tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33990280.post6985266162691428413..comments2022-04-29T12:27:42.142-06:00Comments on Mapville: Maps Are Not Buggy WhipsEric Ribackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11870213964744332539noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33990280.post-40781518079838585042010-02-06T05:53:53.924-07:002010-02-06T05:53:53.924-07:00I agree with Eric. And allow me to add two other ...I agree with Eric. And allow me to add two other considerations: Cost and Quality. In the US we're becoming more and more cost limited...the <i>price</i> of a service is becoming a real consideration. Which is cheaper...a reusable paper map? Or a smart phone/board? <br /><br />And printed maps are much higher quality too. Which has more detail: an older paper USGS quad map? Or the newer <a href="http://www.trails.com/topo.aspx?lat=37.73306&lon=-119.51028&s=50&name=Little+Yosemite+Valley" rel="nofollow">digital USGS maps</a>? The comparison is almost criminal!chitownclarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08480697166667160622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33990280.post-17041931010558178832009-09-25T00:06:50.484-06:002009-09-25T00:06:50.484-06:00But the buggy whip did not have function once the ...But the buggy whip did not have function once the car came along (except perhaps in kinky settings). The road and street maps still are functional, but the marketplace is not valuing them as much as in the past. The other thing that happened is that the traditional publishers were effectively locked out of the new technologies. But in your example of large screens (i.e. smart boards) replacing large maps in school, there's no reason why the traditional publishers such as Nystrom or National Geographic cannot continue to provide that content under a new business model.Eric Ribackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11870213964744332539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33990280.post-20035612058572684492009-09-24T20:35:46.200-06:002009-09-24T20:35:46.200-06:00I think you should read "The innovator's ...I think you should read "The innovator's delimma". The general jist is that technological improvement outstrips market demand and that companies fail because they continue to chase there biggest and best clients. Eventually they wake up one morning with only a few clients who are now considering the newer technology too. I think a similar thing applies here. The buggy whip still has value but there is virtually no market for it. A similar thing is happening with maps. As more phones include GPS with street maps there will be less demand for street directories and dedicated GPS systems. Print maps will become specialist items (like large maps for school walls). This market will be a lot smaller then one day computer screens will be good enough and cheap enough that schools install those so that the posters can be changed to suite the current class (maps for geography, post in French for French class, etc). It might not happen over night but it will happen.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06673523001344112925noreply@blogger.com