Startup companies where Google’s services are central live dangerously. Today Google launched customisable maps, with an aggregation and social filtering. Companies like
which offer maps of interesting places submitted and reviewed by their community observe with apprehension. Google has only introduced a simple sharing function for the maps; social aggregation and filtering or tagging are, so far, absent.
Google should offer assurances to companies collaborating and cooperating through Google’s web services and APIs. Google should signal it will refrain from entering their space, otherwise Google’s open commons community, and crowdsourcing ecosystem will vanish.
