This is a great story on many levels. It touches on a wide range of issues ranging from international poverty to technology to how individual's form a sense of identity and place. In some ways, my biggest disappointment with the article itself is that it doesn't explore any of those elements with a lot of depth. That said, I'm not sure that was the author's intention, and given the magnitude of those issues, I can see why it would be hard to tackle those issues in this kind of article without distracting from the primary story. In any case, I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I did.
Happy Friday!
"A Home at the End of Google Earth" by David Kushner
Published in Vanity Fair, November 2012
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/11/india-orphan-google-earth-journey?src=longreads
Eric
This article came out right when I started working for Google Maps/Earth.
ReplyDeleteIt made me think about the Taoist saying: Achieve greatness in small things.
It helped me remember that even when I would spend a whole day adding back roads to a part of Earth I thought no one would ever use for directions and was tempted to do a half-assed job on it to get more 'work' done and look better on paper to my managers, if I took the time and care to do it right, then someone, somewhere may be impacted in a huge way.
The article also speaks to the incredible power of place. That he could remember those landmarks after so many years and traumatic experiences.
i thought this was interested "he was popular...always a had a girlfriend." didn't realize that is what made a person popular.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article