I posted about "mashups" back in March but this article, which is actually from last December, gives a better description. This is a technology to watch and I thank my friend Gavin for turning me onto it. Check out Gavin's mashup demo/labor of love :)

As mapping tech catches on, the second article shows that the big boys continue to innovate and improve their map services. 59 millions visitors to map sites in February?! Wow.

Expect the next wave to be mapping on cellphones complete with GPS coordinates.

Google is more popular because it has a better user interface? After years of the Apple/Microsoft wars, Redmond just doesnt seem to grasp the concept of non-technical users.

Technology (A Special Report): E-Commerce

Where in the World Is...

Take Google Maps; Add some data; Find anything

By Jessica E. Vascellaro

19 December 2005

The Wall Street Journal

EVER WONDER WHERE you'd end up if you dug a hole in the backyard and went straight through the Earth?

Well, there's an online map that can save you the digging. In fact, it's getting easier to find just about anything anywhere, thanks to Web sites that are taking mapping to a whole new level.

Known as mashups, they are essentially combining online maps with lists of data that allow users to pinpoint anything in a very specific location -- from real-estate listings and job openings to the locations of public bathrooms on a marathon route to, yes, where that hole in the backyard will lead you.

Spawning the creation of mashups is search engine Google Inc.'s recent decision to open up the programming behind its Google Maps tool to anyone, free of charge. The Maps tool, which was released earlier this year, allows users to easily find a location by panning across a map simply by moving a mouse's cursor or by zooming in or out. Users of some maps can even see satellite photos, down to the trees in a front yard. So, unlike a Web site that yields a list of search results within a specified distance, mashups using the Maps tool allow users to zoom in to view listings within an area as narrow as a single street or as wide as the entire country. And because each location is pinpointed on a map, it's easy for browsers to assess the distance between listings.

Individual programmers have been the first to seize on the technology and turn mundane lists into such interactive maps. But some larger businesses are starting to use mashups as a way to gain exposure and boost traffic to their sites. While they won't make money from actual consumer use of the tool -- Google doesn't currently allow sites that use its Maps tool to charge for access -- companies are hoping that increased customer visits will translate into more sales. Some companies also collect modest revenue from running Google text ads alongside search results. And as mashups grow, some observers wonder when and how Google itself will get in the game.

Google Maps "adds another dimension to sites that are otherwise dry and boring," says Safa Rashtchy, an analyst who covers Google for Piper Jaffray & Co. in Palo Alto, Calif. "So a lot of Web sites are putting them in there as a search feature to create more traffic."

Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. also have released the programming technology for their mapping services. But they haven't been as widely adopted for mashups, in part, some programmers say, because Google has a more attractive and easier-to-use interface. Unlike Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, Yahoo also requires users to request written permission if they want to put the technology to commercial use.

4 months after the mashup article and we see big changes in the market, mainly led by Google and copied by others.

The Race to Dazzle: Map Sites Pile on Features

Google, Microsoft, Others Add 3-D, Walking Directions; A Street-Level Perspective

By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO

April 5, 2006

The earliest known map is thought to be a town plan painted inside a shrine in Anatolia, circa 6200 B.C. In the Age of Exploration, maps were highly prized, holding the keys to the lucrative spice trade.

Centuries later, in the aftermath of improvements by Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., visits to online mapping sites are soaring. Nearly 59 million unique visitors -- more than a third of all Internet users -- visited mapping sites in February, according to market researcher comScore Networks Inc.

Viewers are being drawn by a flurry of innovations by digital map makers that expand beyond overhead satellite and aerial photography. The latest mapping features shift that perspective entirely by putting users in the middle of their surroundings, showing things at eye level. Sites are also improving their resolutions with sharper aerial imagery and offering more navigation features, like walking directions.

Microsoft debuted a new series of online maps in late February that display results from the perspective of someone walking or driving down a street. The service, currently live for parts of Seattle and San Francisco, is in preview and will be available for around a dozen cities through local.live.com1 in the next few months. Google recently purchased @Last Software, acquiring its SketchUp technology that lets users create 3-D sketches of buildings and landmarks they can view in Google Earth.

Several years ago, online mapping sites like Mapquest were fairly primitive, offering thumbnail sketches of maps along with driving directions. Then last year, Google changed the game when it launched maps using satellite photography, a move Microsoft and Ask have mimicked with satellite and aerial imagery that lets users zoom in. Companies are trying to make their maps more useful by layering them with data like gas stations, restaurants and even real-time traffic information. Products for mobile devices are becoming available as well. Google Local for Mobile, launched late last year, offers directions, maps and satellite views from a wireless device.