Capturing the Essence of a Place With Google Maps

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Using Google maps street view, can you successfully capture the essence of a city or neighborhood picking a single location? I'll try.... Niagara Falls, NY... [Author: [email protected] (Maister)]
Tags: Google, Google Maps, Friday Afternoon Club, Niagara Falls NY, Maister

French data protection watchdog fines Google $57 million under the GDPR

The CNIL, the French data protection watchdog, has issued its first GDPR fine of $57 million (€50 million). The regulatory body claims that Google has failed to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when new Android users set up a new phone and follow Android’s onboarding process. Two nonprofit organizations called ‘None Of Your Business’ (noyb) and La Quadrature du Net had originally filed a complaint back in May 2018 — noyb originally filed a complaint against Google and...
Tags: Google, Android, Facebook, Europe, Privacy, Tech, Policy, Paris, Dublin, Google Maps, Google Photos, Cnil, Max Schrems, Gdpr, Second Google, General Data Protection Regulation GDPR

Google Maps will now help drivers stay within speed limits, avoid speed traps

Google Maps will now start showing speed limits and speed camera locations, so that drivers will not be flagged for speeding tickets. The new features arrive to the app years after they were introduced in Waze. The post Google Maps will now help drivers stay within speed limits, avoid speed traps appeared first on Digital Trends.
Tags: Google, Android, Mobile, News, Trends, Waze, Google Maps

Popular Android navigation apps are just Google Maps with ads, researcher says

A malware researcher found that 19 free Android navigation apps on the Google Play Store were nothing more than Google Maps, but with ads. One of the apps asked for a payment to remove the ads, while some of them presented security risks. The post appeared first on Digital Trends.
Tags: Google, Android, Google Play Store, Mobile, News, Trends, Google Maps, Fake Apps

Popular Android navigation apps nothing more than Google Maps with ads

A malware researcher found that 19 free Android navigation apps on the Google Play Store were nothing more than Google Maps, but with ads. One of the apps asked for a payment to remove the ads, while some of them presented security risks. The post appeared first on Digital Trends.
Tags: Google, Android, Google Play Store, Mobile, News, Trends, Google Maps, Fake Apps

Navigation Apps With Millions of Downloads Exposed as Just Google Maps With Bonus Ads

One of the purported benefits of modern day app stores is to make it easier for companies to review and ensure that the software you download isn’t harmful or malicious. But with upwards of 2.1 million apps on Google Play, sometimes things slip through the cracks, which seems precisely how at least 19 different free…
Tags: Google, Android, Google Play, Apps, Science, App Stores, Google Maps, Consumer Tech, Stop Downloading Random Map Apps

Google Patches The Open Date Google Local Edits Hack

Google has reportedly resolved the issue where anyone can change the open date of a business listing in the local Google results and ultimately hurt that business from ranking in the Google local results. Jason Brown via Nate Somsen noticed Google fixed the issue.
Tags: Google, Seo, Google Maps, Jason Brown, Nate Somsen

Some Android GPS Apps Are Just Showing Ads on Top of Google Maps

A security researcher with antivirus maker ESET has discovered a collection of 19 Android apps that pose as GPS applications but which don't do anything but show ads on top of the legitimate Google Maps service. From a report: "They attract potential users with fake screenshots stolen from legitimate Navigation apps," said Lukas Stefanko, the ESET researcher who found them, who pointed out the 19 apps have been downloaded more than 50 million times. The apps "pretend to be full featured navigati...
Tags: Tech, Google Maps, Stefanko, ESET, Lukas Stefanko

Google Maps Deterring Outback Tourists, Say Small Firms

Tourism operators in Australia claim inaccuracies in Google Maps are deterring potential visitors, by making remote attractions appear further away than they actually are. From a report: The Queensland government in north-east Australia has complained to Google, which says it will look into the issue. Firms looking to promote their small towns as remote tourist destinations say Google Maps inflates travel times. Outback businesses say errors in the map app can add hours to a journey. "People are...
Tags: Google, Australia, Tech, Queensland, Google Maps, Outback, Robyn Mackenzie, Eromanga Natural History Museum, ABC People

How Your Business Can Attract Gen Zers in 2019

When it comes to getting Gen Zers interested in your business, there always seem to be so many challenges. Already, millennials were hard enough to market to, with values so different from traditional consumers’, but that’s nothing compared to marketing to this younger generation. Gen Zers, on the one hand, are resistant to traditional marketing, but on the other hand, want your attention all the time. They’re always on their phones using 3G, but if they get a pop-up, they hate it. They hate adv...
Tags: Business, Instagram, Youtube, Sales, Ryanair, Google Maps, Instagram Facebook, Gen Z, Gen Zers, Oberlo

How and When You Can Access The Biggest Upcoming Google Assistant Features

Google’s aptly named AI helper, Google Assistant, is poised to have a great year in 2019. Not only will the digital assistant be spreading to numerous devices old and new, but there are a host of new features coming, too, several of which were shown off at CES 2019 last week.Read more...
Tags: Google, Lifehacks, Google Maps, Google Assistant, Google Home, Google AI, Google Home Hub

Google Maps deterring outback tourists, say small firms

Australian authorities complain that Google Maps wrongly makes remote destinations seem inaccessible.
Tags: Business, Google Maps

DuckDuckGo debuts map search results using Apple Maps

DuckDuckGo has a new, unlikely partner in search: Apple. The privacy-focused search engine that promises to never track its users said Tuesday it’s now using data provided by Apple Maps to power its map-based search results. Although DuckDuckGo had provided limited mapping results for a while using data from open-source service OpenStreetMap, it never scaled its features to those of its search engine rivals, notably Google and Bing. Now, DuckDuckGo will return addresses, businesses, geographi...
Tags: Apple, Google, Security, Technology, Privacy, Tech, Smartphones, Ipads, Software, Tim Cook, Computing, Search Engine, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Apple Inc, Duckduckgo

Google Spammers Using Open Date Edits To Hurt Local Businesses

In November, Google began supporting the option to specify when the business opens in the future. So if you are a new business and you want people to find you in Google local before you open, you can set a future open date for your business. But some are using this to hurt competitors, competitors that have been open for years and years already.
Tags: Google, Seo, Google Maps

The Southwestern Sojourn - Day 49: Uraling along Painted Rock Dam Road

Today's riding involved exploring the trails around the campground.Not much to report, I kept encountering either "no motorized travel" signs or private property signs and ended up turning back.  Looking west from near the campground, that't Oatman Mountain on the right. I decided to head west, along Painted Rock Dam Road, past the turn off for Oatman Mountain I'd explored earlier. Went as far as 17 miles, to Hyder Road where it parallels a railroad track that was marked as "out of serv...
Tags: Motorcycles, Arizona, Google Maps, Sunset, Scarlett Rides, RV Trips, Oatman Mountain, Painted Rock Dam Road, Hyder Road

The Southwestern Sojourn - Day 49: Uraling along Rocky Point Road

Today's riding involved exploring the trails around the campground.Not much to report, I kept encountering either "no motorized travel" signs or private property signs and ended up turning back.  Looking west from near the campground, that't Oatman Mountain on the right. I decided to head west, along Rocky Point Road, past the turn off for Oatman Mountain I'd explored earlier. Went as far as 17 miles, to Hyder Road where it parallels a railroad track that was marked as "out of service"....
Tags: Motorcycles, Arizona, Google Maps, Sunset, Rocky Point Road, Scarlett Rides, RV Trips, Oatman Mountain, Hyder Road

How To Optimize Your Google Map Listing For Maximum Conversions


by Tim Brown, owner of Hook Agency and author of “Growthhackathon: Digital Marketing on a Budget“ Did you know that online purchases account for only 8.3% of all retail sales in the US ? This data is good news for brick and mortar businesses because it means that customers are still making their purchases in person. What has changed is how we discover businesses. Increasingly, we use our mobile devices to find what we need, which means that being findable online — specifically on Goog...
Tags: Google, Startups, Budget, Nbc, Minneapolis, US, Seo, Google Maps, Tim Brown, Search Engine Optimization, Forbes, Tim, Professionalisms, SEO marketing, Hook Agency

Silabur Cave in Sarawak

Have you heard about the Jade Caves of Sarawak? Yes, a cave that looks like it is made from jade, which is called the Silabur Cave in Serian, Sarawak.  This beautiful cave has been around for a very long time, and mostly visited by researchers, but in 2016, the cave became more popular among the locals, mainly due to the beautiful jade texture of the cave walls.  Silabur Cave in Sarawak This beautiful cave is found in the district of Serian, which is about 90 minutes drive from the cit...
Tags: Travel, Google, Facebook, Instagram, China, Malaysia, Waze, Google Maps, Sabah, Borneo, Kuching, Sarawak, David Jr, Facebook Page, West Kalimantan, Kalimantan Indonesia

Apple Maps finally gets turn-by-turn navigation and ability to book cab in India

Apple Maps in India after many years into existence is getting turn-by-turn navigation. We found this feature to be working just as intended in Secunderabad area where the maps showed turn-by-turn navigation. The feature shows you directions for driving and walking. Additionally, you can also book a cab through the Uber and Ola right within the Maps app under the ride section. However, the information about public transport options isn’t available yet. Apple despite the ability to collect dat...
Tags: Apple, Apps, News, India, Blogging, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Ola, Secunderabad, Apple Maps Cab Booking India, Apple Maps turn-by-turn navigation

Google Webhook For Google My Business Reviews Delayed, Working On A Fix

Kara from the Google My Business team confirmed Google is working on a fix for the delays in getting review data from the Google My Business API, specifically webhooks. Kara said "Our teams are working on the issue but they don't have an estimate for when the issue will be resolved."
Tags: Google, Seo, Google Maps, Kara, Google My Business, Google My Business API, Google My Business Reviews

