Spamming Google Maps

An anonymous reader writes "Google organized a flyover of Sydney, Australia last Friday for Australia Day. The images taken on the day will be posted to Google Maps in a few weeks. A number of dotcoms spent hours making huge signs that would be visible from the air. It will be interesting to see whether Google will repeat the event in other cities. If they do, get prepared early. What sign would you make?"

Comments

None

[Turn-X Alphonse]

None, because it ruins the entire point of maps if you turn them into nothing but billboards.

Re:None

[morgan_greywolf]

None, because it ruins the entire point of maps if you turn them into nothing but billboards.

Does it, though? I could see, for instance, fast food chains getting in on the action. Imagine, if you will, if all of the KFCs got together and on the roof of each of the KFC restauraunts is a huge image of Colonel Sanders at the time Google is doing the fly-by photos. You'd know right where get your Original Recipe(tm) Bucket of Chicken without even searching!

Re:None

[suv4x4]

None, because it ruins the entire point of maps if you turn them into nothing but billboards.

This is easily solved by the online maps simply not announcing where they'll shoot next week. Unless you have the money to spam the entire world, for an year...

Re:None

[SCHecklerX]

I'm only replying because the parent was modded 'insightful'. You don't need to spam images. The query 'KFC near whereveriam' works just fine. That's the powerful thing about google doing maps in the first place. Heck, I use google maps as my primary phone book these days.

Re:None

[LiquidCoooled]

This is easily solved by putting in place a corporate policy to include roof decoration for all franchises.

Much like all police cars now having a decal highlighting the car number (for identification by the helicopter).

Re:None

[tigerd]

stop this big brother shit, or ill sue you!

Re:None

[Score Whore]

None, because it ruins the entire point of maps if you turn them into nothing but billboards.

Ummm. This is Google we're talking about. The guys who do everything they can to convince people to place ads on every page on the internet? (As an fyi, Google's ads frequently make up 20-30% of the data transfered when you load up a page with their ads.)

Have you ever put something like "Mt. Rainier" into Google maps? Does it seem fucking stupid that Mt. Rainier is not one of the returned results? Maybe Google has already "ruined the entire point of maps."

Re:None

[FienX]

Really this might not be too bad for what you say - I don't know how many times I look for something (say Taco Bell) on Google Maps and they say "its at this intersection" with the arrow pointed dead in the middle of an intersection with strip malls on all four corners! The satellite/plane images only help if the building is easily distinguishable from the roof (some restaurants have a visible design).

Of course didn't KFC already do this as a publicity stunt?

Re:None

[suv4x4]

This is easily solved by putting in place a corporate policy to include roof decoration for all franchises.

You can't actually be against people doing what they want with their own roofs right? In fact, putting readable symbols on your own roof will make the building easily recognizable in a map, so it's a positive thing.

The problem in my opinion is people like those in the article which "spammed" a public park.

Re:None

[Quixote]

From Google's page on the event:

So when you see the Google branded plane flying overhead this January 26th, hoist a sign, arrange your family into a fun formation or just get a bunch of friends together to wave.

If you want to put the blame somewhere, put it on Google. They're the ones spamming the Internet with ads everywhere (Google AdSense anyone?).

Re:None

[Hogwash McFly]

What is the point of a map? How is a map with a logo in a field any less of a map than one with a plain field?

It would seem to me that the point of Google Maps is to provide a fairly current snapshot of the Earth. If the reality is that people erect a sign, why should it not be included in Google Earth? If it were meant to be a political map with physical relief, like the one on the wall beside me, then the whole of France would be purple.

Re:None

[SQLGuru]

Of course, my HOA won't let me do anything to my house that makes it deviate from a socially accepted norm.....which basically means that I can't be first, but I can be next.

Layne

Re:None

[Spacezilla]

As an fyi, Google's ads frequently make up 20-30% of the data transfered when you load up a page with their ads. I think you just made up that number in your head, but I guess if you found some REALLY small web pages with no images at all, you might be right.

Re:None

[HUADPE]

Have you ever put something like "Mt. Rainier" into Google maps? Does it seem fucking stupid that Mt. Rainier is not one of the returned results?

It's only not one of the results if you don't think Mt. Rainier National Park counts.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Mt+Rainier &sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.701751,82.265625&i e=UTF8&om=1&z=10&ll=46.80664,-121.573334&spn=0.427 681,1.2854&t=k&iwloc=D

Re:None

[tepples]

The query 'KFC near whereveriam' works just fine.

But will "restaurants near whereveriam" return KFC over other restaurants? If you see Colonel Sanders or the cows on the map, you're more likely to crave "chikin" than a burger. Not that this helps on Sunday, mind you.

Re:None

[Original Replica]

The problem in my opinion is people like those in the article which "spammed" a public park.

I second that statement. If it adds to the useablity of the map (roof icons) fine. But obscuring something else (the park) damages the value of the map.

Re:None

[General Wesc]

I thought maps were for finding your way around. Seems like if my house had 'Wesc's House' painted on the roof, it would be beneficial.

I think putting something up just for the mapping and then removing it could be problematic, as you're intentionally making the map quickly become out-of-date, but unless your banner obscures something, still no real harm. Though, I suppose it could get annoying if everyone did it.

