Blog Post 10 - Unit 8 Discussion Board - CS875: Futuring and Innovation - Colorado Technical University (CTU)

 Failed Sociotechnical Plans and Suggestions

               Sociotechnical plans are designed to integrate technology with social culture, human needs, goals, and the broader social context (Bhai, 2023). The sociotechnical implementation may be only for internal operations, or may refer to a product or service that is developed to serve society with technology innovations. Some pros to implementing an effective sociotechnical plan can be: increased efficiency, better user experience, continuous improvement/change management, and promote social corporate responsibility/ethical considerations. Some factors that could have a negative impact on the sociotechnical plan include:

1.      Technology: rapid technological changes or failures

2.      Culture: organizational resistance to new culture

3.      Finance: financial pressure in volatile markets

4.      Legal: constant changes in law

5.      Ethics: misaligned ethical statements and practice can cause backlash

6.      Temporal: enough time may not be available to fully implement

7.      Society: social norms/moral relativism about how technology should be integrated

8.      Politics: local, national, and global geo-political factors can impact the implementation

The company’s sociotechnical plan I would like to review is MapQuest. MapQuest came about in 1996, by GeoSystems Global Corporation (Shoam, 2024). The MapQuest service was available online, and offered users a new way to navigate electronically, over printing out a map. In 1999, MapQuest went public, and a year later purchased America Online (AOL). The came up with subscription-based services, like the Find Me app, and Navigator for mobile devices with voice directions and presentation. In 2007, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, decided to implement a native maps app in the iPhone. In 2008, Google Maps for Android was out, and MapQuest had failed to adapt. Their popularity continued to decline, and to this day is still a paid business listing service, for one. One thing I do like is that they integrated local Yelp reviews into map results (see Figure 1).

 

Figure 1

MapQuest Results for “Coffee” Category, Showing Integrated Yelp Results

Note: This map was generated from mapquest.com on a PC. Mobile results may vary (MapQuest, n.d.).

 

Suggested Sociotechnical Plan

               The future of mobile GPS and mapping apps seems somewhat limited. Some say that Augmented Reality (AR)-based walking directions may be integrated (Chan, 2020). Apple is set to release a new version of its maps, which will include 360-degree location viewing, contributions, saves, and updates. Network demands and The Internet will also grow, with average Wi-Fi speed set to be ~92Mbps, three times current average. Another idea that comes to mind is finding a way to implement a strategy similar to Niantic’s Pokémon Go, where users willingly contribute to a Large Geospatial Model (LGM) to expand the app (Swartz, 2024). These two sociotechnical predictions and successes allow for many possibilities, but many of the top mapping apps are more established/could re-engineer innovations to deploy on their much larger networks.

               One idea for implementing a new sociotechnical plan could be to acquire the 360-degree imaging data for their top regions/test region. Develop an Augmented Reality (AR) integrated map/app. Since other companies are projected to implement AR-based walking navigation (presumably with AR-headsets/smart glasses), the idea is to acquire the necessary tools and equipment to begin competing in that market. I envision potential rewards, including financial, for gathering the missing data. For the navigation, implementing features like speed trap, workers, and other user reports could also provide rewards to users. All of those recommendations are essential to competing.

               Some additional ideas that may offer competitive sociotechnical advantages is to focus on trying to become the default map provider for an automaker or industry, developing an app to put Heads-up Displays (HUDs) on vehicles, either by the manufacturer or as a 3^rd-party dashboard item, offer users the ability to browse virtual Augmented Reality (AR) locations, timelines, community forums, dating apps, and even realistic videos and spaces. Facebook’s Meta Horizon aims to create similar social experiences, but they do not have a mobile maps application. By using a Large Geospatial Model (LGM) with these features, unique apps and features can be developed, like special user feedback videos, guides, and insights.

Impacts

               The impact implementing the suggested socioeconomical plans into the MapQuest product line would significantly change its trajectory. Failure to innovate and keep up with competition has led to MapQuest being hardly known. Switching from a completely subscription-based service to one that provides modern technology, excitement, and rewards would have a major culture shift on its users and stakeholders. Most leading mobile GPS mapping applications are free, provide many extended free features, and a more user-friendly design. It is worth investing in a beta trial version.

Relevancy

               Since most of the major GPS mapping service providers are already planning on implementing several of these features, MapQuest may rely on its long-history, speedy innovation, and future planning consultants so that they can keep up in the current market. While they are getting up-to-speed, they should also have a product development team planning on future sociotechnical innovations. As markets expand, failure to keep up will lead to eventual replacement. It is highly relevant for MapQuest to aggressively innovate, if it wants to succeed in tomorrow’s mapping environment.

Two Forces That May Impact Innovation Idea

               Two major forces that may impact the proposed sociotechnical plan for MapQuest could be: Google Maps as the default Android maps application, and Apple Maps as the default iOS map application. The prevalence and preference of the Android- and iOS-based devices over the past decade show no signs of fading away. If MapQuest is unable to offer something significantly more appealing, there are limited markets it can target. As I mentioned, the auto industry might be one to look at, and a separate dating service built-in could be quite a change. They do have the data and sensors already.

Conclusion

               Overall, MapQuest was a market leader in its time. The service is not terrible, but I personally hardly ever use it. In fact, every other maps-based business listing has allowed me to register my ownership and manage the listing for free. In addition, several webmasters’ tools are available. MapQuest does have integration with Yelp, which is sometimes more popular for local reviews than Google reviews. They have an established reputation, presence, and infrastructure. If they could at least find one niche market to lock in their services with, it could help to propel them through innovation.

References

Bhai, G. (2023, August 10). Sociotechnical plan. Retrieved from thegurusworld.blog: https://thegurusworld.blog/2023/08/10/sociotechnical-plan/

Chan, S. (2020, February 26). Digital Map market plots towards the future. Retrieved from newsroom.cisco.com: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2020/m02/digital-map-market-plots-towards-the-future.html

MapQuest. (n.d.). Official MapQuest - Maps, driving directions, live traffic. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from mapquest.com: https://www.mapquest.com/search/Coffee

Shoam, A. (2024, May 13). What ever happened to MapQuest? Retrieved from techspot.com: https://www.techspot.com/article/2841-mapquest/

Swartz, J. (2024, December 20). Pokémon Go Data is mapping out this geospatial system - digital CXO. Retrieved from digitalcxo.com: https://digitalcxo.com/article/pokemon-go-data-is-mapping-out-this-geospatial-system/