Happy 20th Birthday Google (September 4, 1998). I was a part of Keyhole and the launch of Google Maps and Google Earth and wrote a book about it. AMA.

What was it like working at Niantic during the launch of Pokemon GO?

Dizzying. Surreal. Fantastic. We were such a tiny company. Our finance team was a part time accountant that came in on M, W, and F afternoons. We had one Community Manager - for the planet. We didn't have a single lawyer.

Are you still a tiny company with very few employees?

We are a relatively small company now....

Found the problem.

Also how did you not know that a free Pokemon IP game would be massively popular? Did you guys do like zero market research whatsoever? I could have told you your resources were insufficient based on a casual scrolling of my Facebook news feed prior to launch.

My roommate, who is from India, and who had never played Pokemon in her life, downloaded it on day one. The size of reach a game like this has is insane and it's largely due to the license.

If one had been running a different GPS-based game for three years, and had some experience with it, one might use that as a starting point for planning - and multiply accordingly.

Not that I can divulge, but if one were doing the planning, and had finite resources, and yes knew the next game would be massive, what multiplier might one use when comparing it to your first game? 4X? 10X? 20X? 400X?

And say you had experience launching both Google Maps and Google Earth - would one think it would be bigger than those two products at launch and start hiring and buying bandwidth as if it would be?

How about other massive consumer successes? Would one plan for it being bigger than Tinder and Twitter and buy staff and servers accordingly?

Again - in a world of finite resources.

Should one plan for Spindletop with every oil rig that is drilled?

When a giant company like Google buys out a tiny company like Keyhole, do most people make it through the merger? Or did Google just want your tech and laid off most of the Keyhole staff?

Spoiler alert from my book: our CEO John Hanke required Google to hire the entire team. All 29 of us joined Google and went on to lead all of Google's Geo efforts. Many are still there, and 8 of us work together at Niantic now.

My question is completely tangential...but presuming that you've got a butt pile of money, which isn't too heavy of a presumption given your resume...what motivates you to keep working? I just can't imagine being in my mid-40s (again, presumption) with millions of dollars and not just goofing off the rest of my life.

Oh how I wish your presumption was correct! While the acquisition of Keyhole and working at Google surely didn't suck, the pile did not quite reach "butt pile" status. That said, I am working on stuff that I really enjoy, have a great boss, and do really enjoy working at Niantic.

Being VP of Marketing for Niantic, how do you combat the perception that Pokémon Go is just a Data collection platform? Especially in light of the recently disclosed Google collection method.

Transparency and clarity on terms of service is one step. Trust is a fragile thing - and we have to continue to take it seriously.

hey! I was a huge fan for Ingress for a little while (some of my tops posts were about it), but I stopped playing for various reasons.

anyways onto the questions (I have a few, if you don't mind)

1) when Niantic was first formed, what was your strategy to market a new company like Niantic?

2) what do you think of the results of the marketing done for Ingress? do you think it could've been a bigger success?

3) being responsible for all live events, how do ensure that people get enough bandwidth and that your servers can handle the load? I attended an anomaly twice and once about half of the people around me couldn't do much as we just couldn't connect to anything at all.

4) how long does Anomalies, both primary and satellites, take to plan and organise? from nothing to D-day.

thanks for the AMA!

Glad to hear from an Ingress Agent (even if you don't play anymore).

1) make great games that get people out meeting eachother - create events that bring people together in real life

2) Ingress has had a longer run than most games, and I'm proud of the events that we've done. But yes, I wish it were bigger.

3) we haven't had as many bandwidth issue at Ingress events, but we are learning as a team for sure.

4) we are planning a six months to a year out.

Thanks!

I cannot think of anything I want to ask, but just a fellow Ingress Agent chiming in to say hello :)

Hi!

I remember reading a AMA where the developer described the incredible amount of thought and work that went into how the tabs reacted/changed/etc.

My question is, what seemingly tiny changes or additions were made to Maps/Earth that had a disproportionate amount work to implement?

That is a great question. I'm going to chew on this one and come back to you.

I'd put the Google Maps API on this list - really the work to create and control access in a predictable way done by Bret Taylor and Jim Norris. I think that was about six weeks of work - but ended up spawning a whole tidal wave of location based innovation.

John Rohlf created KML - basically on his own, and it became a huge thing for sharing map data.

