This is an interesting development in the world of search. Using maps as the foundation, people can the dimension of precise location to their local searches. How to get from the airport to a nearby hotel (as Google demonstrated last week) and get a fly-by driving route? And when I click on that hotel, I can see the going rates and book a room (through a travel partner). And if the hotel wants to offer content, it could pop up when I click on the map.

Mike and I discussed this on yesterday’s MADCast. It’s cool. Is it market changing? Hmmm.. not sure. It seems like a feature that might be too advanced for most of today’s average searchers. I agree with the comment in this article from the founder of Mapquest: value added content might be more important to a consumer than whiz-bang technology (just for the sake of technology).

Will I use it to find out the route to the local theater? Doubtful—I probably know the way. Will I use it to see my home up close and personal? Maybe…once. Will I use it to go celebrity home spotting? Probably not, unless I can see the celeb in the house in real time (which this does not do).

At this point, I am putting this in the cool/nice to have bucket. Will it become must have? Maybe, but it won’t happen overnight. The supporting “reasons” to use it will have to greatly evolve.