From Babylon to Google Earth: How Maps Shape our Worldview | Gopal Shah | TEDxBoulder

Humans have been creating maps since before we started writing. Maps mirror our evolving view of the world. Learn from Google Earth product manager, Gopal Shah, about the history of maps, their future, and what they reveal to us about ourselves. Since joining Google’s Geo team in 2009, Gopal Shah has worked on myriad projects that share his love of imagery and storytelling. For the past three years, he’s helmed the Google Earth team as product manager. Last spring, on Earth Day, Gopal led the launch of the new Google Earth, helping bring Earth to users on modern devices. He also worked as a consultant on the Academy Award-nominated film, Lion, and co-created Earth View — a collection of 1,500 striking satellite images that have been featured on everything from flagship Android phones to the world's biggest billboard in Times Square! Throughout his career, Gopal has collaborated with the New York Times, the BBC and NASA to help bring stories to life with maps, and his team has won several awards along with way including, most recently, four Webby awards for the new Voyager feature in Google Earth. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx