A 24-year-old software developer by the name of Wayne Dell Manuel won Google's first Map Maker Global Competition. As you can see from the photo above, Manuel is happy to bring home the top prize of US$50,000, which will be used by UNICEF to fund various community projects.
Manuel bested more than 700 other competitors worldwide by mapping over 1,500 places of interest – mostly schools and other establishments from Tarlac, Pampanga, and Leyte. He has mapped over 35,000 places since he started using Google Map Maker in 2008. With a name like "Dell" however, we're not surprised to know he spends lots of time with computers.
According to Jennifer Mazzon, community organizer for Google Maps, Google is encouraging such projects to help emergency responders who rely on Google Maps during their missions. As proven by the tragedy brought about by Typhoon Ondoy, the Internet and apps such as Maps have become indispensable tools when it comes to locating the whereabouts of distressed citizens.
Congratulations, Wayne! Your boss finally knows what you've been doing at work all this time. We kid, man, we kid.
Click here to read the official press release.