“Is this an iPhone killer?”

Lazy, ill-informed journalism. (And that’s before he’s even written the article).

So lets make it really simple with a nice chart. Why Google doesn’t want Nexus One to be an iPhone killer:

[chart stolen from http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/01/05/android-or-iphone-wrong-question/ ]

Google’s mobile strategy has always been a mass market, platform play. If you’re going to make lazy comparisons, compare them to Microsoft not Apple.

So today is the day that the Nexus One arrives, which everyone agrees is a *big deal*.

Not exactly fresh news, but you might not know that Andrew Eland, the Google UK Mobile Team Lead, is speaking at this month’s #geomob coming on January 21st.

Want to know more about Android, Google, geo and mobile? Signup here:
http://gmdlondon.ning.com/events/geomob-january

The Japanese have not been so keen on the whole Google Street View phenomenon. Apparently, the cameras are too high for Japanese buildings/streets, and are peering into people’s gardens etc.

So the ingenius answer is? Yes, a lower camera -

Wait a sec, none of my friends are here?

Google Latitude has been out for a few weeks and now the furore seems to have died down, its time to take a less sensationalist look at it.

Google is Not a Social Network and Latitude is not a Finished Product

To me it looks like they’ve been waiting for other apps to soften up the public to sharing their location and now they’re gently venturing into what can be a very contentious area, and I’m sure they were expecting the negative and downright sensationalist press they received.

Something that shows me where my friends are and their Google update status is essentially useless, unless its opened up to third party apps – very few of my friends/family/associates actually have a Google account or update their status.  If they do they use Facebook or Twitter; a location enabled social network should facilitate socialising and right now nobody actually socialises on Google, they do it on a proper social network. 

So what is Latitude? Its a first step: they need users to get used to sharing their location with Google, learn how to process this data effectively and then figure out how to monetise your location.

Latitude’s strength is Google’s strength, the Google brand.  People use Google, people trust Google and I’m a classic example: I let Google store my search history (you do know they keep your search records don’t you?), I use GMail so they have access to my email data, I even have a few documents up there in Google Apps, and now I’m playing with Latitude so they also have my location information too.

(If you think that’s scary, I accidentally gave Ed Parsons a business card with some of my hair stuck to it.  Yes, they have my DNA now.  Just imagine what they are doing with that.)

I’ve made the point that Google is not a social network, and I really believe they don’t want to become one either.  What they do want is your location data, so they can target better adverts at you.  Latitude will provide some data right now, but nowhere near enough for a fully fledged location targeted advertising network. 

Latitude Will be Opened up to Third Parties Via an API

I’d bet my house on that point.  The success of Google Maps is based on the exposure of mapping services to third parties via the APIs, not just its own market share.  They will certainly attract GMail and Google Docs users to Latitude but even that reach has its limits; on my last check, precisely two of my lengthy GMail address book had signed up for Latitude.  They need third parties to extend user reach and turn location targeted advertising into a profitable business.  

How Google Plan to Monetise Your Location

Well, according to the patent they’ve filed here, its as simple as this:

Google Targeted Mobile Advertisements

So there you have it, Google’s ultra secret method for monetising your location data looks like it was drawn on the back of a beermat.

Latitude and Gears provide the location data, funnel it through the cloud and mash with the AdWords system.  Easy.

Gary Gale introduces Yahoo! Fire Eagle at #Geomob

Signup for the #Geomob London Geo/Mobile Developers Meetup here to stay informed

Back in September I started looking around the London web scene for a meetup group of like-minded Geo geeks and was pretty surprised to find that none existed.  The Valley has a flourishing meetup scene, in London we’re getting there but its still very much in its infancy.  After a great chat with Catherine Burton who runs the Web2.0 Mapping Meetup group in the Valley I decided it was time to create something similar here in olde London town.

So, the #Geomob event (or London Geo Mobile Developers Meetup if you prefer the full title) was conceived.  After a couple of months of incessant networking, virtual stalking and a fair amount of pleading I had assembled a red hot lineup and a venue, all we needed now was an audience.  Well, we weren’t disappointed and with a turn out of around 40 developers from the London geo scene including Nestoria, CloudMade, Yahoo!, not to mention our lovely hosts Google and many others.

Big ‘thank you’ to Google for hosting us, not only did they give us a great venue but lots of snacks and all important beer.  They will be presenting at the next event (tail end of January 2009) so stay tuned to hear more from them.

An event is nothing without its speakers and our trio of geo experts really set the bar high, you can experience their wonderful talks in video below.  Its a bit quiet so turn up the volume.

First off we had Gary Gale from Yahoo! introducing the really exciting location broker service, Fire Eagle:

Find more videos like this on #Geomob – London Geo/Mobile Developers Meetup Group

Next was Nick Black of CloudMade who ran through some great examples of customised mapping and gave a few hints as to where they were headed (hint: ROUTING):

Find more videos like this on #Geomob – London Geo/Mobile Developers Meetup Group

To cap off a wonderful first night we had Andrew Grill asking “What Will it Take for Mobile Advertising to Find Itself?”

Find more videos like this on #Geomob – London Geo/Mobile Developers Meetup Group

It didn’t end there, lets just say a few beers were had after. 

Feel like reading more?  There are reviews over at the Google UK Developers Blog, Yahoo! Geo Technologies Blog and London Calling.  Full picture gallery here and here.

Signup for the #Geomob meetup here.