Community Day on Pokémon GO - Michael Steranka's brainchild. Likely the best marketing initiative we've done.

Medals in Ingress - low effort, very high impact on the player community.

Here's another question for you since you're not getting any Reddit love here...which is surprising as I would have thought your story would be right up Reddit's alley....Google insider, hunting Pokémons and wizards?

Anyhow...

How do you quantify marketing results way up there at the top of the food chain? Marketing is such a fascinating/frustrating aspect of business in that you've got to spend a ton of money just trying different shit to see what sticks and sometimes you can't know what did/didn't stick for such a long time that it's difficult to gauge success.

Do you just set a total marketing budget based off a percentage of revenue and spend it all as wisely as you can? (Following your educated guesses on what will/won't be wise.) Or are you able to verify fairly quickly and accurately which investments pay off and which don't so that you can ramp up the stuff that's driving sales and can the stuff that isn't?

My experience is that different companies use different methods for determining the marketing budgets - but it all comes down to what the CEO/leader of the group is comfortable with/what can be reasonably justified, etc. And of course, do we have the money.

In the case of a scrappy startup, like Keyhole for instance, the filter was very much "will this immediately generate more business than it cost?" If I wanted $4,500 to have us at a tradeshow, then I better come back with $5,000 in sales.

As budgets grow, then the company/group can afford to take bets where the potential payoff is further out/harder to define.

I have not personally been a part of a % of sales going to marketing approach, though I have seen that used as more of a "sanity check" after a budget has been set - to make sure it is in line with industry norms, etc.

My question was more specifically geared towards Niantic, which from a quick search is a multi-billion dollar company.

As a Vice-President for such a large organization, where do you even begin to spend millions of dollars? The $4,500 trade show to me is an easy decision...as you said...you pay the entrance and work your butt off to try and make a few sales out of the experience.

Well, it is a much longer process for sure! In fact, like most companies on a calendar year budget, we are starting the planning process for 2019. Without getting too specific, the process generally starts with an understanding of what the priorities are from the product teams - what games, what features, timing, etc. And there is an assessment then of what the top marketing opps that are coming up, for each product. Marketing is essentially lining up with the product team.

For me, on Live Events, those marketing decisions have such a long lead planning cycle, we have to make some assumptions and start planning now, for events that are over six months out - sometimes a year out. At Niantic, there is a real culture of supporting Live Events - so I'm lucky in that regard.

I work with Google Earth and other geospatial mapping platforms for work. What has been the most intriguing evolution you’ve seen in this field since 2004? What do you think is going to be the most important evolution in the coming decade as GPS and geospatial data exponentially increase in size?

I think mapping is just getting started. You are in a great field - brace yourself for Augmented Reality. Every piece of data, content, entertainment, real time position of assets, is going to need to be precisely positioned on the planet.

Do people in the office still give John Hanke crap for walking a Tentacruel?

Ha!

When did Google decide that "Don't Be Evil" was too restrictive as a slogan?

https://gizmodo.com/google-removes-nearly-all-mentions-of-dont-be-evil-from-1826153393

Not sure, but my opinion is that this looks synthetic to me - someone trying to create something here to fit a narrative.

Likely an administrative driven update/reprinting with some language choice and formatting.

​

Hello!

I've always wondered why Niantic isn't more involved on the ground for the orga of Ingress Anomalies. I've never been in an orga team myself but it often feels like you let the Players do all the work.

Also , why isn't Ingress advertised more? This game has a huge potential but due to lack of fresh players it's become ultra boring in Belgium :(

Have a great day!

We are involved, but I will agree that the players out-organize us!

What's your favourite feature of Google Maps that exists from your time working there? And what's your favourite new feature that you weren't involved in?

I love the traffic view, I just wish it was easier to enable!

From when I was there - 3D buildings and terrain. The visually stunning flythroughs never got old for me.

New - Dynamic routing utilizing real time traffic data is pure magic, imo. So much work and heavy data lifting and analysis going on behind the scenes, and it just is something a user barely notices.

Hello! How does one get an internship at Niantic? I'm a PhD student studying human behaviour and I have a neat project idea that I'd love to work with Niantic on. Is this something you guys can do?

Can you reach out to me on Twitter or something? Happy to chat.

Did you ever expect it to become the defacto map around the world?

Nope!

Are you guys planning Pokémon GO live events for the summer in South America?

