Community and Compensation Are Secret Weapons of Microsoft's New Virtual Earth
Locked in a game of leap frog with rival Google, Microsoft offers developers a carrot in the form of better community in order to put the momentum back behind its own mapping software engine.
by Erin Gannon, Associate Editor
July 26, 2005
ager to gain momentum in the creation of software that facilitates local search and geo-centric applications, Microsoft has released a new version of its mapping software—not only with speed and features to rival Google Maps—but with plenty of community and developer incentives built in.
Microsoft announced Sunday that its new "Virtual Earth" will feature robust community features for developers, which, the company promises, will offer participants opportunities to contribute to the product's overall development. In fact, starting with the winter VE release, Microsoft plans “to encourage developers to share what they create using the application by offering compensation for good ideas,” said Mark Law, lead product manager for the Map Point business unit on MSN Virtual Earth.
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ager to gain momentum in the creation of software that facilitates local search and geo-centric applications, Microsoft has released a new version of its mapping software—not only with speed and features to rival Google Maps—but with plenty of community and developer incentives built in.
Erin Gannon is an Associate Editor at DevX.
