There’s plenty of great stuff coming out of the Where 2.0 conference down in San Jose, California today. Unfortunately this one man band couldn’t make it there nor can he possibly keep up with all the announcements so I’ll be highlighting it all over the coming days, but I will mention that Google announced the new Google Maps Data API today, enabling application developers to view, store and update geodata on the web.
By making the API available, Google is enabling developers to focus on building high quality Google Maps-based applications and mashups without worrying about having to scale. And while storing mapping data on its servers will save some developers cash normally lost to bandwidth costs, the flip side of the new API is that Google can access and index your content whether you like it or not. (Update: you can choose to block your content from being indexed. Look in the comments below for the code needed!) Think of it as a tradeoff if you’re the anti-corporate type. I’m more of a believer in the power of Google having access to your content and even personal information in the sense that it results in a more effective user experience, but that’s just me. Also, if you use Google My Maps, anything you build with the Maps Data API will immediately show up there as long as it’s linked with your Google account.
There are already a number of applications using the new API including My Maps Editor for Android, ConnectorLocal, My Tracks for Android and Platial, all of which you can check out via their links.
Google also rolled out another AdSense monetization option for Google Maps developers. Now, in addition to the GoogleBar, developers can opt-in to have an AdSense unit overlayed onto their mashup . The Google Geo Developers Blog has all the details regarding the code additions you’ll need to implement for this. While I understand the need to monetize (after all I use AdSense on this blog), when it comes to a visual medium like maps an AdSense overlay is a huge eyesore. There’s got to be a better way.