Google Maps and Vacations

I work for Google. I was hired to work for AdWords, but recently, I got the chance to jump into a small group that's working on a Google Maps project. Some engineers in Bangalore set up a tool that makes drawing maps (digitizing) very simple.

So, a small group (3 actually) started, a few months ago, a project to draw maps for India. At that time, there were NO maps for India, available. Well, there are maps, but you have to pay for them, and of course there is Wikimapia.com, which is great, but not 'reliable maps,' more like Google Earth, and mapmyindia.com, but still not very good. Not good enough for what we want to do anyway.

Now Google is brilliant (it is a living thing) and we like to make money, and make our users happy. Making maps available online, and on your mobile phone is a nice thing. We would be able to give you detailed directions (which roads to take, which roads are one-ways and which roads go where, and so on) to you while you are in your car, driving to anywhere.

So that's how this team got started. Its very exciting. A few of us were invited to help draw cities we came from. I drew Bombay. It was awesome. We used the same satellite imagery that you see in Google Earth, and marked locations. It was like going home.

We've finished drawing all the big cities. I'm now drawing Jaisalmer, all alone. Good fun. Have never been there, but I know the names of the streets now...

Well, so this project is growing, and last week, I joined the team full time. I'm helping running the show... and its gorgeous fun. Look up your city.

There's lots more actually. A couple of months ago, after we launched Maps India, we had a nasty shock. Yahoo! without any warning, launched www.maps.yahoo.co.in. And with lots more maps than we had been able to draw. Though, of course, those maps had just been bought from other sources. They hadn't drawn it themselves, like we are. Our content is dead authentic, and in great detail.

So we're on a hectic but good journey of drawing everything.... small towns, tiny roads, everything. Everywhere. I think our maps in many cities are much better than Yahoo!'s. Though, ours have many errors too. If you find any, I'd be glad to have them corrected.

We have a long way to go. And many places to go to.
Check out Bombay. The 'Hybrid' view, will show you the map atop the Satellite Images.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=mumbai&ie=UTF8&ll=19.056439,72.849312&spn=0.086968,0.138702&z=13&iwloc=addr&om=1

PS: Also check out Gooogle Earth's latest version. You can upload pictures of places. It's stunning.

So, coming back to where I was, I was saying that there are many places we are going to get to. But, in the meantime, I'm going on a week long holiday. First, to Panchgani for the weekend, and then to Bombay for Melly's shaadi. Woooooohooooooooooo.