Jet Skiing to Nicaragua on Google Maps

The two big Google Maps stories that have been winging their way around the internet this week are:

1. Google Maps are to blame for Nicaragua mistakenly invading Costa Rica
2. If you ask for driving directions from Japan to China on Google Maps you are advised to jet ski across the Pacific Ocean

I didn't cover either story on Google Maps Mania. I will rectify that today :)

The reason that I didn't cover the Nicaragua story was because I was very dubious that one country would invade another country on the basis of Google Maps. If you are interested in the truth of the territory dispute between the two countries Ogle Earth has a really good post explaining why "the narrative currently dominating the internet is wrong: Nicaragua did not mistakenly enter Costa Rican territory because it relied on Google Maps".

I originally didn't cover the Google Maps driving directions from Japan to China because I thought it was a very old story that everybody had already heard a thousand times. The amount of coverage this has been given on the internet suggest I was wrong.

So just in case you missed any of these Google Maps Easter eggs here they are again:

If you ask Google Maps for driving directions from Japan to China Google Maps driving directions suggest at (step 43) that you 'Jet ski across the Pacific Ocean'.

If you ask Google Maps for the driving directions from Sydney Airport to 200 Stanmore Rd, Stanmore, NSW 2048, Australia (Newington College) Step 48 suggests that you Kayak across the Pacific Ocean to Australia. The estimated length of this journey is 43 days and 6 hours, but I understand if you catch the North Equatorial Current you can seriously cut into that time.



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Street View used in Game Trailer -Updated

Vanquish Official Trailer

The UK online trailer for Sega's new Vanquish game cleverly uses Google Maps Street View to let viewers see their own houses being attacked.

To view the trailer you have to enter a valid UK postcode. If you don't know any UK postcodes you can try SW1A 0AA, which is the postcode for the Houses of Parliament. The Street View scene comes at the end of the trailer and involves a pan around the view of the submitted post code.

German TV Ad
On the subject of Street View Sehsucht has been employed by Google to promote Street View in Germany. The campaign includes this clever TV ad, which features a number of Street View animations.


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Find a Taxi with Google Maps

Taxi seguro

This application uses Google Maps to help users find taxis ranks in Mexico City.

To find a taxi you can search the map by street name. The nearest taxi sites are then shown on the map. You only need to give a street name as the application uses the Google Maps geocoder with a custom built database of taxi rank locations.

You can also search for taxis by simply clicking on the map. The results are then displayed on the map and listed in the map sidebar. If you click on any of the returned map markers an information window opens displaying the company's name and address.

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Floor-Plans with Google Maps

University of Central Florida Library

The University of Central Florida has created a pretty awesome map of the university library using custom map tiles with the Google Maps API.

It is possible to view a floor-plan for each of the library's five floors, showing the location of offices, study rooms, restrooms and service desks. The map even appears to have real-time data concerning the availability of computers. If you click on any of the green computer icons an information window opens informing you how many computers are available.

You can navigate to any of the floor plans by using the floor map buttons at the top of the map.

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Tokyo Shopping on Google Maps

Interactive Akihabara Map

Eric Delattre recently moved to Tokyo. He quickly fell in love with the Akiba district of Tokyo. Akihabara is a major shopping area for electronics, computers, anime, and otaku goods. However Eric was disappointed because he couldn't find a good guide to the shops, restaurant and bars in the area so he decided to develop this Google Maps based guide to the area.

The map shows the locations of all the best places in Akihabara. The locations are categorised so it is possible to refine the markers shown on the map by computer / electronics. anime / Manga, restaurants etc.

Like many areas in Japan the best shops are often hard to find, for example they may be found on the 6th floor or behind a small hard to find door. Therefore Eric has included a function that allows anyone to add locations to the map.

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Dangerous Companies on Google Maps

Risikovirksomheder

Danish journalist Nils Mulvad has created a Google Map which shows the location of 170 dangerous Danish companies. The companies have been designated dangerous by the Danish authorities because they process chemicals, fireworks or produce weapons etc.

At first the authorities refused to release the list but Nils submitted a Freedom of Information request and the government were forced to hand it over. Nils has now published the list and this map of the companies - it is the first time the list of companies has been published in Denmark.

Nils has also published an open Google Fusion Table of the data, here.

Via: www.microformats.dk

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Google Map of Your Twitter Followers

MapMyFollowers

Do you want to know where your followers on Twitter live? Log-in to MapMyFollowers with your Twitter account and you can view a Google Map showing the location of all the people who follow you.

The screenshot above represents the geographical distribution of people who follow my @KeirClarke Twitter account. I'm pretty happy with the distribution. I'd like a few more followers from the southern hemisphere and I don't know what I've done to upset the Japanese. I seem to have upset all but one of the Japanese population, judging by my one Japanese follower.

As well as showing you a map view of your followers you can view a word-cloud of 'common follower terms'. You can also click on any of your followers and view a Google Map showing the location of their followers.

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