![]() They realized they needed more than just a local prototype, they had to have something that could work over the web. Instead, they chose to view this as a detour, not a dead end. Some investment funds were still active, but very skittish, and after the brothers spoke to six or eight of them, they never got a call back. Then, we tried raising money.” Again, because the bubble had just burst, this was no small task. “Jens and I, we spend maybe six months just the two of us making a prototype of Expedition. This was ten years before most of us had even heard of “the cloud.” Not only was it a separate app – like we use today – but all of the content was hosted in the cloud. Which, it turns out, was really forward looking. It worked alongside a browser, which let them use a more robust programming language (C++), instead of having to rely on the web’s HTML. They built their first prototype, called Expedition, which looked like a very basic city grid. They had to make the maps bigger, and prettier. Now they needed to fully develop it, and make their software. And then on the site, we assembled all these tiles so we don’t have to draw stuff on demand, we just load tiles off a server.” From idea to reality “We just draw all the maps beforehand in tiles,” he said, “and put a lot of computing power into doing that and make them really pretty. Jens had a completely different solution. The slow, pre-broadband web and clunky, weak web browsers. The only platform for this technology is the web. Because the smart phone doesn’t exist yet. That meant another eternity waiting for another map to be drawn.Īnd keep in mind: at this point, no one is using phones for getting around. If you didn’t get the address quite right, or needed to click west or east, north or south, or zoom in? Forget it. By the time your map finally showed up, it’d be hard to read and basic. And the reason it took so long? The maps were being created in real time. Then, after clicking search, the dreaded hourglass icon would appear and turn over and over for what seemed like an eternity. It required a ton of information upfront, like a zip code. The most popular was Mapquest, which was a pain to use. Together, the brothers realized that a small team could have a huge impact because in 2001, online maps were slow and frustrating. In fact, he’d been tinkering with an idea for a while: online maps. Brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen were victims of the crash they lost their jobs at a small tech firm in California called Digital Fountain. Listen to the full story in episode 6 of Teamistry, “Finding the Way to Google Maps.” Listen now Must be more than Mapquest Think globally, make friends locally More in Strategy Oh, snap! Did we just create the world’s first collaborative sonic brand? Organize the chaos: 5 steps to effective change management How understanding the concept of value exchange can strengthen your workplace relationships How to avoid groupthink on your team More in Productivity Media literacy: a survival skill for the information age More in Communication Toxic positivity at work: how to spot it and squash it It all starts with listening: Best practices for a successful ERG program More in Leadershipĥ ways to foster inclusive communication in the workplaceġ0 lessons to unlearn for better communication at work How to embrace the human side of leadershipĬompassionate leadership: the best of both worldsħ proven leadership principles and the psychology behind them How to avoid groupthink on your team More in Teamwork How to get unstuck: tips for moving past analysis paralysisĭecision fatigue: what to do when endless choices are sapping your energyĥ creative ways to practice gratitude as a team How to excel at asynchronous communication with your distributed team More in Distributed Work Here’s what remote workers need to be productiveģ challenges executives face and how to solve them ![]() New research: How to make time for the work that matters ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |