Google, ever attuned to the meanderings of the Web, has improved upon their already awesome Google Earth and Google Maps products. Last 7 October 2008, the Internet’s most influential organization launched MapMaker for the Philippines. As Jason Chuck, Google’s APAC Product Marketing Manager, put it during the product demo in Shangri-la Makati, MapMaker is a rich platform for user-generated content.

Hurray! At last, there’s now a way for Filipinos to create maps for their localities. I remember there was one time when I had to publish a locator map for an event, I had to take a snapshot of the area on Google Earth, then draw in the roads and landmarks using a 3rd-party graphics software. Now, by way of MapMaker, anyone with a Gmail account can freely attach various geographical data onto Google’s maps — and share this information with the world!

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This is good news to all followers of global IT trends, especially tech bloggers who watch movements among technology companies:  CrunchBase, the tech company database owned by TechCrunch.com, is now publishing their very own freely-accessible API!

To put it simply, CrunchBase is an impressive repository of IT companies and their technologies. It is an excellent starting point for researching into such companies. For example, if you were out to get an overview of Google Inc., you would do well to start here (go ahead, click on the link!).

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