[EHPweb] Fwd: Google maps on USGS Web Sites

[Lisa A Wald]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Thomas C Wood <tcwood at usgs.gov>
Date: June 24, 2009 9:49:20 AM MDT
To: Lisa A Wald <lisa at usgs.gov>
Cc: Kevin T Gallagher <kgallagher at usgs.gov>, Eldrich L Frazier <efrazier at usgs.gov 
 >, Mark G Negri <mnegri at usgs.gov>, Lorna A Schmid <lorna at usgs.gov>,  
Alan L Davidson <adavidso at usgs.gov>, Karen L Kretlow <kkretlow at usgs.gov>
Subject: Re: Google maps on USGS Web Sites

Lisa,

Kevin Gallagher forwarded your email of June 8, Subject: Google maps on
USGS Web Sites, and asked me to respond to you on his behalf.  First I  
want
to apologize for the delay in responding, but we wanted to provide you  
with
the latest and most accurate information regarding this important issue.

Your questions about Google Maps are good ones and the GIO is  
committed to
providing proactive leadership for USGS in this area.  We currently have
two efforts underway to address potential issues with Google Map ads:

1)   The GIO is leading for DOI, a GSA effort to put a contract  
vehicle in
place for Geospatial software.  The GeoSpatial SmartBUY Request for
Quotation (RFQ) closed on May 21 and bids were received.  Web-based
visualization software is a functional requirement in the Statement of  
Work
(SOW), the category Google Earth products fall under.  An award by GSA  
is
anticipated in July 2009.  The GIO will keep USGS and DOI geospatial  
users
informed if and when a potential Enterprise-type license with Google  
Earth,
or other vendors of Web-based visualization software, results from the
GeoSpatial SmartBUY award.  The latest updates on the GIO's E-GIS
activities, including the SmartBUY status may be found at
http://gio.usgs.gov/egis/.

2)  The GIO plans to take the topic of advertisements to the Federal Web
Manager's Council for insight into the perspectives of other agencies  
and
try to get more refined guidance for uses of the Google Maps  
applications
across the government. For now, should advertisements begin to appear on
Google Maps, The GIO will work with the USGS Office of Communications to
create an appropriate disclaimer that could be included in the USGS
template footer section.

I hope this response addresses your concerns.  If you have additional
questions, concerns, or suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks again for your thoughtful email.

Tom Wood

Thomas C. Wood
Chief, Computing Infrastructure, ITSO, GIO, USGS
445 National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 20192
W: 703-648-5617,  C: 703-899-2819, FAX 703-648-6821, tcwood at usgs.gov


From:            Lisa A Wald <lisa at usgs.gov>
  To:              kgallagher at usgs.gov
  Date:            06/08/2009 04:34 PM
  Subject:         Google maps on USGS websites

Kevin-

We currently utilize Google Maps on our website, the Earthquake Hazards
Program website, in several locations, and I've looked around enough to
notice that many of the other USGS websites are using Google Maps also.

We're doing research on our next generation of Realtime Earthquake  
Maps (
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/ ), and Google Maps is one of the
options we're considering.  Since this is our primary web product, and  
we
get an enormous number of hits/page visits following a significant
earthquake, we approach any changes to these pages, much less a complete
overhaul, with great care.

I recently spoke to a Google representative about Google Maps, and the  
rep
told me that ads on Google Maps WILL happen some day, although Google  
won't
say when.  This has been a threat for a while which we haven't yet seen
come to fruition, but with all the Google Maps all over USGS websites  
now,
I think we should be proactive.

Google has a new license called Google Maps Premier license which comes
with some benefits, the most pertinent to the USGS being that it will
continue to be ad-free.  The Earthquake Hazards Program website alone  
gets
enough pageviews on our current Realtime Earthquake Maps that the  
unlimited
pageview version of that license would be required, which the rep  
quoted at
well over $100,000. per year.

Has anyone at the USGS looked into Google's plans for their Google Maps
regarding ads, limitations, etc with an eye for making sure all the  
Google
Maps the USGS websites are using continue to work (ad-free) in the  
future?
Perhaps a USGS-wide agreement or license would be the best solution for
everyone?

Thanks
- Lisa
--------------------------
Lisa Wald, Geophysicist
Web Team Leader
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
Golden, CO
303-273-8543
lisa at usgs.gov


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