Mapcast...Maps as a podcast

Staying true to my blog name I write this blog at 4:00 AM. I recently went on a road trip with my friends to VA Beach in Virginia and the Outer banks in North Carolina. All my trips were preceded by hours spent analyzing the places on Google Maps followed by at least a thousand pages of directions downloaded from Mapquest (I just prefer the way they outline the directions). Here's my idea. Isn't it possible for Mapquest/Google Maps to convert the directions into a podcast? Its just text to speech after all. I want the ability to download a podcast (nothing more than an MP3 file) that literally tells me the directions. Instead of printing gazillion pages I would prefer to download these map podcasts or mapcasts on my iPod. In fact Mapquest/Google Maps can provide registered users/paid subscribers with movie mapcasts for video iPods. The movies can be animation movies that provide directions with sound. Map providers can insert audio/video ads in the podcast or movies for additional revenue. The ads can in fact be relevant ads about restaurants, or hotels, or places to visit in the users map.

Two Substitutes to this idea:

GPS Devices
GPS devices that can provide real time directions are already out in the market. But a GPS device is a nice to have but not an essential utility for a road trip. At least in my mind. The investment in a GPS device is not justified for people like me who go on trips infrequently. A lot of people need a set of maps to start and end the journey and prefer exploring everything in between on their own. My idea is essentially to replace the needless printouts of maps and directions with podcasts or mapcasts for lack of a better name.

Maps on Cell Phones
Most online map providers allow users to send directions to their cell phones from a web page. In addition users can download directions directly on their cellphone by connecting to the Internet through their cell phone service provider. Both these features are costly or are not free today. The mapcasts is not a replacement for the cell phone service, in fact targeted at a different customer segment. Users who are willing to pay to view directions on their cell phone will continue to do so. This idea is for people who have an iPod or any MP3 player for that matter and as mentioned earlier take printouts of the directions before a journey.

Unfortunately I don't have the technical abilities to create this functionality on my own. If somebody does get inspired by my blog please do let me know. Finally, the best way to sell this idea to users, its better for the environment.

Disclaimer

• I claim this as my idea only after looking on Google Maps and Mapquest. I did not come similar feature(s) on either of the two websites. I don't know of any other websites that provide similar functionality.

Google Fusion - Orkut Whiteboard

Orkut trails MySpace in terms of number of registered users and number of unique visitors. There are many reasons that can be attributed to the phenomenal growth of MySpace as compared to Orkut even though both debuted at roughly the same time. Orkut started as a invitation only social networking website, a restriction not put in place by MySpace on new registrants. Orkut was never really promoted by Google. Google does not overtly promote its products the way Yahoo! does and Orkut never showed up on Google Labs a primary interface for showcasing new ideas. So if you didn't have friends who were on Orkut, you wouldn't even know of its existence let alone register. I joined Orkut about 3 years ago, the website had basic social networking features (photo album, message boards, community), a simple interface that didn't seem to be evolving! If I am not mistaken most new features have been added in the last year. Features that especially stand out are reply to scrap and new scrap notification through GTalk. Someone in Google has finally realized the hidden potential of Social Networking Websites. I am sure more new features are already on drawing boards and keeping people busy.
Here's my contribution. Its not rocket science, just a manifestation of my requirements from Orkut. I don't use MySpace or any other social website for that matter and don't know if they have a similar feature, though I would be surprised if they did.

Orkut Whiteboard
A social networking website is primarily intended to help people stay connected. It brings together people who have similar interests through online groups such as Orkut Communities. The next step is being able to share information with your friends easily and quickly about important and interesting things online. Enter Orkut Whiteboard. User's can exchange information and collaborate online using the whiteboard. Think of the Orkut Whiteboard as a combination of Delicious and Orkut Scrapbook. Here is how I see it being used.

• It will appear as a link on a user's Orkut home page just like album, lists, and scrapbook.
  
• When a user is viewing an item online such as a news link on Google News, a video on YouTube, a text or image search result on Google, or a blog on Blogger they should be able to whiteboard (used as a verb here) the item. Users should be able to link the item on their Orkut whiteboards with comments and tags so that friends can also view them. This is the Delicious part. Friends can then leave comments on the each others whiteboards on what they thought of the link. Think Orkut Scrapbook.
• Users can scribble thoughts on their whiteboards and notify friends. Or they can leave messages on their whiteboards, such as 'On Vacation' which would otherwise require sending emails or leaving scraps to selected friends.
• The Google Calendar can be integrated with the Whiteboard and users can mark events on the Whiteboard through the Calendar.
  
• Users can link items on their friends whiteboards on their own whiteboards.

Its easy to replicate this feature, after all adding a link to another website is just that...adding a link. YouTube already provides the HTML code to link a video on another web page. The difference is that while other website users will need to copy paste the link on their page, Google users will be able to whiteboard the video directly using a special Orkut Whiteboard button near the video. Similarly users will be able to whiteboard news items on Google News using the same button placed near the news item. This will make the sharing of information easier attracting users. Once the usage increases websites will probably include the Orkut Whiteboard button within their pages just as they have Delicious links. I am not sure if there are trademark implications of using the name Whiteboard. While its an interesting name the name itself is just used as a tool in this blog to put the point across and make it easy to visualize my idea.

Google Fusion - Introduction

Google at last count has 83 products! This number includes both test-stage and completed products. The uncontrolled growth of products has side effects such as poor integration between the products. For example, till some time back most of Google’s products such as social networking website Orkut, online document editor Writely, Gmail, etc had an independent web presence. Users were required to remember myriad username and passwords making it difficult for them to use the products. The uncontrolled innovation and poor integration of Google’s products early on with one another can be one reason why they still trail the market leaders in their respective categories. Some have likened the uncontrolled innovation at Google to the strategy of throwing a lot of stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. Cofounder Sergey Brin has publicly acknowledged that the myriad product releases are confusing users and is leading a company wide initiative called 'Features, not products.' Instead of developing new individual products in their own silos the company now plans create horizontal functionality across a range of products.

The Fusion series of blogs is essentially my opinion as a user on features I would like integrated between the various Google products that I use. As a user and a strategic thinker I am confident that there is an opportunity for Google to cement its place as the Internet powerhouse by better integrating its products. The name Fusion sounds appropriate for a strategy to fuse or link Google products together to create a unified Internet experience for users. This unified experience can create lock-in as users get better at using the integrated products. Finally, if the series doesn't make any sense or seems impractical consider this series as my wish list in the new year.