Re:None

[harlows_monkeys]

Uhm...if Google maps gets you to the right intersection, and then you can't take over from there and figure out which of the four corners has the Taco Bell, you shouldn't be going out for food on your own in the first place.

Re:None

[sethawoolley]

For places without street addresses, the geocoder can look up the information directly in the POI (point of interest) database and find coordinates for any feature the website is exposing. Google's map interface isn't the most well-written, even though the geocoder software they use/license (or used at one point) is perfectly capable of this.

For road routing of non-road-network points, they can either "snap to" the nearest road, or the POIs often have "entry links" where you're supposed to be routed to on the road network to get enter there (often more accurate than finding the nearest road).

Full disclosure: I work in the data department of a location-based services company that has a technology-providing business relationship with Google Maps, but I don't deal with Google directly and I'm not authorized to talk on behalf of my company to the public. If you want them to do better geocoding with better routing integration, send them a request, and they might be able to do it in short order. They should already be "capable" of it.

Re:None

[dkixk]

Lighten up, Francis.

Re:None

[niktemadur]

Though, I suppose it could get annoying if everyone did it.

Not necessarily. If this catches on and forgetting commercial and practical considerations for a moment, think of the possibility of turning this into a sort of urban art piece/performance, with the world as interactive mosaic. And then, Phase Two will begin: hunting for easter eggs in Google Satellite.

You could get a bunch of people together to line up their cars in an open field, spelling out a huge message.
I can imagine some people will probably propose to their girlfriend/boyfriend through Google Satellite.
Setting off a bunch of differently coloured smoke flares simultaneously might look cool from space.

Here's a good one: trace a huge figure by lining up naked people lying on the ground!

Re:None

[schnits0r]

Hint: It's the corner that doesn't say "Starbucks"

Re:None

[Restil]

I haven't done any bandwidth calculations, but 20-30% of the TEXT portion of a page sounds about right. A single image will throw that ratio out the window though. However, the bigger issue with google ads comes about not in the total data transfered, but when loading the ad itself causes the page to freeze up if there's any delay in loading it, which there is sometimes. I ended up taking the ad off the front page of my site but left it on back pages that don't get as many hits and I still make as much money from them.... Which is to say, not very much.

-Restil

Re:None

[rblancarte]

Then clearly the news of what a ton of people did, will very much trouble you. The site listed in the story, (which is taking some, because they made Slashdot) is not isolated, they are many in a long list of sites, and people, that have tried this.

I think it was cute what Google was trying to do, but let's be honest here, this is not what Google Maps is about, so why advertise it? It was a nice social experiment, the Australians have clearly failed, and the rest of us pay the price by them never announcing it again.

RonB

Re:None

[DjReagan]

Did they really fail? What was the point of the "experiment" that Google tried? What was the purpose behind them announcing the flyover in advance? Perhaps this is what Google wanted? Perhaps they wanted something else? What makes one action a success and another a failure?

Re:None

[Omestes]

Good point, but this isn't how things work anymore. For some reason companies have eschewed things such as the concept of brand loyalty, for the idea of shoving their image down your throat until you gag.

Go watch some sports, especially NASCAR, and notice that you've somehow been conned into watching a 2 hour commercial for Redbull, Oil, and Viagra, with the added joy of some commercials in between. All sports are like this now, I caught part of ESPN2's recap of the winter "X" Games, pardon, the JEEP winter "x" games, and found myself marveling at how EVERYONE had a commercial stuck on them, for things that they don't (probably) use, and that has nothing to do with snow boarding (Visa? Monster Energy Drink?). It all would be so much more convincing if these competitors advertised things that they used. Then your product would actually speak for itself.

Sorry for the rant, I'm getting rather feed up with the whole thing. I'm wondering how long it will be until all Americans are legally forced to tattoo some product to themselves in a visible area.

If KFC wants more business, then they should make better food, and change their original recipe back to the original recipe, the one that didn't make me camp in a bathroom for an hour after eating it. No amount of advertisement can ever match a quality product.

Re:None

[that this is not und]

Where are you located. And give us the specific address of the busybodies who attend all the Association meetings. Because right now is when we can buy 100 pound bags of clover seed at the lowest price.

You'll be responsible for the followup, though, going to the association meetings and getting a restriction placed on how often people can spray their lawns with 'weed killer' (for the 'good of the children and pets' remember)

Re:None

[Score Whore]

Well, Grand Canyon does something useful. As does Washington Monument (which doesn't have an address even though it's surrounded by streets.) Mount Rushmore also seems to work just fine.

Re:None

[DDLKermit007]

Difference here is Google made the announcement to get people to do just that. Now what I'd really be for is these companies doing these signs on top of their own establishments. Want to know whats around you? Head to Google Maps & see whats around.

Re:None

[Dachannien]

Around here, there's only room for one Starbucks per intersection, what with all the CVSes, Walgreenses, and Rite-Aids in the way.

Re:None

[Reaperducer]

Go watch some sports, especially NASCAR, and notice that you've somehow been conned into watching a 2 hour commercial for Redbull, Oil, and Viagra

Sounds like buying a Windows machine. I see them in coffee shops every once in a while sprinkled in between the Apples. You can spot them pretty easily because they've got stickers all over them: "Made for Windows XP," "Intel Inside," "VIIV," "NVidia," "High Speed USB," "Wireless-G" and sometimes an entire sticker with the specifications of the machine or a Windows license number.