Google Local Listings Tests Your Match Scores

Google is testing a feature in the local listings, the local pack, that shows how closely the listings match you. It is a feature Google announced but did not launch back in May 2018 called "your match." Through machine learning Google shows "a number that suggests how likely you are to enjoy a place and reasons explaining why."
Tags: Google, Seo, Google Maps

Google My Business: Reconfirm Location Vs Verify Now

I am not sure what this is about but one local SEO is being asked to verify their business by clicking verify now or reconfirm location. I am not sure what the difference is and neither are any of the local SEOs in the Local Search Forums.
Tags: Seo, Google Maps

Google Assistant’s new features make it more useful for travelers

In its CES announcements, Google revealed a bunch of useful updates to Google Assistant including navigation, travel, and translation features. Here are the most notable changes that’ll help you in your daily interaction with Google Assistant. Use Assistant with maps Now, Google Maps users on iOS and Android will be able to ask for navigation assistance with their voice. For example, you can say “Hey Google, take me home,” to open Google Maps and get directions for your commute. Additionally, yo...
Tags: Google, Startups, Google Maps, Insider

Why I Love Getting Lost

I’m bad with directions, but maybe that’s a good thing.
Tags: Iphone, News, Millennial Generation, Google Maps, Navigation

Hey Google, what's new with the Assistant at CES this year?

This week, we’re at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to showcase what’s in store for the Google Assistant in 2019. By bringing the best of Google services and AI to the Assistant, we're focused on building the most helpful digital assistant when you’re at home, in your car or on the go. If you’re at CES, stop by the Google Assistant Playground (Central Plaza-1, the outdoor space located directly in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center). A more connected home A simpler smart hom...
Tags: Google, Verizon, Ge, Samsung, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Philips, Google Maps, Jvc, Anker, Whirlpool, United Airlines, Todoist, Eta, Rachio, Hopper

Google Assistant now helps you check-in to airline flights so you can stop frantically searching for your confirmation number (GOOG, GOOGL)

Google announced a number of Google Assistant updates on Tuesday, during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). One of our favorite updates helps users check in to their flights and retrieve their boarding passes by simply saying, " Hey Google, check-in to my flight."  For now, the travel assistance is only available on United Airline's domestic flights.  Other useful updates to Google Assistant include, interpreter mode, Google Maps integration, and auto-punctuation for messages.  Tired o...
Tags: Google, Samsung, Trends, Ces, Las Vegas, Google Maps, United, United Airline, United Airlines A Google

Google Is Blitzing CES with a Literal Rollercoaster Full of Google Assistant Tech

OK, it’s a small coaster, but after a couple years of attending CES, between the Google vending machines, the Google branded monorail, and a bunch of new features for the Google Assistant, it feels like Google is flexing on the world’s biggest trade show in a way it never has before. Read more...
Tags: Google, Science, Ces, Google Maps, Voice Assistant, Consumer Tech, Google Assistant, CES 2019, Google Assistant Asserts Its Dominance, Lenovo Smart Clock, Google Ride, Interpreter Mode

Google Assistant is coming to Google Maps today

We’ve known for a while now that Google Assistant (the company’s voice powered AI, a la Siri or Alexa) would eventually be built right into Google Maps. They announced as much at Google I/O 2018, noting at the time that they were aiming for a summer launch. It didn’t happen by summer, but Google says it’s happening today. An update should be rolling out shortly enabling Assistant within Google Maps on both Android and iOS. While it’s hitting both platforms, it’ll be a bit more capable on Andr...
Tags: Google, TC, Siri, Tech, Google Maps, Alexa, CES 2019, Facebook Messenger Hangouts Viber Telegram

A virtual re-creation of San Francisco's massive WPA wooden city model

In the 1930s, the Works Public Administration commissioned a 1":100' wooden model of San Francisco; the final model is 38' x 42', with 6,000 removable city blocks spanning 158 pieces. After being exhibited in the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay in 1939 and city hall from 1940-42, it was used as a city planning tool and then as a teaching aid at the Environmental Simulation Laboratory in the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. The who...
Tags: Google, Post, Happy Mutants, News, San Francisco, Google Maps, UC Berkeley, Glam, San Francisco Bay, Bay Area, Urban Theory, New Deal, Cartography, San Francisco Public Library, SFMOMA, David Rumsey

Taking Local Inventory Online: An Interview with Pointy’s Mark Cummins

Posted by MiriamEllisLet’s go back in time 20 years so I can ask you the question, “How often do you look at a paper map every month?”Unless you were a cartographer or a frequent traveler, chances are good that your answer would be, “Hmm, maybe less than once a month. Maybe once or twice a year.”But in 2019, I’d wager there’s scarcely a day that goes by without you using Google Maps when planning to eat out, find a service provider, or find something fun to do. That web-based map in your hand ha...
Tags: Google, Amazon, California, US, Seo, Google Maps, Mark, San Mateo, Talbot, Miriam, Knowledge Panel, Toyland, Merchant Center, MiriamEllis, Local Service, Mark Cummins