By: Eric Gundersen
“We are the very last generation to ever know what it was like to be lost. And no one after us, no generation to come will ever be lost in the way that every generation before was. All over the world today, people are landing in New York or Tokyo or Cairo or even the Democratic Republic of Congo. Anywhere, they are stepping off of planes in a foreign land, in a place that they’ve never been, and guess what, they know where they are.” — Bill Killday, in Never Lost Again
If I don’t end up giving someone a copy of Never Lost Again during an interview, it’s on their desk the first day at Mapbox.
This is the most comprehensive coverage of a pivotal event for the digital mapping market. What’s fascinating is that there’s so much history — and it’s all history from just the last 15 years. The entire arc of this story is contemporary, shockingly so. The world has changed and Bill’s perspective from the early days of Keyhole and Google Maps is essential to preserving that history. It was an honor having Bill stop by Mapbox SF and spend time with the team.
Great to have @bkilday at @Mapbox to talk about the early days at Keyhole. #maps https://t.co/wdIxPN5zUo
— @i
At a moment when so much is moving in the mapping space, it was awesome to get a perspective from someone who sees the same thing we see: that a living map makes human lives better. This dynamic approach to mapping is actually a reflection of how humans live, giving us a map that is open to everyone, yielding a more democratic and representative platform for data, debate, and decisions.
Below are some excerpts from the book that I reference or think back on often. Bill captures it perfectly:
Twenty-five percent of all queries being typed into the simple white Google search box were looking for a map. [Editor’s Note: This is an old stat, today it’s over half.]
Watching the blue dot automatically follow me was intoxicating, especially when the map was in satellite mode. It was an extraordinary user experience, though it was possible only with some digital duct tape to make the technologies work together. … By 2006, the ingredients had been prepared: the blue dot; the mobile mapping application; the connected devices with the GPS chips. But no one had yet brought all these together into one elegant experience. No one had baked the cake.
Traditionally, all mapping companies — from MapQuest and Navteq to TomTom and Keyhole — relied wholly on these data providers that created, updated, and delivered business address data. No one tried to create their own. Amassing the data required hundreds, if not thousands, of telemarketers calling businesses to verify the accuracy of the information. Even so, the data was notoriously inaccurate.
So many amazing stories which set the stage for so much of our work today. The whole thing is a brilliant read.
The last generation to know what it’s like to be lost was originally published in Points of interest on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.