I don't know why people don't peel these things off. Digital cameras are the same way. It's the NASCARization of society.

Re:None

[noidentity]

Sorry dude, if Google were really spamming, their ads would appear on pages without the author's consent.

Re:None

[Hrodvitnir]

"I'm wondering how long it will be until all Americans are legally forced to tattoo some product to themselves in a visible area."

Don't be silly. The government won't need to make a law like this. The free market will handle it. By 2040 we will all need the revenue from these tattoos to stay above the poverty line.

Re:None

[dangitman]

And then, Phase Two will begin: hunting for easter eggs in Google Satellite

I think an easter egg might be a little too small to be discernible in a satellite photo. And it takes a fairly long time to update the satellite images, so by the time you get the map, some other kid has already found the chocolate eggs. Would be easily defeated by hiding eggs under objects and shrubberies, so they are not visible from above.

Re:None

[rtb61]

You will generally find there are town planning restrictions in most countries preventing you from turning your roof into a billboard.

Re:None

[darthnoodles]

Redbull, Oil, and Viagra

Sounds like a lot of fun for two consenting adults.

Re:None

[spun]

Actually, some places have two Starbucks per intersection. They found that it actually increases business to both Starbucks to have one on either side of the street. Because, you know, when you need your Starbucks, you can't be bothered to wait for the turn arrow. I mean, just the other day, I was seriously jonesing for some coffee. I saw a Starbucks on the other side of the street and I just said, "forget it, man, I'm not gonna waste my time turnin' here! There's sure to be a Starbucks on THIS side of the street within a block or two!"

Re:None

[hswerdfe]

So if I post on a forum website.
I am still the "author" of that post, I may not be the webmaster/copyright holder, but I am most likely the author.

I don't ever remember even once giving consent to have google ads put on pages with my posts.

Re:None

[noidentity]

When you post to a web forum, you're a guest on someone else's site. Google's ads will only be on the page if the host decides to have them (or, since you're being picky, if a guest copies and pastes some into a post).

Of course

[LlamaDragon]

"Hi Mom!"

She always loves that.

Re:Of course

[Anonymous Coward]

Troll? WTF?

Sometimes you really have to wonder about the moderation system...

Re:Of course

[imroy]

Look mum, there's an American!

Naughty naughty

[rawket.scientist]

An arrow pointing to my asshole neighbor's house with the caption "Unsecured wireless network here!!"

Re:Naughty naughty

[rawket.scientist]

Not for the legal, socially acceptable stuff, no. But for the warez and the kiddie pr0n and the Nigerian schemes, it sounds awfully inviting.

Re:Naughty naughty

[dangitman]

They say a picture is worth 1000 words.

Except for goatse, which either leaves people speechless, or results in unintelligible gibberish.

"Here's your sign"

[wowbagger]

There's only one thing to put on such a sign:

"Mostly Harmless"

Re:"Here's your sign"

[curlynoodle]

He he he

Good one.

Re:"Here's your sign"

[SkyDude]

There's only one thing to put on such a sign: "Mostly Harmless"

C'mon, we're geeks here: "Hello world" is what belongs on the sign

Re:"Here's your sign"

[diamondmagic]

C'mon, we're geeks here: "Hello world" is what belongs on the sign

You obviously don't understand the reference.

Re:"Here's your sign"

[SkyDude]

C'mon, we're geeks here: "Hello world" is what belongs on the sign

You obviously don't understand the reference. You would be correct. I am blissfully ignorant and I'll read the Wiki when I have insomnia.

Re:"Here's your sign"

[owlnation]

or...

Someone in Norway really needs to write ©Slartibartfast.

Re:"Here's your sign"

[DeadChobi]

Wow, that would be a great way to celebrate Adams's birthday. All around the world we get together to mark up all the places mentioned in his book. If someone in the UK could be bothered to make a gigantic arrow pointing at a swamp which said "Ark B," we'd be in business.

Re:"Here's your sign"

[Doctor Memory]

If I had the space, I'd cover an acre or so with black plastic, then use white spray paint to spell out satellite read error. I wonder if I can find some taggers who can write using Courier New...

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

[Fuyu]

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

Re:All Your Base Are Belong To Us

[diamondmagic]

It also might mean that it is a joke that won't die that was posted on _previous articles_. If it is going to be a joke, it should be something 90% of us haven't seen before.

Re:All Your Base Are Belong To Us

[masterzora]

It may be the first such post on this article, but it certainly is not the first ever post. Like all memes, AYBABTU is quite redundant by definition.

Re:All Your Base Are Belong To Us

[psiclops]

if you hadn't seen it before, you wouldn't get it.

I'm still waiting for this area to be updated

[markh1967]

Where I live right now is just a very low-res blur on Google Earth and Maps. We've had a banner on the roof of our garage that reads "Fuck off Google!" in 3' high letters for the past two years just waiting for the day they update their imagery. We're still waiting...

Re:I'm still waiting for this area to be updated

[unborracho]

I absolutely must see this sign when google updates its maps...PLEASE KEEP ME POSTED!

