Why a simple website feels like a win
Craig Campbell walked away from intense investor interest and the siren call of AI to build something straightforward and human: Past Maps, a website that lets people overlay historical maps on today’s maps. A former Meta engineer who recently sold an e‑commerce startup, Campbell’s choice underscores a belief that useful, well‑crafted tools on the open web still matter.
Past Maps is not about flashy machine learning or large datasets — it’s about access, discovery, and joy. Users can explore old maps layered on modern streets, uncovering local history, seeing how cities evolved, and sharing discoveries with friends. That kind of immediate, tangible value is easy to understand and hard to replicate with attention‑grabbing buzzwords alone.
The project also offers a salutary lesson for builders and founders: you don’t need to follow every trend to find product‑market fit. In a moment when the industry buzzes about “Google Zero” and sweeping AI transformations, Past Maps shows that niche, user‑centered web products can attract loyal users and stand out by doing one thing very well.
What this means going forward
- Smaller, experience‑focused sites can carve sustainable audiences in a landscape dominated by big AI narratives.
- Designing for curiosity and preservation — like historical map overlays — creates lasting user value.
- Founders can succeed by prioritizing users and craft over chasing the next tech fad.