"SimpleGeo, in its most basic form, indexes data by location using latitude and longitude so that you can easily search for things that are nearby. This allows developers to easily scale, manage, and query their location data. On top of this basic feature, SimpleGeo also provides rich location data, reverse geocoding, and other tools to help developers leverage the location of their users."
I did a talk with Matt Galligan when he was in Vancouver last month. You can see the video here:
http://blip.tv/file/3340542/
I can't seem to dig up a video of Matt's talk.
Basically, Navteq and Tele Atlas own the base map data. Google, Bing, and MapQuest add intelligence on top of this data with features like Street View and driving directions. Foursquare and Gowalla add another layer of intelligence with where people and places are at right now.
Rich location data is the "what,when,why,who" is at this location.
SimpleGeo is:
1) Storage for location with metadata about what's at that location
2) A marketplace to buy and sell data about locations
So, off the top of my head. I can create a door-to-door canvassing app and ask residents if they are Democrats or Republicans. Then I could sell this data to others that would be interested in this data.
Even after reading that, I still don't understand what I'd do with it. I'm guessing I'm the target audience since I'm developing a location-oriented application right now and I've developed several before, so if I don't understand what's going on, there's probably a problem.
"SimpleGeo, in its most basic form, indexes data by location using latitude and longitude so that you can easily search for things that are nearby. This allows developers to easily scale, manage, and query their location data. On top of this basic feature, SimpleGeo also provides rich location data, reverse geocoding, and other tools to help developers leverage the location of their users."
http://help.simplegeo.com/faqs/company/what-would-i-use-simp...