We got no love till now and would be nice to have an event in Brazil during our own summer.

Stay tuned!

What were the most challenging Google technologies to market and articulate the value of?

I would probably say those technologies where you are not the first mover. Coming out second will always be hard - especially where the first mover has some sort of network effect. Even if the product is superior, it can be hard to get traction.

cough google plus cough

Ha! Exactly. I actually thought the product was well done.

After being part of the team that revolutionized the lives of billions of people, what do you think will be the most impactful piece of technology over the coming decades?

Augmented Reality. Maps overlaid with all sorts of content: some useful, some entertaining.

Are EX raids in Pokemon Go ever going to be fixed? They were advertised as being rewards for people who battle gyms frequently, then as rewards for people who raid a lot and have high gym badges. None of this has been true, but Niantic has still not addressed this going on a year since the start of EX raids. Does Niantic care about the people who've spent tons on money on raid passes only to constantly miss out on invites?

I'm not on the product team, but I know that input and sentiment has been heard loudly by that team. I can't comment on future plans re EX raids or other coming features.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Woodworking and carpentry.

What was the motivation of google to send cars all around the globe and take pictures of every street? It sounds really expensive and I have no idea how this would ever pay out...

Yeah, that is in the book Never Lost Again. I really didn't believe in it either - but Larry and Sergey were personally very interested in mapping the physical world to make it searchable.

What is the culture shift (or shock) like when a company is acquired by Google?

I cover in detail in "Never Lost Again," - but it was really a shock (in many ways a good shock). I have described it as "crawling across a desert for four years without food or water....right through the doors of the all you can eat buffet at the Bellagio or Vdarra."

Is there any indication on the status of Harry Potter Wizards Unite? I feel like I heard it was coming soon then went quiet.

It's coming soon.....

If you open Google Earth and zoom all the way in, you reach a student apartment complex at my alma mater, the University of Kansas. The rumor was that it was invented by students living there. Any truth to that?

Brian McClendon was one of the creators of Google Earth. His father taught at KU (I think) and they lived in that apartment complex. Brian is running for office in Kansas now.

1. What do you think about OpenStreetMap?

2. Can you tell us a little bit more about the switch from Google Maps to OpenStreetMap in Pokémon Go?

It is a very cool and interesting initiative. Can't comment on 2)

I have a question about Google Maps that you might be able to answer (I see that its probably not your exact line of involvement but here goes). Is there any data collected/analyzed at Google for how much trip time Google Maps is presumed to have conserved for users? I.e. if a user normally drove to work at 8am every day, and sat in traffic for an average of 50 minutes, but now uses google maps every day and his average transit is 40 minutes (because it routes him around slowdowns) then Google Maps is saving the user ~2500 minutes a year.

I am convinced this kind of metric would be easy for Google to come by, given their nearly infinite ability to gather and crunch activity data. However if you can't tell me yes (or how much) can you at least confirm if it's a metric that Google is interested in?

That is a truly interesting thought - one that I've never considered before. I'm sure it is an astronomical figure.

I am not on that team anymore, so I can't say - but I am going to pass it along to some friends on the team.

Sooooo... when is 2.0 coming out? Looks like you can't update the game anymore on IOS when 12 comes out and you're advising players to not upgrade if they want to play. That's really not going to go well with folks when they aren't told this on a mass scale and realize they now have to figure out how to downgrade their phone or stop playing.

Soon ;-)

I figured with the end of the license in July for the one component of 1.x - that 2.0 would be here. Seems like 2.0 has been sitting around gathering dust forever.

So I have to ask - you a Res or Enl?

Resistance!

Are the working conditions at Google as hard as many articles and documentations display?

I found Google to be a terrific place to work, though my conditions in California were likely quite different from other offices. Even in less developed regions, I do think Google worked to make conditions above regional norms - but again, that is easy for me to say from California.

1) Do you play Pokemon Go/Ingress yourself? If so, which team/faction are you on?

2) I was a visitor at Pokemon Go Safari in Dortmund. The whole town was filled with players, it was insane! How long do you take to plan these events and how do you prepare for an onslaught of this magnitude?

At this event on Saturday, there was a bug that prevented players from logging into the game for a couple of hours when they used a certain premium item. What happens in the event of such a bug? Was HQ back home on fire and some poor soul has to come to office on Saturday?

1) I'm Mystic/Resistance

2) Me too! It takes months of planning to put on such an event.

