Dare is right about mapping and Web 2.0’s rumored death

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I was just catching up on my feeds (my feed blog has TONS of great stuff — I know you all aren’t reading it, but there’s some killer tech stuff there that you won’t find on Digg or TechMeme).

But, while doing that I ran across this item by Dare Obasanjo: Google MyMaps vs. Frappr: A Feature Isn’t a Business.

Oh, I totally agree.

Before I go on, I’m sorry that I didn’t note that Microsoft’s Virtual Earth had Google’s new feature before it did. My bad. and it’s good of Dare to call us on that. Which one is better? I need to play more before making such a judgment.

But, I saw Frappr last year and didn’t hype it up, even though it was a feature I desperately wanted on mapping services. Why? Cause I knew the big boys were already working on stuff like that and even if they weren’t it was too obvious a feature.

Just like I expect that some day I’ll be able to put a little review of my favorite sushi restaurants right on top of maps. I’m shocked, actually, that that feature hasn’t yet been delivered by Yahoo, Microsoft, or Google.

There are just some features that are OBVIOUSLY going to be pulled into the big company’s yard at some point (and, will work better if they are — did you miss the massive data centers that Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google are building around the world?).

I think it’s TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE to use this trend, though, to predict the death of Web 2.0. If you think Web 2.0 is about building features that’ll be pulled into Google or Microsoft then you are missing the bigger trend here.

That said, there’s plenty of companies who are developing features and hoping to get bought. I saw several at the Under the Radar conference a week ago. I generally didn’t hype them up either. I’d rather hype up something like Concept Share, which goes beyond just a feature and into a total system that adds value to designers’ lives.

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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10 thoughts on “Dare is right about mapping and Web 2.0’s rumored death”

  1. Good post, but I don’t understand what you mean about not being able to put reviews on top of maps. On the Google MyMaps you can put a marker on the restaurant and type in whatever text you want in the marker balloon – reviews, whatever. You can also put a photo and/or a YouTube video so supplement the review.

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  2. Good post, but I don’t understand what you mean about not being able to put reviews on top of maps. On the Google MyMaps you can put a marker on the restaurant and type in whatever text you want in the marker balloon – reviews, whatever. You can also put a photo and/or a YouTube video so supplement the review.

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  5. I wish MS would make it more convenient, but you can write your own reviews today for items that come up in a map search. I searched for restaurants in Half Moon Bay, found the sushi one at 696 Mill St and noticed a new “details” link which brings up JudysBook reviews, with a an option to “write review”. Pretty neat – they’re getting there. http://maps.live.com/localsearch/details.aspx?lid=YN113x1697915 By the way, it looks like you’ve got a decent sushi joint out there Robert!

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  6. I wish MS would make it more convenient, but you can write your own reviews today for items that come up in a map search. I searched for restaurants in Half Moon Bay, found the sushi one at 696 Mill St and noticed a new “details” link which brings up JudysBook reviews, with a an option to “write review”. Pretty neat – they’re getting there. http://maps.live.com/localsearch/details.aspx?lid=YN113x1697915 By the way, it looks like you’ve got a decent sushi joint out there Robert!

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  9. Robert – that’s an “x” between YN113 and 1697915. WordPress is automatically inserting a multiplication character instead, which is causing the link to break.

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  10. Robert – that’s an “x” between YN113 and 1697915. WordPress is automatically inserting a multiplication character instead, which is causing the link to break.

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