Today I was in a discussion in which people were talking about the future of apps for iPads and other smart tablets. The topic came up of how to customize apps for each individual user. “Imagine,” one person said, “a custom version of Google search for New Yorkers.”
Immediately my mind went to an important culturally defining moment in 1976, when New Yorkers were confronted by the image that perhaps resonated more strongly with their sense of self than any other single image. I am referring, of course, to the following iconic cover that March of the New Yorker magazine, created by the incomparable Saul Steinberg:
And that’s when it occurred to me, that all these years later, the killer iPad app for us New Yorkers would not be a custom version of Google search.
No, it would be a very special custom version of Google Maps. 🙂
🙂 Just curious, what happens when a New Yorker is traveling abroad, using the Google of that country? Would it still magnify New York a bit I suppose 🙂 interesting!!!