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Google Maps' Moat

justinobeirne.com

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Re: Google Maps' Moat

#221

Post by adjkant »

tatersolid wrote: post #200
Splines wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they understood the economics of depending on an external source for a core part of their business. Much like Netflix, they understood that the way forward was to generate their own content.

Then why is Netflix depending on AWS for the core of their business (their delivery platform)? Prime video is their main competitor. It’s like UPS renting its trucks from fedEx.

Generating their own content and being fully self-sufficient are two different things. It's not like Amazon can claim all of the Netflix Original Series as theirs. I think you're trying to die on a technical hill in opposition to a non-tech point. That's not the point the post is making.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#222

Post by snowpanda »

adrianN wrote: post #214
4684499 wrote: post #48

I can tell Google is pretty upset that they don't have real time cams everywhere.

That's the real reason why they invest so much in self-driving cars. It'll be just millions and millions of eyes for them.

Makes me wonder what their end goal is. It's a bit unnerving.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#223

Post by saagarjha »

scooter_de wrote: post #126

The problem of "under addressed" places in the world is addressed (no pun intended) by several companies. Eg. What3Words (w3w.co) has created a grit of 3mx3m squares which cover the entire planet. Each of this squares is identified by three words. Post/Mail organizations in several countries already accept those addresses. Google also has the OLC (Open Location Code) to address an area of adjustable size on earth. I…

While the concept is interesting, the issue I have with What3Words is that they force you to use their service to figure out what an address actually means. In other words, you can't use it at all without being bound to their whims. Kind of a big deal when working with something as open and public and universal as addresses.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#224

Post by saagarjha »

djsumdog wrote: post #171
encoderer wrote: post #43

I recently switched to Apple maps primary for car play after 10+ years. I haven’t looked back. Building outlines are not much of a moat for me.

I was thinking the same thing of "who cares." I take the train and walk a lot more than I drive. I need street names, and GMaps have made them harder and harder to see for years: https://www.justinobeirne.com/what-happened-to-google-maps/ I gotta pinch zoom all the way in, jiggle the map around a bunch, just to see street names. It's annoying as fuck since it's the most important thing on the map when walking in a ci…

> I was thinking the same thing of "who cares."

> I take the train and walk a lot more than I drive.

Intersting, I have the opposite opinion precisely because I walk to most places. Building outlines give you a good idea of where you can walk–often taking the Manhattan path through a city is suboptimal, and you can cut through blocks based on what's in them. Building outlines let you know if there are alleyways that you can go through.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#225

Post by ggg9990 »

tatersolid wrote: post #200
Splines wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they understood the economics of depending on an external source for a core part of their business. Much like Netflix, they understood that the way forward was to generate their own content.

Then why is Netflix depending on AWS for the core of their business (their delivery platform)? Prime video is their main competitor. It’s like UPS renting its trucks from fedEx.

Netflix's AWS purchases are commodity -- their customers would not suffer if they migrated away from AWS, either in product quality or price. Not so for Apple Maps and TomTom.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#226

Post by mooneater »

I commented on this on HN 8 years ago -- I said Google Building Maker looks to be "providing an ideal training set for training machine learning algorithms to automatically extract 3D models from aerial photos". That may be the key to this building detail.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=879519

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#227

Post by saagarjha »

tatersolid wrote: post #200
Splines wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they understood the economics of depending on an external source for a core part of their business. Much like Netflix, they understood that the way forward was to generate their own content.

Then why is Netflix depending on AWS for the core of their business (their delivery platform)? Prime video is their main competitor. It’s like UPS renting its trucks from fedEx.

> Prime video is their main competitor.

They have a gentleman's agreement with Amazon–like Apple does with Samsung. It's mutually beneficial for both parties so there's no point antagonizing each other.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#228

Post by nealmueller »

City data is improving. Wilderness data is poor. Ocean data is worst. Satellite view is not what we think it is. Oceanic satellite view is not imagery, but just blue paint. If it were imagery it'd show the Arctic as white. It's been white for 700,000 years. It's melting fast, but none of the mapping technology shows that, which makes it hard for us to protect the earth. fixmaps.org (my site)

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#229

Post by shubhamjain »

sytelus wrote: post #142

Many people don't realize why Google maps are so much better than anything out there. I would actually give lot of credit to Marissa Mayer who suddenly became in charge of maps from otherwise more higher position. Thanks to her influence in Google SLT and ability to make impressive arguments, she was able to make a case for maps as core pillar in Google's offering and consequently obtain huge investment and large tal…

It's interesting how Google's projects don't spell financial returns immediately but a few years hence, they are the dominant player in that field. Management deserves credit for nurturing these project but it has always been characteristic of Google to support ambitious ideas.

Google Maps was more ready than anyone else to ride the smartphone explosion. I guess they will also be more ready than everyone to cash on self-driving cars, Advanced AI, VR, and maybe youth-enhancing drugs too.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#230

Post by snowpanda »

freehunter wrote: post #95
mythrwy wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well said. It kills an old Core2 laptop I have. Literally crashes Linux. My fault of course for using that laptop, but sometimes I forget because it basically works for most other things.

I stopped using Google Maps on the desktop a while back because it would kill a octo-core AMD system with 12GB of RAM in Chrome. Bing Maps might not be better as a map, but the best map is the one that loads and lets you scroll, right? I switch to Apple Maps on mobile when Google stopped letting me search for directions without signing in. Incredible piece of technology, destroyed by real bad product decisions.

Could whoever disagreed with the person above me please articulate themselves as to why? I found it to hold a fair point. Just curious why these kind of comments aren't welcome.
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