Popular Google Products...

So which are the popular Google Products and how do you find out. For me of course its Google Maps and Google Earth but what does Google think about which Google Products are popular?

Yay! they agree with me!! and here's the proof. On Google's home page type in "Google " and then click "Google Search". Here's what you will see...



on a side note..... what about "Google is "

Google Maps Envelope - Beta #googlemaps

Here's a nice idea which interestingly surfaces around April 1st. Say you want to send a paper mail to someone but are lazy enough to print it out. Not to worry because if Google ever embraces this concept then all you would have to do is type your letter in GMAIL and then click the "send envelope" button in GMAIL instead of "send" button. What this does is that your letter is printed by Google and then mailed by Google (for a small postage fee) in an envelope which has "Google Maps" printed on it showing the sender's and recipients destination along with the route.

Designers Rahul Mahtani & Yofred Moik from the Industrial Design program at Syracuse University came up with this concept called Google Envelopes. (via Yanko Design)

Chile Earthquake Tweets #googlemaps #chile

A Massive Earthquake (8.8) hits Chile this morning. Twitter activity from region is just now picking up. Here's a Map (Google Maps) I put together which grabs tweets from Santiago and 1500 miles out and plots it on Google Maps.

Google Mapping becomes a whole lot easier #googlemaps

Google's Fusion Tables is a place where you can store tons of data. You can then with couple of clicks visualize that data instantly on Google Maps or as Intensity Map. You can also view it as a Line, Bar, Pie, Scatter diagrams.

Columns with locations are interpreted automatically, and you can adjust them directly on a map if necessary. You can apply filter and aggregate tools for more selective visualizations.

There are lots of tables in Google's Fusion Tables which are publicly accessible which you can use to start mapping.

Once you select a table and select the "Visualize----->Map" option, you have the option to Export to KML, Get KML Network Link or Get Embeddable Link for your website or blog.

Check out more at Google's Fusion Tables (via Google Lat Long Blog)

New Year brings new State Laws #googlemaps #statelaws

2010 starts with a whole bunch of new state laws which went into effect throughout United States. Some of the laws are serious and some not so serious. I have compiled few of these laws and mapped it out on Google Maps. If you know of any frivolous or serious state laws do let me know and I will add it this map. Happy New Year!! BTW don't be texting and driving in Illinois and if you are in California.. eating in restaurants has become a bit more healthy :)

Google Qualified Developer Badge for me :) #googlemaps

I am pleased to announce that I recently earned a new badge from Google - "Google Qualified JavaScript Maps Developer". My name has now been added to Google's new Qualified Developers directory which is a part of Google's new Qualified Developer program.

To get qualified one has to show proof of community participation, references, mashup projects worked on and finally appear for a online exam.

My Google Mapping journey started with Hurricane Katrina, way back in late 2005. My first mashup was showing where businesses were opening up in the New Orleans area once Hurricane Katrina was gone. Check out the blog post on my 1st mashup at GoogleMapsMania. (Note: The link (weshallrise.org) in the blog post no longer exists as I cancelled it after couple of years.) Since then I have created numerous mashups which you can check out at this site.