Because Google Maps is not very good. At the real world. And while Google is trying to fix that by allowing map editing, I don’t sense Google will be very good at fostering and nurturing the kind of communities that will allow Maps to self correct.
Put another way, because Google is not very good at communities that self-correct into reasonable quality, and if it’s going to realize the vision it might (of turning the entire world into, well usable data) it’s going to have to get a lot better, a lot faster.
(I know, you thought I was going to say because Knol ain’t so great, or because Wikipedia is still one of biggest recipients of Google’s second click….that’s also true)….
Allow me to explain. In the next post. I promise…