Motivating people with MapMyFITNESS and Google Maps API for Business

(Cross posted from the Google Enterprise Blog)

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest blogger is Robin Thurston, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of MapMyFITNESS.

Being fit means moving and moving means going someplace. We created the MapMyFITNESS applications because we are passionate about living active lifestyles and we wanted a way to both track our progress and explore new activities. We wanted to help people experience this passion for themselves. As our community of MapMyFITNESS users has grown to over 9 million people, we have continually worked to make the applications easier to use and more effective at motivating people to keep moving, whether they’re elite athletes or people just getting started.



A key component to that mission has been our integration with Google Maps, which has made it easy for our users to find new routes or make their own, then share them with the rest of the MapMyFITNESS community. As one of the earliest Google Maps API developers, we noticed it was easy to incorporate the mapping functionality into our product. As we set about to completely rebuild our platform that launched earlier this month, our goal was to expand the ways users could take advantage of Google Maps’ latest API functionality. We've gone from tracking and sharing routes in our old platform to providing "Courses" in our new platform. Courses provide our users with real-time data like traffic patterns and temperature, and include "check-in" technology that helps them track workouts, share their progress, and compete in our new leaderboard against specific groups of people. They can compete with local clubs, friends, and most importantly against themselves and their own progress.

The Google Maps API allowed us to show the important information to our users in an easy to read format. Users can visit our site to find new cycling, running or walking routes by searching for the route while viewing it on the map. By using the Google Maps API were we able to incorporate the Street View API to create virtual tours of routes and the Elevation API to calculate how many feet you climb - and descend - during your workout. That familiarity, in addition to fantastic technology and features, makes the user experience both easier and more powerful.

Posted by Robin Thurston, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of MapMyFITNESS

Map of the Week: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with Google Maps API

(Cross-posted on the Google Geo Developers blog)

Map of the Week: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with Google Maps API
Why we like it: This Google Maps API implementation really speaks to the versatility of the API and breadth of the Google Maps API developer ecosystem! From small personal projects to exciting start-ups and high-performance cars, the Google Maps API can be used by everyone.

As you would expect, this top of the line Mercedes-Benz is loaded with all the bells and whistles. The vehicle’s integrated navigation system will be enhanced in certain regions by a fully functional JavaScript Maps API v3 implementation using Styled Maps, Google Places API, Places Autocomplete API, traffic layer, and the Panoramio layer as an Android App for the AMG Performance Media option. This provides the user with a familiar Google Maps interface in addition to the onboard maps from the navigation system.

(Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing Coupe at the O’Reilly Where Conference - April 2012)

For night time driving the SLS AMG takes advantage of Styled Maps to create a map that’s easier to view in low-light situations and does not impede a driver’s night vision.

Chances are, if you’re driving this around all day, you’re going to get very hungry. That’s where the Places API integration with Places Autocomplete API comes in handy. Drivers can enter in what they’re looking for it, be it Thai food or pizza and the vehicle will return a list of nearby places along with address, distance, and rating.

Once the Places API has helped you decide what to eat and where you need to go, you can view the destination in Google Street View. In the image below, the system is displaying Street View imagery directly in front of the hotel in San Francisco where the vehicle was located for the 2012 O’Reilly Where Conference. From there you can enter directions that are displayed on a Google Map along with the option to display current traffic.

The engineers at Daimler have done an amazing job of taking Google Maps and combining it with one of the most-loved automobiles. There are many different types of developers in the Google Maps API ecosystem and great implementations like this remind us that the possibilities are almost endless!

Posted by Carlos Cuesta, Google Maps API Product Marketing Manager

A New Home for Google Maps API Developers

(Cross-posted from Google Geo Developer Blog)

When we first launched the Google Maps API, it was all about a map, a pin, and a dream. Back then our technical documentation was relatively simple, consisting of a couple of developer docs and some code samples. Since then the Google Maps API has expanded far beyond our expectations, due in large part to the diverse and innovative developer ecosystem that has grown with us.

With the continuing evolution of the Google Maps API, it became clear that we needed more than just code documentation to convey what’s possible with the Google Maps API. Thus, developers.google.com/maps was born.

In addition to having all the same developer content that was previously available on code.google.com, the site is designed to highlight and illustrate new features of the Google Maps API through fun and interactive demos. Our goal with developers.google.com/maps is to inspire the next wave of innovation on the Google Maps API, and to connect developers and decision makers with the tools and services that can make their products better.


One of the features of the Google Developers site we’re most excited about is the 3rd party developer showcase, which allows us to celebrate a selection of innovative sites in the Google Maps API ecosystem. Showcase content is carefully curated by the Google Maps API team.

In order to help users discover relevant apps and topics in the showcase, we’ve devised a tagging system that allows you to filter examples both by theme, and by Google Maps API features used.



We hope that the showcase and the interactive examples on the new Google Maps API Developers capture your imagination and inspire you with what’s possible using the platform. The imagination of Google Maps API developers has always been what makes the product great and we’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with next.

Posted by Carlos Cuesta, Product Marketing Manager, Google Maps Developer