3) That would be a good guess - or team of people...that was noon German time, so in Seattle that was....2AM? 3AM?

I love travelling the world by hopping on street view!

Thank you for being part of so much happy.

Do you just adore being part of something so utterly momentous, or is it something you just get used to?

I'm still in awe of having been a part of it all....

Do you enjoy working for Niantic?

Btw, you should come to the Canberra anomaly! Australia needs more love.

I love Niantic. And I love getting to go to awesome XM Anomaly events, like in Canberra! I'm looking most forward to Ko-Lan....

Pokemon GO was insanely popular at launch, you obviously know that. But there was also a huge drop off shortly after, which included myself.

I recently restarted playing, and I was wondering if Niantic had any marketing plans to try and regain some of that player base they had at launch? The game is in a much more enjoyable place compared to launch, which is why I think people who revisit it stay.

I think there was a natural and to be expected drop off from when the entire planet was playing. What was unexpected for me is how many have come back and started playing again - 2018 has been a really fun year for PMGO!

Was the name Keyhole chosen after the original US spy satellite program?

Yes! It was always meant to be a placeholder name until we got earth.com domain - which we never did!

If I am older than google can I confidently call myself an official 90s baby?

Sure!

I happened to meet a man by the name of Kevin, runs a Hotel in Kookynie Western Australia. He talks about being involved in Keyhole since it's inception. Not a great question per se, but do you know him?

Rings a faint bell....last name?

What were the significant challenges (technical or non-technical) you or the team faced during the rolling out of Google Earth and Maps?

Server bandwidth to keep up with the overwhelming response! Data licensing and data management. Explosive growth of service and of team.

Any advice for someone who wants to get into marketing in the tech industry? I'm in my sophomore year of college with a major in marketing, minors in psychology and Computer science and I'm hoping to steer my career after college into the tech sector.

Pay attention to when you "lose yourself in your work or play." When you look up at a clock and can't believe you just spent 2 hours on something. Then figure out a way of doing that!

Really loving all of Niantic's games lately, and the live events definitely have been a big help in keeping me playing, so I gotta ask; What's the worst mistake you or someone else at Niantic has made? Either in your opinion or in a subjective way.

Well. There was this event in Chicago in 2017 you may have heard of...yeah, that was me.

I personally think the way 2018 went, it was made up for. Hopefully you were part of that success in Chicago.

Yes!

Hello! When are POI submissions coming to PokemonGo ? Soon or really soon?

​

greetings from Germany

Can't say....

Did you work closely with Brian McClendon? I'm a young engineer and got to chat with him for a few hours about APIs a year or so ago. Really thoroughly enjoyed his wisdom that seemed very hard fought to gain while developing Google Earth.

See above! Yes, agreed.

What made you want to do games instead of maps?

John Hanke. My career is just following John Hanke around ;-)

Google Celebrates its birthday on September 27th, I knew this post was odd because google celebrates the same day as my friend's birthday. What info do you have to claim today is Google's birthday? It seems that Google doesn't even truly know.

Google incorporated as a business on September 4, 1998. The September 27 date is, I believe, the date that Google.com was available outside of the Stanford campus. I think we're both right.

At some point did you feel as though any of the projects you were working on were pointless and bound to fail? Or did you have an optimistic view knowing that every project were going to become worldwide accepted applications?

I thought Google Streetview was pointless!

Hey Bill! Thanks for doing this and thank you for your contributions to the globe! I had a question about Brian McClendon. What was it like working with him and what do you think of his political aspirations?

Brian might be the hardest working person I have ever met. He built the team that built Google Earth. Kansas is lucky to have him, and he loves his state!

How do you feel about the mainstream majority that played Pokemon Go when it came out because viral, and that now react like "Oh, you're still playing that ?" when they see people playing it ? Do Niantic ever want to recapture this summer of 2016, or would you be okay with a solid fanbase of a few millions ?

It is funny to me. It may be 10% of what it was; but 10% of the entire planet is still a big number.

I noticed on here that someone asked about the more challenging Google technologies to market and your answer was those that had to play catch up to existing technologies in a sense. Google Maps, at least in the beginning, seemed to have a lot of stiff competition as well (MapQuest, Yahoo Maps). What were the early goals or features of Google Maps that aimed to help it stand out as a service?

Yes. 1) Speed, 2) Satellite Imagery, 3) Google Search built in.

