Mapping Ecosystems

In GigaOM:  On the value of geographical mapping ecosystems. And why Apple took a risk with it's update of the iPhone maps.  Is the move similar to the half-baked delivery of intelligence like that of Siri?  I have been  involved in the practical use of such ecosystems as Google Maps and implementations of natural language structures.  The important thing is that a useful ecosystem survives so that what you developed with it does as well.