The Atlantic was lucky enough to take a behind the scenes tour of Google Maps headquarters.
During this tour, the incredible amounts of information gathered and processed by the tech giant is made very clear. They aim to make all information available in the physical world available in the digital world. In order to do so, Google relies on customer feedback, taking all suggestions to heart and immediately fixing the issue – during The Atlantic’s tour, they witness a programmer draw a newly finished on-ramp to a freeway.
What results is innovation on a massive scale:
“It’s probably better not to think of Google Maps as a thing like a paper map. Geographic information systems are a jump like the abacus to the computer. ‘I honestly think we’re seeing a more profound change, for map-making, than the switch from manuscript to print in the Renaissance,’ University of London cartographic historian Jerry Brotton told the Sydney Morning Herald. ‘That was huge. But this is bigger.’