You don't have to say what it is, but since the new Pokemon games have a brand new Pokemon that ties in with Pokemon GO, do you know what the Pokemon is? Have you seen it?

Can't say...

Hi, thanks for doing this AMA. Can I ask what the point of Google Earth was, when there's Google maps was gonna be made?

Also, what do you think about apple maps lol?

Also, how did you guys respond to those deaths or accidents that were caused by manics blindlessly following Google maps, because surely the media put most of the blame on Google. Thanks a lot!

Google Maps was for finding your way. Google Earth was for getting lost.

I'm oversimplifying here, but Google Earth was more about freeform exploration of our planet and serendipitous discovery.

What's your favorite food?

Tex-Mex

Hi Mr Bill, I actually happen to read your book just a few weeks ago, and I really love the book. It provided a great insight and meaningful journey into Google Maps, how it all first came about.

As a Pokemon GO fan and player for the last two years, I hail from a little country in South East Asia. We really would like to work with Niantic to set up an event here, I have written in to Partnerships @ Niantic Labs but have not received a response. Ingress just had an event over here like a fortnight ago. Would it be possible for you to give some advice on what I should do?

Thanks for reading Never Lost Again. You are pursuing the right channels - generally partnerships emails filter into events team.

There is a prioritization exercise on my team to determine which events are done where. As you can imagine, a lot of factors go into that decision and we have to make difficult choices.

When launching Pokemon Go, how intentional was it to release it during mid-summer? I felt like it had to be intentional. Also, who's your favorite Pokemon?

Was not the original plan, but it worked out quite well!

Oh wow. I remember Keyhole (it created KML).

How was the culture shift when Google took over? About that time they promoted a party(ish) atmosphere. Did you enjoy the change?

Yeah, I can't lie. It was pretty awesome.

What happened to the placesense project?

I'm not actually familiar with that project - it likely came after my time on the Google Maps team (I left the team in 2007).

Generally speaking, the priorities of a team can shift when different leaders take over.

When was the last time you were lost? I don't mean mentally, I mean physically lost.

That is exactly the opening line of my book, Never Lost Again. Answer: Boston in 2002.

What was your greatest success story marketing wise? Something specific rather than the success of google maps in general.

For me personally, I would say creating the first Google developer relations event in 2006 - it was rebranded in 2008 as Google I/O.

Your work at Niantic has life-changing and life-saving potential. I'm sure you realize it. When and how did you first realize that ?

The most amazing part of my job. First realized it when I had people coming up to me at events and thanking me for the impact that the game had on their lives - genuine, really heartfelt thanks from players - it would happen once or twice at every event.

Hi Bill! It’s always great to talk to you at anomalies!

What are you guys thinking for a timeline for Navarro next year, since it will obviously clash with Ko Lan and Abbadon Prime if you do it at the same time.

Also, which anomalies will you be attending? Do I get to see you in Austin?

See you in Austin! We are looking for this right dates for future campouts.....

If you were given a mulligan on one career choice in your career, what would it be?

I love this question. I think I might have tried to be a creative director at an ad agency.

Luckily, I have plenty of opportunity to be creative in my current role.

Hey Bill, I worked on the Step Into Liquid DVD using Keyhole! It’s really cool to see every newscaster in the world use your tech to show location context for breaking news. What is the most interesting or unexpected common use of the platform?

That was such a cool DVD!

Probably all the emergency responders....

Is there any interest in doing a Harry Potter open world game like Pokemon?

Yes, there certainly is! Harry Potter Wizards Unite!

So how does it feel to be a part of a government DARPA/Project Lifelog operation to track the public?

You'll have to enlighten me on that one...

Hello!

How come you guys are slacking on your ingress hustle?! I get that POGO is way more successful, but I personally love Ingress way more. Its hell of a lot more diverse, and felt like I was an actual agent haha. The sound effects are by far the best thing about it though, gettin drunk and walkin around the city with my earphones was dope. Can't get into POGO like that. And can you make single finger interaction happen for Ingress like POGO, or make POGO two finger accessible? I hate switchin inbetween.

And when the hell is Ingress Prime gettin released?! And please tell me your Resistance.

I love Ingress too! Resistance!!!

What was the rational besides capping progress at Level 40? Will we ever see the ceiling raised?

Not my domain, so I can't really say. Level 40?!?! Wow.