Google and Modern Geography

It is the basic need of man to travel. There was a huge extension in travelling with the growth in population. In every era anybody who was well aware of paths and ways was given more importance because caravan did travel through see, and land under his guidance. A person who is aware of the directions and paths is considered as guide. Man has pondered a lot in making this system easier and convenient. In the beginning, the sun, the moon and the stars were observed to find the direction during travelling. With the passage of time a lot of maps and tools like compass were made. With evolution of science, man devised better tools and instruments in the field of Geography and Cartography. Some geographical and basic information about Geography and Cartography is given here.

Today there are latest and useful navigation system is planted in the modern means of travelling like aeroplanes and cars. With the help of which, information about destination and track of destination can be found easily. There is a wonderful invention of smart phone which not only is used for communication but also has the function of a compass, maps and GPS. In this modern device not only directions, distances information but also real pictures of every place and corner of the earth, are available. Within a few minutes man can find any destination with the help of maps.

Smart phones and some other devices have compass, GPS and navigation system. Usually direction is found with compass but if the device does not have compass hardware, direction can be found with GPS while travelling. GPS does connect to four satellites at a time and tells the altitude and longitude of a place. Besides it geographical information and maps are installed already or they are retrieved via internet from various companies.

Nowadays various companies or departments provide this geographical information without any cost like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Wikimapia etc. In fact all are excellent but Google has dominated this realm also by the softwares like Google earth and Google maps. As the names tell the story that Google Maps is about mapping and the Google Earth is about geography in which snaps of the earth are taken by satellite in the real shape of a globe and provides many geographical information.

Various services of social media such as youtube or others earned their name with the cooperation of common people i.e. lay men gave a great hand in promoting these services and these services became a huge company, similarly common people contributed a lot in the development of the Google Earth and Google Maps. Initially Google made a rough sketch of the earth in which there were the maps of several countries and their cities and roads. Later on Google introduced such services that anyone can take part in providing information e.g. Google Map Maker, Panoramio and Sketch-up. A common internet user can draw any map and mark any place with the help of Google Map Maker; and picture of any place can be uploaded by Panoramio and a 3D map can be designed of any building with the help of Sketch-up. The information gained with the help of Google Map Maker, Sketch Up and Panoramio is checked by Moderators of Google and this information is included in Google Maps and Google Earth if this information is found correct. All over the world people took great part in this proceeding of making maps and uploading pictures. There is a great contribution of the common people and the cartographers in this latest Google Earth and Google Maps. Nowadays most of the places are traced and marked in these softwares. Map Makers from all over the world took part in improving Google Maps/Earth. Pakistani Map Makers also took great part in this field, to get the detail of Pakistani Map Makers follow this link.

Nowadays Google Earth/Maps are so prominent to get geographical information. These softwares are available for all computer operating systems as well as many smart phones. Even navigation system of cars also gets information from Google Earth/Maps. Different machines like computer and mobile provide Google Earth/Maps service due to installed hardwares i.e. if a device has the hardware of compass or GPS, these devices can provide directions otherwise not. Here is a glimpse of some facilities of Google Earth/Maps.

Google Maps is in fact a complete program of Maps with the help of which we can find a place, distance from one place to other, its path and required time and various maps. Devices like smart phone have the facility of GPS, this program gets information from the satellite and tell us about the required place and direction while travelling. If we have already informed Google Maps, it does guide us during travelling place by place, turn right or left etc. Besides it gives update about the traffic of the roads. In Google Maps anyone can save his favorite destinations so that he may get instant information instead of searching required place. It would be kept in mind that in Google Earth/Maps the path, trace of required destination is different from the path made in Google Map Maker. Because whatever we make in Google Map Maker, Google incorporates this information in software and shares it with others but what information is given in Google Earth/Maps, this information is only visible to its own maker or those persons whom the maker allows to share.

Google Earth is wonderful software about Geography and maps. Google Earth has all the facilities of Google Maps and some other facilities. In Google Earth real pictures of the earth have been taken by the satellite and a globe is framed like real earth. In earlier stages we twirl the globe to trace a place, but Google Earth is much advance than that. We can see the place by any angle and mountains are same as original in it. We can find the altitude from sea level of any place and latitude of the place. We can also find the day or night time of a place. The information of streets that are included in Google Earth can be found by Street Viewer like someone is walking himself in these streets. Maps made by Map Maker, uploaded picture of a place by Panoramio and buildings made by Sketch-up can also be seen in Google Erath. Besides it weather, the information about a place provided by international organizations can also be seen in Google Earth. Even solar system, moon and Mars also can be observed by Google Earth.

When we zoom in a place in Google Earth, there would appear different signs of different kinds. Then we can click the desired information tag about which we need information. It gives so much information about a specific point that it is very hard to see the map, when these signs of different kinds appear. That’s why we do not select all the layers of information during Google Earth installation. Later on different layers can be selected or removed according to our need.

People of all disciplines are using Google Earth/Maps in modern times but especially travelers, tourists and students of geography are using it mainly. Some persons are very fond of maps and geography; Google Earth is a blessing for such eager people. Now it is time when people do not tell the path of required place but they trace the place in Google Earth and send this file via email to the stranger for guidance. When the stranger opens this file in Google Earth or gives code in Google Maps, he finds the place conveniently and this file or code makes him reach this particular place. Every corner of the world has been traced and nowadays the earth is searched or traced with the eye of Google.

Pakistani Google Map Makers

There is a huge contribution of the customers in the modern standard of Google Maps/Earth because most of the pictures, roads and different places are tagged by the users themselves. In Google Mapping, every country has participated a lot and Pakistani map makers (cartographers) also contributed in this field.

