Google Maps Update

There is plenty of discussion out there about Google's new MyMaps feature - providing a number of new features including polygon drawing (similar to Ask's) and publication (similar functionally to Microsoft's ability to store collection in a scratch pad and share them). Google has created a nice pallet of push pins to go along with the new application of their mapping technology:

In terms of execution, I think this is pretty nice. However, the discussion that has surfaced around this story seems to be focused on the impact that Google's offering has on the many third party sites that have offered this type of capability backed by Google's map API. Mashable states:

But in another sense, it’s a shame that Google would launch such a product: startups like Platial and Frappr, not to mention thousands of smaller sites, have built businesses around social maps (provided by Google Maps, Yahoo Maps or both). By providing its own service, Google has instantly killed off at least a few hundred of those mashed-up tools.

The weakness of the mashup/web 2.0 model has always been pretty salient - if you base your application on top of a (large) third party API, they could easily come and eat you for lunch. In some sense, one of the roles that an API has is to outsource the creative brainstorming around some data and see which of the ideas that spring up is the best. You then want to capitalize on this idea.

That being said, when a giant enters a space like this, while it validates the innovations that have gone before it, it will still have a lot to learn about the details. Anthony Zetti of Click2Map adds in a comment on Mashable that Google's move will force them to be better and to continue to innovate.

Om Malik and others continue the discussion.

Comments

[Walter]

Reminds me of the Dashboard/Konfabulator debate from 2004...

http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/dashboard_vs_konfabulator

[Vincent Glennon]

I have a map site at http://useamap.com which I do not believe will be affected by google's decision. Google will not try to swamp out its community of developers as they realise that the developers can quickly change over to another mapping source like Virtual Earth. Instead, in my opinion, they watch how the community grows, and picks what it considers as the most useful tools created. But, and this is big, every serious mashup provides people with a specific use, and Google can only sample these services.