One of the innovations that differentiated Google Maps location search platform from the conventional online maps is the Street View technology, which features panoramic views of the search targets. The map goes beyond displaying a dot, it shows the user the actual appearance of the place and often the target of search itself.
The Street View tool was developed exclusively by Google. Specially adapted cars with mounted cameras, tricycles, snowmobiles were making pictures of places. Additional technologies, like face blurring, helped to decrease the resolution and incorporate the pictures into Google Maps. A lot of work, but it was worth it. The product is helpful not only to individuals, but also to businesses. For example, real estate brokers now have the images of the properties at a mouse click.
Despite the utility of Street View technology, there are several issues with the product which may block its penetration to some areas:
1) Privacy. Probably the biggest and the most disturbing issue for Google. It may seem funny, but some of the images were found "to show men leaving strip clubs, protesters at an abortion clinic, sunbathers in bikinis, cottagers at public parks, people picking up prostitutes and people engaging in activities visible from public property in which they do not wish to be seen publicly".
2) Appearance. People complain that some places are just not photogenic at the time of filming :) Early spring is not the best time to make photos of Saskatoon in Canada. The unfavorable image of the city may have a wrong impression on people who have never been there. "For Google to record its images of the city at this most visually unappealing time of year is like photographing a beautiful woman who has just awakened from a six-month coma", MacPherson, Les (28 March 2009), Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Many pictures had to be re-taken by Google just for that reason.
3) Security. Apparently some pictures were taken to display security-sensitive areas, like military bases and police stations. Those had to be removed immediately upon request.
To address the above, Google is already using certain techniques, like face-blurring technology and lower camera height. However, some countries, like Denmark, are not yet ready to display their lives online with no apparent consent. Unreasonable to me, how would Google image differ from a random photo taken by a photographer??? Would a photographer have to pay Mr. Peck 7,000 quid???
"On an evening in August 1995, a 42-year-old called Geoffrey Peck attempted suicide by cutting his wrists with a kitchen knife while on Brentwood High Street in Essex, England. CCTV cameras caught the action, the council's CCTV operator alerted the police and the police intervened. Peck lived. But still images from the CCTV footage were sold by the local council to the media. Peck took his complaint as far as the European Court of Human Rights and won. Peck won damages of £7,000."
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
My perception on Microsoft standing nowadays
First of all, it is quite difficult for me to impartially judge the current standing of Microsoft because I am biased. And not in Microsoft's favor. The experience of using Win Vista rendered me from a satisfied loyal customer into Not a Big Fan.
Nevertheless, Microsoft is a software veteran. It is obvious that such small failures like Vista cannot undermine the space it occupies on the market. Microsoft holds over thirty different products, with some of them being extremely popular and used worldwide both by the individuals and businesses. The company tried itself in different spheres like hardware, search engine, internet portal, but it mostly associates with the operating system in consumer minds.
I did not count, but probably 99% of users had a PC until very very recently. Now it's a little bit less. The amazing breakthroughs by Apple do play a role, despite the fact that in general people are very resistant to change. Especially if it is a cardinal change. I believe that switching to a different operating system fits the profile. Of course, businesses do not switch to Apple overnight, unless it is an architecture firm, but the tendency is evident. Apple becomes more appealing to the individuals because of its high quality products coupled with innovative design.
The history of successful regular launches is definitely on the Microsoft's side. As we were taught on a Financial Accounting class, perpetuity cannot be correctly predicted. Yet, I do believe nothing would substantially change for Microsoft in 5-8 years from now, would it preserve its rate of product launches.
Nevertheless, Microsoft is a software veteran. It is obvious that such small failures like Vista cannot undermine the space it occupies on the market. Microsoft holds over thirty different products, with some of them being extremely popular and used worldwide both by the individuals and businesses. The company tried itself in different spheres like hardware, search engine, internet portal, but it mostly associates with the operating system in consumer minds.
