Somewhat OT: Google Street View

Google Street View seems to be in the news again over allegations that
they have gathered lots of personal data from unsecured WiFi systems.

If nothing else, it might provide a wake-up call to encourage people to
secure their systems!

Can anyone throw any light on Google's business model for doing all
this? The cost of driving their camera-equipped cars along every road on
the planet[1] must be colossal. Presumably this must somehow generate a
commensurate amount of revenue - but I struggle to understand how.

[1] Well, the western world, at any rate - they don't appear to have
done much in Russia or China! But I was amazed to find that Street View
covers a rural area in NSW (Australia) which I shall soon be visiting.
Some relatives of mine live right out in the sticks, and a rural road
within about 2 Km of their property (which probably only carries a
handful of vehicles per day) can be seen on Street View.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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Roger Mills <(E-Mail Removed)> gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

> If nothing else, it might provide a wake-up call to encourage people to
> secure their systems!

Unlikely...

To be fair, though, there do appear to be a lot fewer unsecured access
points these days - pretty much only the BT back-door networks, and they
all require a login anyway.

> Can anyone throw any light on Google's business model for doing all
> this? The cost of driving their camera-equipped cars along every road on
> the planet[1] must be colossal. Presumably this must somehow generate a
> commensurate amount of revenue - but I struggle to understand how.

Simple. StreetView drives a load of traffic to Google's site. As a
result, they can attract more advertisers and charge more for advertising
- even before you consider the location-specific advertising on maps &
streetview.

> [1] Well, the western world, at any rate - they don't appear to have
> done much in Russia or China!

They haven't done my road, in the middle of town, less than a mile from
the M25 and about 250m from the station...

On 25/10/10 12:08, Roger Mills wrote:
> Can anyone throw any light on Google's business model for doing all this?
> The cost of driving their camera-equipped cars along every road on the
> planet[1] must be colossal. Presumably this must somehow generate a
> commensurate amount of revenue - but I struggle to understand how.

Out of the two major map data suppliers, Navteq is owned by Nokia,
Teleatlas by TomTom.

As such, by gathering their own data about the road network it allows them
to offer map and navigation services without paying licensing fees to their
competitors.

Most of their revenue comes from selling advertising alongside free
services, of course.

On 25/10/2010 13:56, Jim wrote:
> On 25/10/10 12:08, Roger Mills wrote:
>> Can anyone throw any light on Google's business model for doing all this?
>> The cost of driving their camera-equipped cars along every road on the
>> planet[1] must be colossal. Presumably this must somehow generate a
>> commensurate amount of revenue - but I struggle to understand how.
>
> Out of the two major map data suppliers, Navteq is owned by Nokia,
> Teleatlas by TomTom.
>
> As such, by gathering their own data about the road network it allows
> them to offer map and navigation services without paying licensing fees
> to their competitors.
>
> Most of their revenue comes from selling advertising alongside free
> services, of course.

The numbers are stunning. Look at:

http://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html

in 2009:

revenue 23.6 Gigadollars

costs and expenses 15.3 Gigadollars

so operational income 8.3 Gigadollars = 35% of revenue!

Wish I could do that......................

On 25/10/2010 18:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:

>
> I'm finding it really useful because I can 'look' at some jobs without going
> there in many instances. People are particularly bad at describing things
> over the phone, but I can see their house in a matter of seconds.
>
>
Bear in mind that the images may be a couple of years or so old, so the
house may not still look *exactly* as shown on StreetView. [My house
still shows a garage door, which was bricked up and replaced with a
window well over a year ago].

It's jolly useful for visualising parts of a route though. I've been
using it a lot for looking at places in Australia where I'm going to be
driving in a few weeks time.

But be warned - it uses a *lot* of bandwidth. I've already exceeded my
quota for this month, and I don't usually get anywhere near it.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Roger Mills
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>On 25/10/2010 18:11, The Medway Handyman wrote:
>
>>
>> I'm finding it really useful because I can 'look' at some jobs without going
>> there in many instances. People are particularly bad at describing things
>> over the phone, but I can see their house in a matter of seconds.
>>
>>
>Bear in mind that the images may be a couple of years or so old, so the
>house may not still look *exactly* as shown on StreetView. [My house
>still shows a garage door, which was bricked up and replaced with a
>window well over a year ago].
>

And it can tell you that you are outside number 20 when you are several
houses away. If you can't read the house numbers, you may have a
problem getting the right one.


Adrian
--
To Reply :
replace "news" with "adrian" and "nospam" with "ffoil"
Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.

On 25/10/2010 12:45, Adrian wrote:
> Roger Mills<(E-Mail Removed)> gurgled happily, sounding much like
> they were saying:

>> Can anyone throw any light on Google's business model for doing all
>> this? The cost of driving their camera-equipped cars along every road on
>> the planet[1] must be colossal. Presumably this must somehow generate a
>> commensurate amount of revenue - but I struggle to understand how.
>
> Simple. StreetView drives a load of traffic to Google's site. As a
> result, they can attract more advertisers and charge more for advertising
> - even before you consider the location-specific advertising on maps&
> streetview.

Does Google carry adverts? Can't say I've ever noticed, sorry!

>
>> [1] Well, the western world, at any rate - they don't appear to have
>> done much in Russia or China!
>
> They haven't done my road, in the middle of town, less than a mile from
> the M25 and about 250m from the station...

Nor mine.
We live in a 'clump' of four houses about a mile away from any other
houses in either direction.
From the west the Street View goes along the 'empty' county lane till
about 300 yards before our house, then it stops!!



--
J B

"Adrian" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Roger Mills <(E-Mail Removed)> gurgled happily, sounding much like
> they were saying:

>> Can anyone throw any light on Google's business model for doing all
>> this? The cost of driving their camera-equipped cars along every road on
>> the planet[1] must be colossal. Presumably this must somehow generate a

>> [1] Well, the western world, at any rate - they don't appear to have
>> done much in Russia or China!
>
> They haven't done my road, in the middle of town, less than a mile from
> the M25 and about 250m from the station...

Nor my road, which is a cul-de-sac. When I looked at the view from the road
at the other end, I could see why: there was a garbage truck blocking the
entrance, and they didn't bother to wait until it'd gone.

Actually, considering they have done just about every other road in the
country, it's odd that I've never seen one of their vehicles..

--
bartc

"BartC" <(E-Mail Removed)> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying:

> Actually, considering they have done just about every other road in the
> country, it's odd that I've never seen one of their vehicles..

I have. We waved to the one that passed the office - you can just about
make out a colleague in the window - and I followed one down the only
stretch of A413 not to be on StreetView yet...

I think it's personal.

Tim Streater <(E-Mail Removed)> gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

>> Does Google carry adverts? Can't say I've ever noticed, sorry!

> I think this sums up my basic puzzlement at the notion of having ads on
> a website. I tune them out completely, and if I can't do that it's
> likely to be my last visit to that site.

AdBlock Plus is your friend.