holiday
Hotpot
Hungary
imager
imagery
Indoor Maps
iOS
iPhone
Iraq
Japan
Latitude
Latvia
layers
LBC
Lithuania
London
Making of Maps
Malaysia
Mall of America
Map Maker
Maps Blog
Maps Gallery
mapsgl
Matt Harding
Mexico
Mobile
Monticello
My Maps
my places
my tracks
National Geographic
navigation
new Google Maps
oblique imagery
ocean
offline maps
Olympics
Outreach
Pakistan
Panoramio
Parks Canada
Pegman
Photo Spheres
photo tours
photos
picasa
Polar Bears
Quiz
real estate
restaurants
road trips
Russia
Santa
Santa Tracker
search stories
SketchUp
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Sudan
space
Spain
sports
Street View
summer
SXSW
Tags
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson Foundation
Tip of the week
tips
tour guide
traffic
Train
Transit
travel
trees
Trekker
Trike
Trolley
U.S. National Park Service
Ukraine
University of Virginia
Valentine's Day
Veterans Day
Views
voice search
walking
Waze
weather
webgl
Your Timeline
zagat
Archive
2016
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Feed
Google
on
Follow @googlemaps
Follow
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
Follow