Many Pakistani people did this job but some volunteers did such effort that the Google awarded them with the biggest title (Advocate) of Google Map Maker. Pakistani Volunteers who got “Advocate” title are Jabran Rafique a web developer from a small village of Gujranwala, Omer Sheikh from Lahore, Usman Latif an internet marketing expert and a software developer Faraz Ahmad from Daska. Among them it is Usman Latif who is present in Pakistan and others are out of Pakistan, this thing made him prominent from the others. Another person Abdul Rehman who is the Saudi advocate of Map Maker but he is working conscientiously in Pakistani mapping.

There is a long list of other Google Map Makers and ‘Regional Expert Reviewer’ in this regard. Owing to these map makers Google Maps has reached such position that a lay man can get information of every inch and corner at his doorstep. Google Map Makers did such precious efforts that Pak army during the flood in 2010 used these Google Maps and appreciated such volunteers in a press release. Pakistani Map Makers have a distinctive position in the world and in 2009 they got first position. In Pakistan Badar Khushnood is the country consultant of Google, who is always in contact with people regarding all activities of Google.

Historical information about Geography and Cartography

Man has been researching the directions, determining and identification of paths and researching construction of the earth since man has started traveling. It can’t be denied that man is busy in devising better navigation system since beginning. The study of the earth, its construction, structure and study of its inhabitants is called geography while mapping of the earth is called cartography. With the passage of time many units and tools were framed for geography and cartography. Modern cartography is, to great extent, conjoined with geography; cartography provides the basics of many geographical matters. Modern man has found primitive maps which proves that cartography is an ancient branch of knowledge.

Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C) a Greek mathematician and geographer did first research about the earth. He devised some rules about mapping and gave information with the help of different methods about measurement of the earth. These rules are still being used in modern times. Definitely this process was being continued by the others. Then the Abbasid caliph Haroon Ul Raheed’s son Mamoon Ul Rasheed got preceded the job of cartography. But in 1017, a brilliant Muslim scientist Al-Biruni did more exact measurement than his predecessors. His assumed radius of the earth was 6335 Km. Modern research has proved that he was right with the difference of 36 km.

First compass for the direction was invented in China between the 2nd century B.C. and 1st century A.D. Western Europe started using the compass between 1187 and 1202, and in Persia in 1232.

The man used to determine directions and paths with the help of stars in the past but now he has a latest and modern geographical navigation system. Every place is marked on the earth now with the help of longitude and latitude. In modern system, satellites are being used to identify places. The most famous satellite system is GPS (Global Positioning System) with the help of which we can get information about any specific place, its altitude to sea level, the speed and direction during traveling. By combining information got from GPS with mapping, there is a complete system having directions and mapping information. In 1973 American defense department made GPS system but it properly worked in 1995 and it is being refined day by day. Europe Union, China, Russia and India are also trying to make their own such GPS system.

Many other companies besides NASA are now providing free information about geography and mapping, the most famous is Google. Google has made two programs (Google Earth and Google Maps) for a common man. The foundation of Google Earth was not laid by the Google; it was first laid by a company “Keyhole” funded by CIA and the initial name was Earth Viewer. In October 2004 Google purchased Keyhole company along with another mapping company. Afterwards in February 2005 Google started Map service. In June 2005 Google made some amendments in the software Earth Viewer and launched a new software Google Earth.

Make Money from Blogging

Bloggers not only polish their creative abilities through blogging and get jobs in the worthy institutions but also earn money at their door step by writing blogs. Some bloggers take blogging partially as their source of income and some consider blogging a full time job as source of earning their livelihood. The most famous way of earning from blog is advertisement. Nowadays Google’s “AdSense” is the most famous service through which Google receives ads from different companies and gives these ads to the websites all over the world. When someone does click on that ads, every click charges some cents and that cents are accumulated in the account of the owner of the website. At the end of the month, total amount of the cents is transferred in the account of the owner of the website. Some other companies also provide such service. There are also some other types of advertisement in which various articles of different companies are presented in the form of commercials. For more detail about “Make Money from internet” in Urdu, follow this link.

Majority of the bloggers is writer that’s why bloggers write their new book or sort out their blog’s post and publish in the form of book. Bloggers sell the soft and hard copy of that book through blog. You must keep in your mind that it is not possible to earn money in the initial stage of blog writing but it demands effort and struggle. First you have to get fame by writing good, descent, and unique writings. After prominence you obtain ads and find some other ways of earning money. It is a simple fact, if the blog is not famous and nobody visits the blog, then who will give you ad?

Actually a large number of bloggers in the world is earning a handsome amount through blogging. Some top earning blogs in the world are; the news blog “The Huffington Post” of Arianna Huffington whose monthly income is almost 2.33 million dollar. After him the earning of technology blog of Pete Cashmore “Mashable” is almost 5.5 lac dollars, the monthly income of fashion blog of Mario Lavandeira “Perez Hilton” is almost 4.5 lac dollars, and the income of technology blog of Michael Arrington “Techcrunch” earns nearly 4 lac dollars.

In this field of Blogging, Pakistani English Bloggers are also in the position of earning handsome amount. But there is no such sign of earning as far as Urdu Bloggers are concerned. It does not mean that Urdu Bloggers are not up to the mark as compared to English Bloggers but they have earned good name not only in Pakistan but also in abroad among the Urdu community because of their dauntless, sharp and unique style. World’s renowned Google AdSense has not started to give ads to Urdu websites yet, which is one of the reasons of fading of Urdu bloggers in Pakistan as far as earning is concerned. Anyway in the world a large strength of bloggers does blogging for the sake of money but in Urdu Blogosphere, bloggers is such a community which does blogging for the sake of interest and love for its language.