#maps api

I was having a hard time "region biasing" a Google Maps API search to within Australia and New Zealand because you can only restrict by one country in the GeocodeRequest object. Until Google allows you to pass an array to the 'region' filter, there is a workaround:

if (status!=='OK') { // Search using another 'region' (country code) }

Repeat for each country. The above assumes you are restricting by region:'au'. If you are restricting by componentRestrictions:{country:'au'}, then you can do something like this:

if (results[0].formatted_address==='Australia') { // Search using componentRestrictions:{country:'nz'} }

It matters to be quick and sharp in leveraging an opportunity.

In the backdrop of Apple's iOS6 map failure, Google today launched an interactive site titled More Than a Map, celebrating the 800,000 websites and apps that are today actively using Google maps. 

From Ushahidi to Volkswagen, different organizations/ communities/ coders are using the Google Map API  and features like Street View, public transit directions, location data, advanced data visualization capabilities, to create utility based applications that can be used to help start businesses, provide community support or even save the environment. 

Surfing the site is a wonderful experience as usual.

Google get's four things:

You don't need your brand name on the url of every web experience you bring to the public- the experience carries the brand especially in marketing

Websites that tell stories are more engaging from a marketing point of view than those which give information

UI matters when you are marketing your wares

When you launch a service oriented campaign you need to have as many video testimonial stories as possible ready to ship before you launch the campaign- just check the Google Developers YouTube Channel under # More Than a Map Series