I did not count, but probably 99% of users had a PC until very very recently. Now it's a little bit less. The amazing breakthroughs by Apple do play a role, despite the fact that in general people are very resistant to change. Especially if it is a cardinal change. I believe that switching to a different operating system fits the profile. Of course, businesses do not switch to Apple overnight, unless it is an architecture firm, but the tendency is evident. Apple becomes more appealing to the individuals because of its high quality products coupled with innovative design.
The history of successful regular launches is definitely on the Microsoft's side. As we were taught on a Financial Accounting class, perpetuity cannot be correctly predicted. Yet, I do believe nothing would substantially change for Microsoft in 5-8 years from now, would it preserve its rate of product launches.
Please Rob Me dot com
Just came across an interesting site that may be relevant to our last class.
The authors of Please Rob Me dot com try to raise awareness on potential drawbacks of over-sharing personal information. Indeed, when people inform the whole world that they are in a restaurant/cinema/club/went on vacation/etc. via Foursquare, most likely they are at those places and not at home. Guess who can take advantage of this!?
I do believe that high profile thieves would be okay without the location hints. They do their homework well and, most likely, know the schedule of the victim better than the victim himself. However, for a young thief, someone who is just at the begging of his career, Foursquare can be a priceless source of information.
One way to avoid unexpected guests when you are not at home, just put something like this... Went on vacation to Mallorca BUT left my angry super dangerous pitbull at home.
The authors of Please Rob Me dot com try to raise awareness on potential drawbacks of over-sharing personal information. Indeed, when people inform the whole world that they are in a restaurant/cinema/club/went on vacation/etc. via Foursquare, most likely they are at those places and not at home. Guess who can take advantage of this!?
I do believe that high profile thieves would be okay without the location hints. They do their homework well and, most likely, know the schedule of the victim better than the victim himself. However, for a young thief, someone who is just at the begging of his career, Foursquare can be a priceless source of information.
One way to avoid unexpected guests when you are not at home, just put something like this... Went on vacation to Mallorca BUT left my angry super dangerous pitbull at home.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Competition is not sleeping
There is a real and direct threat to FourSquare coming from social networking website giant - Facebook.
Facebook is launching location-based status feature and already signed-up a partnership with McDonalds. Refer to the AdAge for more information here.
Is the Facebook monster going to swallow our little poor Foursquare? Personally, I am not sure. From one side, Facebook is much more popular at this time. It already has a huge clientele. No need to convince people to sign in. Yet, FourSquare does have an element of uniqueness with its game around checking-ins. However, it is quite obvious that Facebook's motion will at some point touch FourSquare, reducing its rates of growth.
Facebook is launching location-based status feature and already signed-up a partnership with McDonalds. Refer to the AdAge for more information here.
Is the Facebook monster going to swallow our little poor Foursquare? Personally, I am not sure. From one side, Facebook is much more popular at this time. It already has a huge clientele. No need to convince people to sign in. Yet, FourSquare does have an element of uniqueness with its game around checking-ins. However, it is quite obvious that Facebook's motion will at some point touch FourSquare, reducing its rates of growth.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Business Model behind FourSquare
Foursquare check-in social network is a really hot start up, getting more and more users every single day. Since the company began its operation in early 2009, it reached more than 2 million users by March 2010. The information on company's growth rate, as well as the milestones since 2009, can be found in its CrunchBase profile.
Users
The first thing I did is registered with the Foursquare myself to experience why is it so rewarding to be its user. While it is very cool to check-in and let other people know where you are, Foursquare encourages its use by adding a game on top of checking-in behavior. The more times you check-in, the more points you get, eventually becoming a "mayor" of the place. In addition, people can leave tips on their preferences going to certain spaces and doing certain things. Indeed, the application resembles a smart social guide. It eventually moves from descriptive mode to prescriptive. It knows ahead of time which places you like to visit based on data pool of previously visited locations and prescribes new locations accordingly. Isn't that smart? Thus, there is a powerful incentive in using the platform as much as possible, making a link between the company and its users very strong.
