More Mapping Madness

This isn't my first complaint about online mapping services. Also, in this article I ask why Google doesn't have their own URL Shortening Service. It sure would make sending map URLs easier. For instance, if I want to send a map URL to someone, I can hit "Send" and it will bring up a window for me to send an email to someone.

However, it just sends an email with this really long URL in it:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&
geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=1+post+street,+
san+francisco,+ca&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=
35.136115,82.265625&ie=UTF8&ll=37.789811,
-122.402029&spn=0.008563,0.020084&z=16&
iwloc=addr&om=1

If I didn't want to send an email from within the Google UI, but instead wanted to include this link in a meeting invitation in Outlook, it would either be cumbersome or I would use a URL shortening service. Why doesn't Google create user-friendly, sharable URLs for their maps and other services? In fact, why don't any of the large mapping companies do this? I just checked Yahoo! and MapQuest and they both do the same thing. MapQuest's URL is just a monstrosity!

Yahoo! (not as bad as Google, but still bad)

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=37.789098&
lon=-122.402044&mag=3&q1=1%20post%
20street,%20san%20francisco,%20ca

MapQuest (HORRIBLE! Is this for real?)

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?
address=1%20Post%20St&city=San
%20Francisco&state=CA&zipcode=
94104%2d5203&country=US&title=%3cb
%20class%3d%22fn%20org%22%3e1%20
Post%20St%3c%2fb%3e%3cbr%20%2f
%3e%20%3cspan%20style%3d%22display
%3ainline%3bmargin%2dbottom%3a0px
%3b%22%20class%3d%22locality%22
%3eSan%20Francisco%3c%2fspan%3e
%2c%20%3cspan%20style%3d%22
display%3ainline%3bmargin%2dbottom%
3a0px%3b%22%20class%3d%22region%
22%3eCA%3c%2fspan%3e%20%3cspan%
20style%3d%22display%3ainline%3bmargin
%2dbottom%3a0px%3b%22%20class
%3d%22postal%2dcode%22%3e94104
%2d5203%3c%2fspan%3e%2c%20%20%
3cspan%20style%3d%22display%3ainline%
3bmargin%2dbottom%3a0px%3b%22%20
class%3d%22country%2dname%22%3eUS
%3c%2fspan%3e%3c%2fspan%3e&cid=
lfmaplink2&name=&dtype=s

I can't understand why in 2008 this type of thing is still around. With the explosion of Twitter, micro-blogging, text messaging and IM, this just doesn't make any sense. And as I stated in the other post on URL shortening, the metrics Google et al. are missing out on is unbelievable.

Where is Google’s URL Shortening Service?

Why doesn't Google provide its own URL shortening service? Can you imagine the potential for a Google-owned version of this type of product. Think of the intelligence they could gain on the popularity of URLs.

No longer does a link have to be on a published web page to count against their Page Rank, but now the sharing of those URLs could be taken into account. In fact, this seems to me to be a better way (potential system-gaming aside) of determining the popularity of a URL. A big question is, how many people publish links to their favorite content vs. share URLs with friends. I'm guessing the former out-weights the latter by a huge margin.

If Google provided an easy-to-use tool (bookmarklet, addition to its toolbar, integration with gMail and Reader, etc.) and encouraged its use, this could be a serious blow to the 90+ URL Shortening Services out there, and a major gain in actionable intelligence for them.