Re:I'm still waiting for this area to be updated

[kalirion]

Where I live right now is just a very low-res blur on Google Earth and Maps. We've had a banner on the roof of our garage that reads "Fuck off Google!" in 3' high letters for the past two years just waiting for the day they update their imagery. We're still waiting...

Have you considered that maybe your sign is the very reason that you're still waiting?

Get a life

[kevin_conaway]

or GBTW

I guess spam's cool now

[solevita]

Over the last week or so there's been a lot of Slashdot stories about spam, but I guess now it's cool!

1: Get your preppy nerd mates to spam google about your blog
2:Spam /. about your blog
3: ???????
4: Profit!

Who cares if we have to wait an age to see if Google actually took your photograph? The important thing is that, as with most weekends, news articles are hard to come by and someone who probably describes themselves as "whacky" or "insane"* managed to spam Google and /.. Cool.




*If you're the type of person that introduces themselves as whacky, or insane, please feel insulted by this post. Thanks.

The best part.

[Eevee]

The signs were too small. All you'll see in the final resolution is a thin white line. You're talking about possibly four or five pixels wide.

Re:The best part.

[robaal]

You can see blurry cars on the second highest magnification, so the eye should be visible.

But yeah, they should have used at least 2-car high font.

Re:The best part.

[earnest murderer]

Considering the quality of Google Maps other airplane based imagery I think they'll be alright.

Re:Chimpeach!

[ShieldW0lf]

That's clever... I was going to go with "Kill Bush", but yours is punnier.

Maybe you should...

[mdobossy]

... the park ranger stopped by, but was nice and "turned a blind eye". They were there for the "event", and were not $800 out of pocket.

But yes, a homeless man did help them pick up.. AFTER the event.

Nothing to see...

[Anonymous Coward]

What else would a /. reader put up if not:

"Nothing to see here, move on"

(preferably in ASCII art)

Bullseye

[krygny]

If you look at the roof of the Target store in College Point, NY, there's a huge logo. Not such a good idea.

Re:Bullseye

[ortholattice]

If you look at the roof of the Target store in College Point, NY, there's a huge logo. Not such a good idea.

For those too lazy to look it up: Target store in College Point, NY

Re:Bullseye

[maxwells_deamon]

So if I am flying over this is a hot air balloon, do I have permission to drop things on that roof?

Re:Bullseye

[1u3hr]

If you look at the roof of the Target store in College Point, NY, there's a huge logo. Not such a good idea.

Why isn;t it a good idea?

Terrorists? Martians? Pigeons?

Re:Bullseye

[rizzo420]

there's another one in the atlanta area. i don't think it's on google maps yet (haven't been able to find it), but i saw it when i flew to atlanta 2 summers ago.

Re:Bullseye

[ricklow]

Someone should tell them we haven't used optical bomb sights for years. It's all laser guided now.

Re:Bullseye

[Gordonjcp]

There are a couple of places I've seen near me on Google Maps with huge logos on the roof. There's a branch of B&Q here, with a branch of Sainsbury's next to it. That sits a little to the west of one of the approaches to Glasgow Airport. Also, there's the roof of the Yarrow Shipyard workshop, almost faded away to nothing, just like the post-Thatcher shipbuilding industry. I can see what there is of that sign from my window. It looks a lot clearer than it does on Google Maps' photo.

Re:Bullseye

[jlindy]

Gives a whole new meaning to "Google bomb"

Re:Bullseye

[cashman73]

Yeah, apparently, lots of Target Stores are doing this all across the country, particularly those near major airports. It's not just for google maps, either. Think of how many more people see these things flying into Chicago O'Hare International Airport?

Re:Bullseye

[that this is not und]

When I was young one of the instances where my usual staid-and-conservative father surprised me was when he suggested getting a small cannon and setting it up across the parking lot from the big 'Target' sign (this was in the early 70's when Target was not as big as now) and shooting at the sign.

Re:Bullseye

[coredog64]

This brings to mind the (probably apocryphal) story about Jack Welch and GE.

As I heard it, the story goes like this:

Some Saudi prince is given a tour of a GE plant and he arrives by helicopter. After the tour is
over he asks why the roof of the plant says "Fuck you Jack".

The idea is that at the time the only person that would have shown up by helicopter at a GE plant was Jack Welch.

Re:Bullseye

[bir0]

There is one here in Brisbane, Australia too. At the Springwood store. Has been there since before google maps existed methinks. Here is a link to it on google maps

Re:Bullseye

[stunt_penguin]

Yes, but broken line counts low. Company policy.

Re:Bullseye

[stunt_penguin]

Tempting fate.

Re:Bullseye

[TheBogBrushZone]

As long as it's not a big red cross they should be safe.

Re:Bullseye

[srl100]

I guess having a bullseye helps when you are the one designating the target. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_designation

Re:Bullseye

[argStyopa]

Permission?

Hell, that's an invitation.

Re:Bullseye

[sootman]

I remember seeing a big target on a Target when I was flying into Atlanta (I think.)

Re:Bullseye

[jackbird]

Given that it's smack under the southeastern approach to LaGuardia airport (the "turn left really hard and dive at a steep angle to the runway that juts out into the water" or "Oh my god, we're all gonna die" approach), I wouldn't want to stick around long enough to find out.

Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[blantonl]

There is even Penis Spam on google maps:

The Yarm School in the UK (Kids Drawing a Penis on the Roof)

http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=k&hl=en& ll=54.506361,-1.35223&z=19

.. and of course the classic Penis-on-the-frozen-lake:

http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=1211&c=&t=k&hl =en&ll=41.049308,-73.600947&z=18

Re:Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[ZorinLynx]

What's the obsession with penises in public anyway?

It's like the idiots that parade around Second Life with huge wangs strapped on.

What is this, 7th grade? These things aren't funny and they never have been!

-Z

Re:Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[kleptonin]

You're just jealous because they're bigger than yours.

Re:Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[Le Marteau]

What's the obsession with penises in public anyway?

Obviously, you have never read any Freud.

These things aren't funny and they never have been!

Who said they were supposed to be funny? Obviously, you have never watched "Fight Club" where the Durden character spliced sex scenes into family movies in order to be subversive.

So my advice is: Read some Freud, watch Fight Club, and take that pole arm out of your arse.

Re:Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[icebrain]

"These things aren't funny and they never have been!"

On the contrary... they are. Not for the content, but rather because some people get so fucking upset about it. "Oh no, it's vulgar and obscene!" Well, 50% of the population (give or take) has one, and every one of us came out of one in some form or another.

This isn't to say I agree with drawing it on say, the school mentioned in another post, or on the wall of someone's house--that's vandalism. But drawing one in the snow on a frozen lake, or covering your friend's car in penises (drawn with shaving cream)--THAT's funny.

Re:Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[SkyDude]

I think the penis can be very funny as long as it's someone else's being laughed at......

Re:Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[It'sYerMam]

No-one remembers the classics, these days!

Re:Penis Spam on GoogleMaps

[masterzora]

http://xkcd.com/c194.html

Does it matter...

[ForestGrump]

Does it really matter when google has spammed first?

For example, look
here. It is off the california coast, near LAX.

Grump

Re:Does it matter...

[pla]

For example, look here. It is off the california coast, near LAX.

Sorry, I don't get it - I see you got modded funny, but unless the joke comes from getting people to follow the link for no reason, I just don't know what you meant to link to.

Do you mean the Google watermark on all their images, which shows up better on smooth water than on varied terrain?

I tried zooming both in and out, but see nothing.

Re:Does it matter...

[ForestGrump]

Yes, I do mean the watermark.

But the first time i noticed the watermark I thought why does google have their name on a parking lot? I gotta drive out there and check it out.

Grump

Re:Does it matter...

[SkyDude]

It's a pregnant lady on the beach, with a "For Rent" sign on her belly.

Nah, you can see penis drawing from space

[Mr. McD]

This fine rooftop example for instance:

http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=1211&c=&t=k&hl =en&ll=54.506361,-1.35223&z=19

Or this gem in Arizona:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=85022&ie=U TF8&z=17&ll=33.634542,-112.059485&spn=0.004582,0.0 13475&t=k&om=1

As long as they had a ballpark sized ad, they should be ok.

Ryan-

Re:Nah, you can see penis drawing from space

[lathama]

or one that works both ways

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=41.363 822,-86.210302&spn=0.002911,0.005665&t=k&om=1

Re:Nah, you can see penis drawing from space

[dangitman]

That penis is significantly larger than 3 feet wide.

What would I do?

[Karganeth]

Draw a gigantic penis!

Re:How did you know?

[LiquidCoooled]

I've heard about a couple of them now, it increases public awareness of google and their maps in general.
I quite like the idea of the maps cataloguing large events as they occur rather than just getting a blank field or empty stadium.

Pacman

[i, Podius]

I actually made a giant Pac-Man and Two Pac-Ghosts, and put them out in a street near my house. I waited 3 hours, well past the time the plane was supposed to fly over. I didn't see it, but I'm hoping maybe I missed it while being distracted by something. In the end, the police showed up and told me to move it to the footpath, which I took as a cue to get out of the sun and go back to bed.

Mt. Fuji Cherries

[F34nor]

I just want them to fly over when the cherry blossoms are out.

this field is...

[picob]

Intentionally Left Blank

My Sign?

[Hitman_Frost]

"I lack an original comment."

Already done?

[Bigbutt]

Don't know if it's on Google's maps, but GeoEye has done it already.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5047747

[John]

Giving Seti@home a hand

[Kizor]

"FREE HOT BABES FOR ALIENS"

When the tentacle monsters break in, it will be a small price to pay for the advancement of human knowledge.

Many of you are missing the point

[Syde]

Its kind of hard to be calling it spamming when Google actually asked people to do this... If you think its stupid, then call google stupid, not the people that participated. http://www.google.com/intl/en_au/events/australiad ay2007/index.html

Re:What sign would I make?

[euice]

She'll come home early if you do this :)

Heh, just like in Second Life

[vadim_t]

In SL the map shows objects on the land. People used that to create pictures and ads visible on the map. For example:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Palomarian/128/128/128 /
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Omidyar/128/128/128/
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Clementina/128/128/128 /

These are usually made by using large colored blocks high in the air, so they can't be seen from the ground.

What sign would I make?