Clients
1) The most obvious category is the places/businesses themselves. Restaurants/gyms/museums/etc. can channel their marketing campaigns through Foursquare. By letting their frequenters know on the promotions and incentives, the businesses gain recognition and attract significantly larger clientele.
2) City guides. Like never before, Foursquare manages to link internet and reality. By accumulating real check-in data and tips, Foursquare provides a reliable and valid statistics on best places in the city plus valuable suggestions on how to use these spaces. This almost a real-time guide is constantly updated, solving a problem that city guides had in the past - the dynamic nature of social life. A recent sign-up with restaurant rating guide Zagat, is one example of successful relationship between a city guide and Foursquare.
3) Entertainment brands. The partnership with entertainment media is probably the most appealing for the platform, although it is not very apparent at this point. The trick is in unlocking the "special badges" that a certain type of entertainment (e.g. TV show, movie) has to offer by visiting the places associated with it. The practice causes people think about the brands outside the time they watch it on TV or internet. Same idea - connecting internet and reality. The entertainment market is huge, giving Foursquare a lot of potential to explore fruitful partnerships.
4) Related to the third point but can stand on its own - partnerships with event organizers (e.g. Conde Nasts Lucky Magazine). The guests receive through Foursquare useful tips on places and facilities.
Infrastructure
Foursquare is highly encouraging developers of communication devices/software to build applications that are compatible with the platform. The list is expanding fast, with Android, Palm and Windows Mobile already involved. By building alliances with these companies, Foursquare projects on its users, targeting all segments of the population and all types of users.
Competitors
The idea of checking-in is not new. Before Foursquare Google tried to implement its Dodgeball project, which was not successful. Besides, there are Jambo, Rabble, Contakme, Zorpia, Wayn, Citycita... the list goes on and on. What then makes Foursquare so unique?
First, Foursquare does not try to cover all aspects of communication, its goal is quite narrowly defined. The information exchange is about content, where you are at a particular moment in time and what you like about being there. Foursquare does not touch identity of its user, because there are other platforms that specialize in it, like Facebook, Twitter and My Space. That way Foursquare avoids repetitions and overloads.
Second, the checking-in behaviour is not important per se, but the tips, preference, comments that the users leave are important. The point is not to create a competition to meaninglessly go to certain places over and over, but to go there for a reason. What do you like about the place that may be beneficial to other users? Foursquare is a social gesture and not just a check-in tool.
Users
The first thing I did is registered with the Foursquare myself to experience why is it so rewarding to be its user. While it is very cool to check-in and let other people know where you are, Foursquare encourages its use by adding a game on top of checking-in behavior. The more times you check-in, the more points you get, eventually becoming a "mayor" of the place. In addition, people can leave tips on their preferences going to certain spaces and doing certain things. Indeed, the application resembles a smart social guide. It eventually moves from descriptive mode to prescriptive. It knows ahead of time which places you like to visit based on data pool of previously visited locations and prescribes new locations accordingly. Isn't that smart? Thus, there is a powerful incentive in using the platform as much as possible, making a link between the company and its users very strong.
Clients
1) The most obvious category is the places/businesses themselves. Restaurants/gyms/museums/etc. can channel their marketing campaigns through Foursquare. By letting their frequenters know on the promotions and incentives, the businesses gain recognition and attract significantly larger clientele.
2) City guides. Like never before, Foursquare manages to link internet and reality. By accumulating real check-in data and tips, Foursquare provides a reliable and valid statistics on best places in the city plus valuable suggestions on how to use these spaces. This almost a real-time guide is constantly updated, solving a problem that city guides had in the past - the dynamic nature of social life. A recent sign-up with restaurant rating guide Zagat, is one example of successful relationship between a city guide and Foursquare.
3) Entertainment brands. The partnership with entertainment media is probably the most appealing for the platform, although it is not very apparent at this point. The trick is in unlocking the "special badges" that a certain type of entertainment (e.g. TV show, movie) has to offer by visiting the places associated with it. The practice causes people think about the brands outside the time they watch it on TV or internet. Same idea - connecting internet and reality. The entertainment market is huge, giving Foursquare a lot of potential to explore fruitful partnerships.
