In April 2009 I wrote about Google in Gorey and how they had been driving around the area in their Black Google car with a large 360 dome camera on top mapping their way around Ireland. Well it’s been a while in the making but today they launched the results.
In April 2009 I wrote about what was happening.
https://blog.cadamedia.ie/2009/04/google-in-gorey/
Google Streetview Ireland.
So now you can go and see if you have been caught on camera, I left the office and drove around looking for them and when I did I waved at the camera! Click on the image to see a larger version of Mr Nerd waving at the Google Cam.
Anyway, whats the point of it all, well many actually. Google are now a Household brand name and they have expanded their services into many aspects of daily life, one of those aspects is Travel and Tourism. They have bought booking engine software companies in the past 18 months and now they are looking to get a commission on each sale of a ticket bought through their website, maybe you know it, its called www.Google.com !
When you do a Google search for a cinema listing for example, they return the listing and not the actual website of a cinema. Example : http://www.google.ie/movies People who Google Stock exchange prices will be used to this feature too.
Next Generation.
Now, move that on a step into a larger more lucrative industry like the travel & tourism sector, imagine if you could Google a flight to a destination and the website could also give you a perfect view of the apartment or hotel and also give you a precise map of how to get there, all using Google. It’s implications are vast and this will almost probably be available via their Google phones too.
Estate Agents.
Clever estate agents will jump on board this application too or so they should as it can help them describe exactly locations of properties they are selling or renting. This app can walk a person down the street and get perfect 360 views of the location. I wonder if Google will have a go at being an auctioneer and trying to match buyers and sellers together . . hmm they would need a large social network like facebook . . oh wait they are developing a social media site called Google Me. Stay tuned folks, they could do anything!
To have a look at your town or village in a 360 environment go to:
P
ut in your town name and search, once you zoom into your town it might look blurred. This is because they do their mapping in 3 stages. Firstly they use a satellite image, then they use a photo from an airplane and then finally they use a 360 photo taken from their GoogleCam Car.
In Gorey in Co. Wexford they have left out the middle stage so we have a blurred image like this one.
Little Yellow Man !
See the little yellow icon of a person on the zoom tool, grab that and drop it on the location of where you would like to view. Then zoom in and it will bring you into the 360 mode of the application. (Your browser might ask you to install a flash player if you have an old version, if so stop reading, give up and go have a cup of tea and watch the tv!)
You should now be able to navigate the street view. Notice that car tax discs have been obscured and well as people faces. This is a security feature of the site.
See can you spot someone you know!
If you want to know how Google can help your business then call Dave Jordan of Cada Media Ltd and I will try not to bore the pants of you with techy talk !
Tel: 053 9430748