[hondamankev]

One that conveys truth, honesty, and deep convictions: "Mars Needs More Women."

new spin on old news

[thekm]

Many companies have invested a lot of money/effort into putting signs on the rooftops of warehouses and large buildings. This is just that there's a "new" reason to put a sign on the roof, one that has companies without warehouses wanting to do it (like a .com). Sydney's a great example... take a train from western sydney into the city, and you'll pass a half dozen places with truly enormous signs on their rooftops. Arnotts is one of them.

...these signs have been around for many decades. My father (a signwriter) explained them to me on my very first trip into sydney as a kid. He actually made one for a tractor parts distributor that had a huge shed under a flight path (regaled me with how interesting it was to create such a big layout accurately). So, it's certainly not time now to be getting all bent out of shape because there's just one more reason to make signs for a higher viewpoint.

When the pics finally make it up to google maps, you'll see all the signs that have preempted this article by probably more than my life time. Anyone mad about rooftops becoming big billboards... you'll need to find something actually "new" to whinge about :)

goatse

[smoker2]

see subject (if you're exceptionally unlucky ! )

Re:goatse

[BillX]

Thanks for that. Now if I ever go to Google and they've added an "I'm feeling exceptionally unlucky!" button, I'm selling my modem and becoming a forest ranger.

An old nostalgic favourite...

[RealGrouchy]

"Here be dragons!"

- RG>

Re:An old nostalgic favourite...

[DRACO-]

I second that one!

Tho, painting a few random houses with dragons on top might be interesting.

Re:Chimpeach!

[Anonymous Coward]

That's clever... I was going to go with "Kill Bush", but yours is punnier.

We will be along very soon. I take my coffee black, by the way.

Signed,

The Secret Service

Disneyland Paris has already done this!

[KNicolson]

Look at the Palace of Versailles and you can see Mickey Mouse grinning out at you, if you squint hard enough.

Microsoft too...

[Lord Satri]

The Slashgeo.org story:
All Points Blog tells us Google unexpectedly acquires data over Sydney, for Australia Day 2007. From this other article: "On Friday, an aircraft hired by Google will be doing a series of low-level swoops over parts of Sydney, photographing the ground and waters below. [...] "It's a bit of an experiment and if it's a success, we'll probably do it in other places [around the world]," Mr Rasmussen said, indicating that Google would work on organising similar flyovers in places like Paris on Bastille Day or over cities in the United States on Independence Day." Update: 01/26 16:40 GMT by S:The Google Earth blog tells us Microsoft too will acquire data over Sydney.

Shocked at the negative comments

[gary gunrack]

People (slashdotters?) left some really vitriolic comments on their blog. It would be a completely different situation of soulless corporations were making the ad. But this is just a geeky couple doing something creative that took alot of their time and energy, and was obviously done out of love, not greed.

Re:Shocked at the negative comments

[CrunkCreeper]

You obviously haven't even visited their site: "Can I pay to have my business included?" "No. We do not accept payment or incentives for a listing in one of our guides. We want to include the best, worthwhile tourist attractions in each city. The decision as to whether a particular business is included is made entirely by the reviewer." It sounds to me like a couple of people doing something just because they're having fun doing it. And what if a corporation wants to advertise on their own land? Is anyone forcing you to actually go to Google Maps and look at it? Spam is one subject, creative advertising is another. They're not even making any money out of the deal.

Re:Shocked at the negative comments

[wombert]

Well, except it wasn't their own land. From the write-up, it sounds like they were in a public park (and almost got kicked out, but for a park ranger who decided to let it slide). So anyone looking up a map to that park gets to see their ad.

I am not walmart....

[gmby]

but I want to paint a big happy face on my BUD
(big ugly dish.)

I just need to know when/if google will photo houston again.

I am Here!

A little hard to see but I can say "It's a big one!."

My sign would read...

[thewiz]

Beam me up, Scotty! There's no intelligent life down here!

Heinlein's "Man who Sold the Moon"

[dpbsmith]

...mentions the possibility of inexpensively turning the Moon into a billboard, by using rockets which scatters carbon black on the surface of the moon in patterns.

It's only a matter of time.

Re:Heinlein's "Man who Sold the Moon"

[jkerman]

HA :)

Wouldn't it be...

[Hymer]

...a great practical joke if Google took those pictures a couple of days earlier than announced ?

Not flamebait

[glesga_kiss]

Offtopic maybe, but it's a line from Pulp Fiction:

Jimmie: "Now let me ask you a question, Jules. When you drove in here, did you notice a sign out in front that said, "Dead nigger storage"?"

Jules: "Jimmie..."

Jimmie: "Answer the question! Did you see a sign out in front of my house that said "Dead nigger storage"?"

Jules: "Naw man, I didn't."

Jimmie: "You know why you didn't see that sign?"

Jules: "Why?"

Jimmie: "'Cause storin' dead niggers ain't my fuckin' business!"

Re:How did you know?

[vlad30]

I've heard about a couple of them now, it increases public awareness of google and their maps in general.
I quite like the idea of the maps cataloguing large events as they occur rather than just getting a blank field or empty stadium. However in this day and age of backpack carrying nutters I think I'll avoid those crowded fields next year

Sign?!

[Eastree]

Hell, I'd have sex in the back yard! I mean ... at that resolution, no one could tell it was a Real Doll. it would just look like a flesh-colored spider!

