Amazon Finds That Driving Around The World Taking Pictures Every Few Feet Isn't Worth it
from the think-of-the-gas-bill dept
Amazon hasn't gotten very far in its stab at the search industry. Just about the only thing that A9 is known for is its attempt to combine local search and on-the-ground pictures. But driving around to collect pictures is an expensive process, and so far, it's Google's simple maps that have become the standard for visually representing local search. So it's no surprise that A9 is eliminating the picture feature, as it probably realized that the cost of continuing the process wasn't worth it for the amount of use the service was getting. That doesn't mean that the idea isn't worth pursuing. The popularity of Google Earth and other satellite imaging services suggests a demand for having pictures of a location. But more than likely, the solution to this problem will be of the (warning: buzzword coming) crowdsourced variety, as users submit their own pictures to be matched up with a location. Yahoo's Flickr allows users to upload photos associated with a specific location. As for A9, it recently lost some top talent to Google, and is stuck as the 32nd (who are the 31 in front of them?) most popular search engine, so throwing in the towel on the picture project may be a signal that the company realizes it doesn't have much to bring to search.






Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
Feat of Grammar
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Oh man...
Well, to be fair -- I did try the service once, and it was pretty damn good. However, it was never gonna make it -- so this is no surprise. Outside of major metro areas, they had no coverage.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Feat of Grammar
Fixed
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Eventually
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
"Insider knowledge at the snap of a finger"?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Angelina Jolie
Vag Jolie...the apple does not fall far from the nasty Jon Voight. You have your father's bizarre, exaggerated facial twists and pus-bucket cheating heart.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Angelina Jolie
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
What
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: What
I think she comes from cross-breeding a runway model and a runaway collagen injection, or a praying mantis and one of those hairless cats, or maybe a bad acid trip and a Dennis Hopper film. (All of the above could be natural byproducts of being Jon Voight's demon spawn.) ;-)
There is something about her that reminds me of a home-perm in a trailer, soggy bratwursts, and Beetlejuice...and...well...Jon Voight. ::shudders::
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Add Your Comment