Timelapse video of mapping activity in Lahore, Pakistan
The Google Map Maker on Campus
As part of the recent US Map Maker launch, the Map Maker Community team has begun a series of campus visits across the US.
Our first stop was the University of California at Berkeley, where we gave students and faculty a chance to learn about Google Map Maker and work with Map Maker team members in person to map their campus.
Even though the map of Berkeley and the UC Berkeley Campus on Google Maps were already well mapped, students still identified many opportunities to add their local knowledge to the map. Edits included moving location markers, tracing building boundaries, and adding names of campus dorms. The Google Map Maker community team was on site to guide these new mappers and note their thoughtful feedback.
Participants were excited about making corrections and contributions to the map in their area, particularly the U.C. Berkeley campus, and seeing the edits they made appear on the monitor that had been set up on the big screen at the front of the room to show real-time mapping.
Everyone has local knowledge they can add to the map. Help us make your school look even better! Check out your college campus at mapmaker.google.com and leave your mark on the map by drawing walking paths, adding details to your school’s buildings, and more.
For more information on how to get started and to connect with other mappers, check out the Google Map Maker community forum. You can also reach out to the Map Maker community team at mapping@google.com.
Google Mapmaker: Reflecting the ever-changing world around us
These edits are often visible immediately on Map Maker, but aren’t seen by most users until they’re published on Google Maps. In the past we would process edits in large groups, which meant it could take weeks before approved edits appeared on Google Maps. In preparation for yesterday’s launch, we recently added a new publishing system to reflect Map Maker user contributions on Google Maps more quickly. Once a Map Maker edit has been approved, it will now appear on Google Maps within minutes.
You often have the latest information about changes that occur in the places where you live and work. If a new coffee shop opens along your way to work, or you discover a tennis court nearby, you can add to or update the map and help other users find those spots just minutes after your edit is approved.
Map before user contributions
Map after user contributions, showing tennis courts in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
With our new publishing system and the efforts of the Map Maker community, we’re working together to make Google Maps a more detailed, up-to-date reflection of the world around us. You can see the results of these efforts through real-time edits by users around the world atmapmaker.google.com/pulse. To add your local knowledge, learn more or get started mapping at mapmaker.google.com.