Ceiling Cat!!

[EsJay]

A 200x200 foot Ceiling Cat!!

My sign

[JoshJ]

"I, for one, welcome our Google Maps overlords!"

Douglas Adams

[smilinggoat]

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

We apologise for the inconvenience

[nietsch]

If we're doing hitchhikers guide the sign should be in big flaming letters saying 'we apologise for the inconvenience'

Wouldn't that be a nice message from dog?

Btw: Hey Wow where is my insult?

Re:We apologise for the inconvenience

[wowbagger]

Sorry, but I'm not into the N's yet...

Couldn't Resist

[thesnarky1]

"If you can read this, you're invading my privacy" -- Hey, I don't want my business in their servers "Copyright thesnarky.com 2007" -- 'Cause then I can charge everytime someone views my part of the map "Google Map THIS ----" -- Insert your own image or funny phrase in the dashes Actually, I'd probably put up a gigantic mirror and hope its nice and sunny to eliminate my part of the city from terrorists trying to plan an attack via Google Earth. ... ACTUALLY I'd be asleep at 4 am (ok, going to bed) like any sane person!

Spam != Ads

[Ikcor]

For those who say that "spam is cool now," let's not confuse spam with advertising. There are no laws against TV ads, magazine ads, billboards, or Google ads, but there are laws against spam.

Let's not get the definitions blurred, shall we?

Re:Spam != Ads

[that this is not und]

In some places there are laws against billboards. Furthermore, I'm not sure why you're trying to define 'cool' as being 'it's not against the law.' It just seems like a weird way to 'draw a distinction.'

Re:Spam != Ads

[dangitman]

Actually, the term "spam" is believed to originate from BBSes and chat systems - and had nothing to do with advertising. Users would type "spam spam, spam... Baked beans and spam... Oooooh, I love it... spam spam spam" etc. - from the Monty Python sketch, until they filled up the chat screen. It was intended to annoy others, and often to frustrate unwanted or newbie users into leaving the chat.

So, no, spam is not limited to email or advertising. It basically means "an annoying waste of bandwidth."

Assclowns

[Infonaut]

Why do some people never learn that annoying the shit out of people isn't a good way to generate revenue?

Yes, I know. Plenty of companies make a lot of money annoying the shit out of people. But dotcoms should know by now that in their market, they can't get away with that for long. It's simply too easy for customers to jump over to another product run by a company that respects its customers.

An obvious one...

[niktemadur]

John 3:16

Rest assured, if and when Google announces a flyby over a United States city, this one will rear its' obnoxious head.

Re:An obvious one...

[niktemadur]

Hmmm... high irony alert, I believe, especially since it's posted as AC. That's okay, I'll bite.

If somebody wants to say Jesus Saves, well they should just go out and say it, much more succint than giving the technical coordinates of a versicle. Why be cryptic when you don't have to be?

The first person that unfurled a banner with John 3:16 during a sporting event did an original and good-natured thing, but that was at least a couple of decades ago, so that by now we've seen it a thousand times. It's become a cliché, more or less like 'The Wave'. The banner could have said Where's The Beef? for twenty years running, it would be obnoxious.

The fact that a banner we've seen a thousand times cannot be ripped a bit, without generating a tsk-tsk response for my "not appreciating the good news", is the clincher, a certain attitude of being beyond reproach that insinuates "You criticize this piece of cloth with painted letters on it, you criticize Our Lord". An extraordinary position on a method to take, if you think about it.

Reactions

[NoahKing]

Interesting to compare the response generated by this article to another where a group of open-source advocates built a crop circle in the shape of the firefox logo. As a community, our response to the giant firefox logo was overwhelmingly positive, while this article has had an overwhelmingly negative response. What makes this one spam, but the firefox advocacy a cool way to spend a weekend?

Re:Reactions

[hawaiian717]

Was the Firefox logo timed to coincide with a Google Maps photography flyover? If not, that's the difference.

Re:Reactions

[mister_tim]

I think that people are offended at the thought of some corporate mob getting free advertising: but the site mentioned in this 'article' doesn't seem to have a business model - it's just a fun thing and informative.
Also, an article in the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia's equivalent to the NY Times) said about these people:
"Dressed in their wedding outfits, the couple were promoting a spoof dating website - darwindating.com - and a hobby travel mashup site, swiftcity.com."

If you go to swiftcity.com, it looks interesting, but not a corporate venture - I didn't even see any advertising (also, the site is a Google maps mashup, which makes the situation all the more appropriate).

beachimpeach.org !!!!

[sethawoolley]

http://beachimpeach.org/

Looks like they'll have to organize another one!

YOUR AD HERE

[cavehobbit]

what else?

Maybe a giant goatse?

Re:how could anyone forget....

[gardyloo]

I can't decide whether you're talking about the parent poster's mom or not, but I like it either way.

Florida

[tepples]

I thought Florida was America's wang.

Deviled Ham

[zoward]

The company I work for bought an existing office building that used to be the headquarters of the Underwood Company, whose chief product is deviled ham. To this day the red devil insignia on the rooftop is visible on flyovers.

Google and ads

[jesterzog]

This is Google we're talking about. The guys who do everything they can to convince people to place ads on every page on the internet?