4) Related to the third point but can stand on its own - partnerships with event organizers (e.g. Conde Nasts Lucky Magazine). The guests receive through Foursquare useful tips on places and facilities.
Infrastructure
Foursquare is highly encouraging developers of communication devices/software to build applications that are compatible with the platform. The list is expanding fast, with Android, Palm and Windows Mobile already involved. By building alliances with these companies, Foursquare projects on its users, targeting all segments of the population and all types of users.
Competitors
The idea of checking-in is not new. Before Foursquare Google tried to implement its Dodgeball project, which was not successful. Besides, there are Jambo, Rabble, Contakme, Zorpia, Wayn, Citycita... the list goes on and on. What then makes Foursquare so unique?
First, Foursquare does not try to cover all aspects of communication, its goal is quite narrowly defined. The information exchange is about content, where you are at a particular moment in time and what you like about being there. Foursquare does not touch identity of its user, because there are other platforms that specialize in it, like Facebook, Twitter and My Space. That way Foursquare avoids repetitions and overloads.
Second, the checking-in behaviour is not important per se, but the tips, preference, comments that the users leave are important. The point is not to create a competition to meaninglessly go to certain places over and over, but to go there for a reason. What do you like about the place that may be beneficial to other users? Foursquare is a social gesture and not just a check-in tool.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Riders for Health
One of the main Africa's problem is poor transportation system that affects many aspects of population's wellbeing, including healthcare. The scope of this problem cannot be under appreciated, the constrains to supply chain do not allow locals to live normal healthy lives because they are unable to get essential medication to treat often easily-preventable diseases. Not much has been done to fix the problem. Yet, here is one success story...
The Riders for Health, led by Andrea and Barry Coleman, is a social entrepreneurial organization that uses an innovative motorcycle based transportation system for healthcare delivery in Africa.
"They knew it was not Africa's harsh conditions that were the problem but poor maintenance. Their solution - train local riders and drivers to carry out simple checks and maintenance. The results - hardly any break downs no matter how rough the roads.
In 1991 Riders for Health launched their first program. Today they...
Before her training, Violet had never even ridden a bicycle. She can now ride a motorcycle safely and confidently over some of the most rugged terrains of southern Africa.
The Riders for Health, led by Andrea and Barry Coleman, is a social entrepreneurial organization that uses an innovative motorcycle based transportation system for healthcare delivery in Africa.
"They knew it was not Africa's harsh conditions that were the problem but poor maintenance. Their solution - train local riders and drivers to carry out simple checks and maintenance. The results - hardly any break downs no matter how rough the roads.
In 1991 Riders for Health launched their first program. Today they...
- employ nearly 300 people in 7 African countries
- manage 1,313 vehicles
- provide access to healthcare for more than 10 million people"
Before her training, Violet had never even ridden a bicycle. She can now ride a motorcycle safely and confidently over some of the most rugged terrains of southern Africa.
'When you are not used to riding a motorcycle, that’s when you find it difficult,” said Violet. “I had to be courageous. I didn’t want to embarrass myself!"
Violet starts the day by visiting the laboratory in Chadiza to see if there are any results that need to be delivered to the health centres she will be visiting that day. She will then travel from Chadiza to one or two of the District’s 15 health centers to collect blood and sputum samples and return them safely to the lab for testing. Some of the health centers Violet has to visit are more than 25 miles away along very bad roads so it can be full day of riding for Violet. But she doesn’t mind.'This is a really good experience. People are counting on me and this is something big which I am part of.' says Violet. Violet will return to each health centre with the results from the lab within two to four days. These prompt results have a huge impact for the people attending the rural health centres. Once the nurses there have a confirmed diagnosis, patients can start treatment if necessary and needless deaths due to delays can be avoided.
It is amazing what an English couple has achieved in their goal to improve the transportation system in Africa!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
