Mikel Maron posted a great followup to my web2.0 expo talk, explaining the extent of the problem in more detail as well as discussing what is being done to fix it. (link to a pdf of my slides)

The example I gave in my talk was how the Red Cross couldn’t navigate after Katrina because they depended on Google Maps, which was (and still is) out of date. The bridge was destroyed, but Google (and Yahoo, and your mapping GPS, etc) all say it’s still there.

“It’s not just Google, but every major web mapping provider that’s out of date. Here is Yahoo giving directions over the bridge. The issue is with the data providers, Navteq and TeleAltas, whose business processes insert huge delays between reality and its representation catching up. Yes, there are efforts right now to rebuild the physical bridge, but that doesn’t excuse a huge obvious mistake from persisting for over 1.5 years.

This model of collecting and distributing mapping data is fundamentally broken. Basic geo-information about this world is too important and changing too fast to be in the hands of closed off corporations. Of course, there is another way, where the loop between users of data and contributors of data is closed (in an open way), and where the time data was collected and updated is transparent.”

I highly recommend checking out his blog!

I’m giving a talk at the Web2.0Expo on Wednesday called “Failures, Disasters, & Resilient Design“. I’ll be using some of the lessons-learned from our deployment and how they apply to managing technology.

Failures, Disasters, & Resilient Design
(Click here for ExpoCal!)

Jesse Robbins, ex-Amazon, OpenAid

Track: Web Operations
Date: Wednesday, April 18
Time: 4:30pm - 5:20pm
Location: 2008

This talk reviews real world examples of complex systems failure and how they relate to Web 2.0. Drawing on his work as the “Master of Disaster” at Amazon and using examples from Nuclear Power to his own experiences after Hurricane Katrina, Jesse will provide:

• A methodology for managing risk with Web 2.0 technologies.
• Best practices for building Resilient Systems with Web Services & Web Scale Computing
• Stories and pictures of things blowing up!

Here’s the full-version of one of my slides: