Monday, June 16. 2008

Google Commissioned New Kenya Data for Google Maps

Ed Parsons noted the "interesting story" behind new data Google Maps for Kenya on his blog a few days ago. The data appeared just 10 months after the company opened the office in country.The story (Network World) is this:

The map was developed by a team of seven students from three Kenyan universities together with a team from India. Replacing a previously limited online map of four highways, the move has now placed Kenya on the level of other countries served by Google Maps.

I asked for "the rest of the story" and Ed obliged. In particular I wanted to know about who was behind the effort and who therefore owned the new detailed data. He responded: "Google commissioned the work and owns the data, and yes I think this is a big deal."

I think it's a big deal, too. Ed noted that this is not the first time Google has "commissioned" street level data nor will it be the last.

Green to stay on at NAVTEQ after acquisition?

I guess NAVTEQ CEO Judson Green is doing the circuit now that the Nokia/NAVTEQ deal looks like it'll go through. My colleague interviewed him last week and the Chicago Tribune spoke to him, too. Nothing too new in the story, but the "how long will he stay" question came up:

[Brandon] Dobell [of William Blair & Co. in Chicago] said Green might stay on for a year or so after the Nokia acquisition, then leave for another business or just focus on his music—the Navteq CEO is an avid jazz pianist.

When asked if he was planning to stay, Green praised the firm and its prospects.

"We have a very exciting future and we've got a great team and we're continuing to grow, so these are really exciting drivers for me," Green said.

Noise Maps

Perhaps its a European pet peave but I ran across a news story about maps used to show noise pollution in Wales. Then I decided to see where other municipalities were publishing noise maps. The tops list of noise maps in my Google query turned up a noticable list of mostly European sources:

Wales news story - but go directly to the municipal website for the maps.

Scottish noise maps

Daily Mail covers noise mapping in detail