We Want Maps

September 3, 2007 - 11:30 AM by

Why are there Google/Yahoo/Microsoft maps for most of the developed world and not for Israel? Yes, Israel is a small country, and everyone thinks they know how to get to everywhere, but map mash-ups are much more than about finding directions; it is about personalizing maps, sharing them and adding tools developed by 3rd parties. Many of us geo-tag our flickr photos but we can’t geo-tag in Israel to street level, like we can in Paris, because there are no yahoo maps for Israel.

…an indignant Arnon Kohavi, founder of WeFi mapping company, blogs.

Isn’t it about time that Israel adapts the Web 2.0 model for maps and allows start-up, users and developers free access to maps like the rest of the world? It is not only good for consumers; it is crucial for the growth of expertise in mapping that will help Israeli start-ups succeed worldwide, where map mash-up is common practice. Google, are you coming?

YEAH! REVOLUTION!

Read here for details…

Tags: • Category: A New Reality, Blogging, Technology 

Comments

4 Comments on We Want Maps

  1. Steve on Mon, Sep 3rd 2007 8:10 PM

    2. I am worried that Google Earth might be dangerous for America, but certainly for Israel there are security concerns that must be taken into account.

  2. Izzy Bee on Tue, Sep 4th 2007 11:33 AM

    3. Surely the IDF prefers that such precise pictorial detail not be readily available on line to potential terrorists and so keeps the street-level camera footage classified. I wouldn’t hold my breath til we get this facility….Blame it on “the situation”

  3. Stephanie on Tue, Sep 4th 2007 1:10 PM

    4. Somehow, i think that a map directory with info on getting from Dizengoff to Sheinkin won’t be divulging state secrets…hmmm???

  4. Izzy Bee on Wed, Sep 5th 2007 10:16 AM

    5. Another pothole on the access route to good e-maps in this country is that many roads, at least in Jerusalem, constantly change. One-way systems are inflicted, exits are blocked, never with warning. It would probably make a computerized system short out.
    Kobi Bartov, the bureaucrat known as the car czar, is not allowed to
    pass a law preventing private cars on downtown Jerusalem, though that would be his ideal. ” What I can do is to make life so miserable for the drivers, they will eventually leave their cars at home and come by bus,” he has admited. Oy ve.

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