Not really. Much of the reason that so many people prefer Google is that Google makes an effort to promote results that are genuinely useful, rather than someone attempting to splash a commercial in everyone's face. Paid advertisements are present (sometimes even useful), but they're clearly marked and kept separate from the actual results.

If this practice becomes more common, I think it'll only discourage Google from making public the dates. It'll probably also encourage a policy of removing (or re-imaging) segments of maps that are noticed to be deliberately unrepresentative of their normal look.

Re:Google and ads

[Score Whore]

I'm not talking about ads on search results. I'm talking about all the "Ads by Google" you see all over the internet. The relevence of such ads is almost nil. When you go to universetoday.com you are not going there to see astronomy related ads, you are going there to read their content. The fact that there are astronomy related ads doesn't make them somehow appropriate for the user experience. They are just a waste of bandwidth.

Share and Enjoy!

[hellfire]

While we are on h2g2, don't forget the sirius cybernetics corporation slogan!

Remember, the letters were so large, the sign sunk half way into the ground, and in an alien language, the top half of the letters translate to "Go stick your head in a pig."

Then they would be idiots

[Snaller]

Much easier and *CHEAPER* to simply have their resturants listed on Google Earth - which is free.

If you can read this...

[StikyPad]

...Back Off!

Whats the big deal?

[Mantrid42]

Why are people opposed to putting things on a roof? How is that any different from map makers placing symbols on conventional maps of things like a fork and a knife for a restaurant, or a bed for a hotel?

Hold on you miserable bunch of kill-joys.

[goldcd]

Google are asking people to get themselves noticed.
Google Maps belong to google, htf can you complain about people spamming somebody else (i.e. google), after they've asked to be spammed.

And putting all that aside for one moment, can't you just accept it might be 'fun' to get yourself on google earth?
Bunch of miserable bastards the lot of you, if you don't want to see people waving at the camera on google maps, then just don't log into google maps. FFS.
*bangs head on keyboard*

I already did these...

[rthille]

Nazca lines

A joke

[rg3]

Something like...
MY OTHER GIANT SIGN IS SPELLED CORECTLY

This sentence serves the purpose of disabling the lameness filter that would prevent me from posting the above message due to caps usage.

Same here...

[Otto]

The Peabody Place mall in downtown Memphis, TN has their slogan/logo/whatever painted onto the roof, and it's clearly visible on Google Maps. I never noticed it for a long time until scrolling around near where I live and spotted it. In retrospect, it's clearly visible from several rooftops around the place, which is the original motivation, I think. I've also spotted it flying into town.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=19&ll=35.141323, -90.052528&spn=0.001406,0.002041&t=h&om=1

Re:Some typical /. comment, of course...

[WobindWonderdog]

You don't have to be Kreskin to predict GoogleMap's future. The writing's on the floor.

Re:pc=privacy

[dangitman]

Nah, they'll just replace your sign with one reading "Klansman lives here" and an arrow pointing to your house.

No-Fly Zone Spolied the Day!!..

[Guzzitza]

Turns out that Google didnt think the plan through, with several portions of Sydney being deemed a no-fly zone on the day - in particular several parks and beaches such as Bondi Beach - where many people congregated to create large signs. One company even spent $10,000 on a sign, only to miss out!!

See article here:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/google-botch-sy dney-flyover/2007/01/29/1169919256978.html/

Either "Click Here"..

[RealGene]

..or a big red inverted teardrop icon with an "A" in it... --Gene

Nothing happened!

[Joel from Sydney]

Posting too late for many people to see this, but as an update pretty much nothing happened! Air Traffic Control at Sydney Airport wouldn't let Google's plane fly over most of the areas in question, so all the people standing around their signs pretty much missed out. Link with more information is here.

For those who haven't been to Sydney, the airport is extremely close to the centre of the city and planes fly pretty close to the CBD when approaching from the north.

Spam? Are you on crack?

[tgeller]

Oh, come on, people. Calling this activity "spam" is like saying a rollerskate is a truck. It's people doing something lawful and unintrusive on their own property, for dogsache. What, are they now required to act invisible because they know a certain airplane might be passing overhead?

Don't be stupid.

haha

[squidinkcalligraphy]

Looks like these plans were foiled due to last minute changes in the flight plan:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/nofly-zone-s poils-googles-big-day-out/2007/01/29/1169919256978 .html?page=fullpage

UFO's LAND HERE

[erik_norgaard]

Who knows if aliens use Google maps?

Computer stickers

[Peter Mork]

I don't take a laptop to coffee shops very often, but I did just buy a new desktop (for my wife's NWN II). It turned out that the graphics card wasn't up to the task. Instead of perusing the control panel, I just copied all of the salient info off of the sticker on the front (i.e., the default graphics card, the graphics slot, etc.). A sticker that contains the machine's (default) specifications is a great timesaver. (Now, the useless Intel Inside stickers, I'm not gonna try to defend.)

Mount Rushmore

[Peter Mork]

According to the people that put together the Terraserver, Mount Rushmore was one of the most requested images. But (as the above link demonstrates), what do you think you see of Mount Rushmore from above!?!

Drilling for Oil -- Mount Rushmore

[woodsrunner]

Those requests are probably coming from oil companies trying to analyze the most efficient way to drill for oil at Mount Rushmore.