Google recently announced its Map Maker tool, (in the words of OSM) “a kind of faux Open Street Map.” On the surface, the idea is clear–have users make contributions, as they know local geography better than anybody else. An excerpt from the OSM blog post today:

Like Knol, the mooted ‘wikipedia killer’, Google refuse to acknowledge existing communities, trample on their hard work and lack the mindset to engage with an open project.

But, this really doesn’t matter.

What’s fascinating is that they haven’t set themselves up against OpenStreetMap so much but rather TeleAtlas/TomTom, NAVTEQ/Nokia and AND. This is really a swipe at things like TomTom’s MapShare(TM) and ANDs Map 2.0. The question is now going to be, when do they switch on editing of existing data markets, if at all? Only those with intimate knowledge of the contracts will know.

The fundamental reasons for OpenStreetMap remain intact and if anything are now stronger. At first glance it sounds like OpenStreetMap, until you realise that Google own that data you give them, there’s no community and you are unlikely to see use of the data in ‘creative, productive, or unexpected ways’.

The pattern with Google is by now well-understood. Given their massive scale, subsidizing such efforts is trivial. Gmail, Google Apps and other products follow this model. It won’t have any kind of material impact in the immediate future, and that’s why the US airline industry ignored jetBlue. Whoops.

Umibot’s not preaching conspiratorial here–what Google is doing is great for satisficing the masses–much of the nuance is lost, but in return millions of users get something they can use. Of course they don’t own that contribution and Google (and of course others exist) is able to build out more page views, resulting in more advertising, more revenue, and so on…

Urban Mapping now finds its first customer competing against our first product. It isn’t that Google can do neighborhoods ‘better’ than UMI (or anybody else), it’s the idea that Google doesn’t need anybody else to do it for them. In fact, they don’t need to do it themselves–throw it over to a fanatical user base, and watch them diligently work away, and allow the new Microsoft to reap the rewards. If Umibot were a thinking human, no doubt it would be saying “these guys are smart.”

Umibot’s crazy excited about bringing back the award-winning Panamap, and we’re a few steps closer. Panamap is now out on its own. Much happening behind the scenes, and more info to come soon…

Rafe Needleman’s Webware offers a concise overview of UMI’s neighborhood database product.

Urban Mapping’s Ian White will participate on a panel, Online Maps: Plotting the Direction of Local Search, at the annual SES Chicago Conference & Expo at the Chicago Hilton, December 3-7.

Urban Mapping seeks an inquisitive and capable entry-level researcher for a unique multidisciplinary role. Working with business and technical staff, we seek candidates who have proven themselves in conducting research through non-traditional and creative channels. You will support development of Urban Mapping’s print and digital products by taking guidance from product managers to identify, source, standardize and manage spatial data. You will use your technical skills to manipulate data, create reports and contribute to development of our home-grown tools.

Required skills include:

• 0-3 years professional experience
• Interest/background in geography, urban planning, cognitive psychology or computer science
• Strong computer skills (PC/Mac)
• Able to structure/perform complex web searches (think Google advanced search)
• RDBMS experience including basic SQL
• Detail-oriented, self-managed
• Clear, cogent written and oral communication skills.

We pride ourselves on working in a creative, entrepreneurially-driven environment. Our methods are novel, but our approach has yielded valuable insights and results. We are interested in candidates who have a solid technical foundation but want to apply these skills in a broader context.

Urban Mapping employs user-focused techniques to develop geo-spatial data products to industry and innovative maps and wayfinding-related tools for consumers.

To be considered for this position, please forward a resume and brief note speaking to your training and experience. Email to talent [at] urbanmapping [dot] com. Indicate “Geodata Analyst” in the subject line. Compensation is base salary, performance bonus and equity participation. No phone calls please! Urban Mapping employs user-focused techniques to develop geo-spatial data products to industry and innovative maps and wayfinding-related tools for consumers.

Ever since Ian immersed himself in this entrepreneurship thing, he’s spent a hell of a lot more time thinking about maps, geodata and all that goes along with it than he thought possible. The Panamap resulted from a fascination with an odd printing technique and mass info-complexity. The digital products UMI currently develops came from sheer need to *do* something. The ah-hah moment came sometime in 2005 at an Internet travel conference.

While carrying around one of the few remaining copies of the Panamap, somebody asked if the company had the neighborhood data in digital form. It wasn’t too long after that Ian began saying, “It’s the media, stupid.” Whenever people ask how the company was started, we return to the weary map. Their next question is “what happened?” to which the only answer is, “some people believe print is dead.”

Within that comment lies the interest–as a society, we have begun a generational period of shifting to a digital age. It will be another 15-30 years before we are really there–ebooks are nice ideas, but adoption is marginal at best. This isn’t going to change any time in the near future. The tactile is a fundamental to our experience. A conversation with Ted Stout got me thinking along these lines.

In a recent column in Metropolis Magazine, Henry Petroski argues that the printed book will endure because, well, because it has:

Still, the book is probably here to stay. Its resilience underscores what I call the power of maker tradition and user expectation. Proponents of electronic books argue that bound paper as we know it will eventually be replaced by newer technology, but that’s not likely to happen in the foreseeable future. The fact that some early e-books were designed to mimic the traditional reading experience by being about the same size as conventional titles and containing “pages” that “turn” emphasizes a kind of unwritten law of maker tradition: when replacing one technology with a newer one, the latter must resemble the former as much as possible.

Similarly, printed maps aren’t about to go out of style. The segment of the population that cries out for a techno-embedded solution is in the minority, but as in many other areas, the vocal minority (in this case the Digerati) expresses its will, somehow injecting this perspective.

What the Panamap can provide is a useful way for people to embrace interactivity without a chip (note to the Digerati: yes, interactivity can exist without silicon). Our excitement in this media stems from the fact that the user controls the nature of the engagement; the interactivity is directly controlled by a user, not an external interface (mouse, pointer, keyboard, etc…). The simplicity of the interface allows us to focus on a goal-seeking activity, not a process-oriented one.

Ian’s panel at the SXSW conference last month got him thinking on a post-modern GIS stream of consciousness sort-of-thing. The idea is this: everything whose location can be known will be known. Costs have fallen, technologies have evolved, and ubiquity is near. This mean the value and importance of attributes will continue to increase–tying location to metadata that is related to some asset–will broaden the appeal of spatial awareness. A simple example is the Empire State Building. We all know (or rather we can know) where it is. What we don’t know is hours of operation, handicap accessible entrances, admission fees to visit the observation deck. Tim O’Reilly riffs on this with the idea that Data is the Intel Inside.

Ian White will participate on the panel “Mapping: Where the F#*% Are We Now?” at SXSW in Austin, Texas, March 9-18, 2007.

Urban Mapping has been awarded a 2004 GOOD DESIGN Award from the Chicago Athenaeum.

Urban Mapping’s Panamap featured in MASA ACHER (Israel) magazine.