-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Google to impose map API usage fees
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:21:46 -0700
From: Jon Jablonski <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]>

Do you have a library web application that uses Google as a front-end?
If so, does yesterday's announcement affect you?

 From Andrew Turner at
http://highearthorbit.com/google-maps-terms-of-service-and-pay-choice/

Today Google announced that they are enforcing free usage limits on the
Google Maps API. Beyond the free limit of 25,000 views per day, sites
will start having to pay $4 per 1,000 views. They will automatically
charge your credit card based on these usage fees and it’s not clear if
you can set a “cut-off” limit or if it will have the similar suprises as
overseas cell charges.


 From the horse's mouth at
http://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2011/10/introduction-of-usage-limits-to-maps.html

To assist in evaluating whether your site is exceeding the usage limits
we will shortly be adding the Maps API to the Google APIs Console. Once
available you will be able to track your usage in the APIs Console by
providing an APIs Console key when you load the Maps API. If you find
that your site does exceed the usage limits each day you can opt to pay
for your excess usage by enabling billing on your APIs Console project.
We will then start billing excess usage to your credit card when we
begin enforcing the usage limits in early 2012.


I really doubt any of us (well, maybe Rumsey, LC, and USGS do) get more
than 25,000 uses per day (more on what constitutes a 'use' here:
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/faq.html#usagelimits).  But I don't
know enough about people's applications to judge.

There is this caveat on their faq page: "Non-profits and applications
deemed in the public interest (as determined by Google at its
discretion) are not subject to these usage limits." But how would you
like your #occupyEverywhere map to suddenly get turned off because the
guy or gal in the tech tent can't convince Google that it's in the
public interest?

I guess this is another reason to build on top of OSM.

--
Jon Jablonski
Map & Imagery Laboratory
Davidson Library
UC Santa Barbara