Tag: Google

Google Maps at 20

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Google Maps launched 20 years ago today. Here’s what I posted at the time:

First impressions. This is frigging amazing, with smooth scrolling and zooming: you’re not constantly reloading pages like in MapQuest. Huge mapping surface. And drop shadows. […] I’m impressed by the detail. They’ve got my area, which is kind of a rural backwater: they’ve got the roads all named, but strangely not the towns. Oh well, data’s rarely perfect—especially when it’s just a beta launch. And for a beta this is awfully impressive.

A flurry of additional announcements followed in quick sucession: the launch of Google Earth, the Maps API that enabled people to build their own maps on top of Google’s interface. The mid-2000s were a busy time for online maps, let me tell you. I had so much to keep up with.

The development and origins of Google Maps, and Google Earth, are the subject of the latest and timely installment of James Killick’s “12 Map Happenings that Rocked Our World.” It seems that the Maps side of things was largely about providing Google search results through a map interface, and when you look at Google’s post commemorating the 20th anniversary, which highlights 20 features of Google Maps, it’s clear how expansive that idea has become.

James also makes reference to a book I somehow completely missed when it came out: Never Lost Again: The Google Mapping Revolution That Sparked New Industries and Augmented Our Reality, an insider history by Google project manager Bill Kilday. (Harper Business, 2018). Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop.

Google Maps to Use ‘Gulf of America’–Others Not So Much

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Lots of news coverage about Google’s announcement that it will follow Trump’s lead and change Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America (and Denali to Mount McKinley) on Google Maps once the GNIS database has been updated—at least when showing it to American users. Mexicans will still get Gulf of Mexico, while the rest of us will get both names. See coverage at BBC, CNBC, CNN, Guardian, TechCrunch, among many many many others.

I’m not sure why some people were expecting Big Tech to lead the resistance (especially a trillion-dollar company), and over one of the easiest things to undo once this is all over: Google has made a point of accommodating government requests on its maps, showing the “right” borders and place names to the right users. See previous post: Google Maps as Non-State Authority.

But not everyone is falling into line. The British government has no plans to refer to it as the Gulf of America, nor will British maps change unless it becomes the most commonly used name: see The Independent and The Telegraph.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press is updating its stylebook in a way that splits the difference, following Trump on Denali/Mount McKinley because it’s fully within his purview but pointing to the Gulf’s international status: “The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.”

Previously: Naming the Gulf.

Update 9:10 PM: More detail from CNBC, which reports that “Google’s maps division on Monday reclassified the U.S. as a ‘sensitive country,’ a designation it reserves for states with strict governments and border disputes […] Google’s list of sensitive countries includes China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, among others. […] Google’s order states that the Gulf of America title change should be treated similar to the Persian Gulf, which in Arab countries is displayed on Google Maps as Arabian Gulf.”

Some Google Maps Updates

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Google Maps imagery updates include improved satellite imagery thanks to an AI model that removes clouds, shadows and haze, plus “one of the biggest updates to Street View yet, with new imagery in almost 80 countries—some of which will have Street View imagery for the very first time.” The web version of Google Earth will be updated with access to more historical imagery and better project and file organization, plus a new abstract basemap layer. [PetaPixel]

Meanwhile, The Verge reports that Google Maps is cracking down on business pages that violate its policy against fake ratings and reviews.

Google Maps Navigation Updates

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Google Maps is introducing a speedometer and speed limits to iOS and Carplay; the feature has been on Android since 2019. Meanwhile, Google has pushed back on the claim from one user that pop-up ads were turning up while navigating with Google Maps; rather, they say it was an instance of “promoted pins” that (should) only pop up if tapped on. 9to5Google: “we were able to replicate the exact same UI by tapping on a location on the map, so it seems the screen was either touched by accident or a glitch was at play.”

Google Timeline: Location History Moves to On-Device Storage

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

More details emerged this week on how Google Maps is changing how it stores users’ location data—which is that as of December 2024 it basically won’t: Location History has been rebranded Google Timeline and will be stored on-device, where you can set it to auto-delete after a specified period of time, rather than on Google’s servers. Not having your location data in the cloud is better for your personal security (Google can’t respond to geofence warrants if it doesn’t collect and store location data), but it also means that Timeline won’t be available via the web. This is a bit more definitive than what I understood it to be last December. See news coverage from 9to5Google, The Guardian and The Verge.

Google, EDF Partner to Build Map of Global Methane Emissions

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Methane is a greenhouse gas, more powerful than CO2 but shorter-lived. Google is partnering with the Environmental Defense Fund to map global methane emissions, much of which result from leaks from fossil fuel infrastructure and are undercounted. The EDF’s MethaneSAT satellite (itself a partnership between the EDF and New Zealand’s space agency) launches next month: it’ll measure methane emissions at high resolution. Google’s bringing to the party algorithms and AI, the latter to build a global map of oil and gas infrastructure.

Once we have this complete infrastructure map, we can overlay the MethaneSAT data that shows where methane is coming from. When the two maps are lined up, we can see how emissions correspond to specific infrastructure and obtain a far better understanding of the types of sources that generally contribute most to methane leaks. This information is incredibly valuable to anticipate and mitigate emissions in oil and gas infrastructure that is generally most susceptible to leaks.

More at The Verge.

Previously: Mapping Methane Emissions.

Google Maps Is Adding Generative AI

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Uh-oh. Generative AI is coming to Google Maps. Google is using large-language models to give suggestions on where to go based on its vast horde of reviews, ratings and other contributor data. “Starting in the U.S., this early access experiment launches this week to select Local Guides, who are some of the most active and passionate members of the Maps community. Their insights and valuable feedback will help us shape this feature so we can bring it to everyone over time.” Other LLMs have a tendency to push out magnificently wrong answers; it’ll be interesting to see what results Google will get with this specific set of data. (The chances of spectacularity are not zero.)

Man Dies After Driving Across Collapsed Bridge, Family Sues Google

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

The family of a man who died after driving off a collapsed bridge is suing Google; they allege that despite multiple reports from users, Google Maps continued to mark the bridge in North Carolina, which partially collapsed in 2013, as passable, directing him and other drivers across it. The family is also suing local companies for failing to maintain the bridge or put up barricades and hazard warnings.

How Google Deals with Fake Content on Google Maps

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

In a blog post last Friday, Google offers some detail on how it combats fraudulent user-submitted content on Google Maps. These include fake business profiles, fake reviews, contributed photos with fake phone numbers—it’s basically about business listings. (There was a time, of course, when fake user-submitted content was to the map itself.) They report something like 115 million reviews, 200 million photos and 20 million fake business profiles—no wonder they’re using machine learning to deal with it all. (Compare with Google’s February 2021 post on the same subject: the numbers are up.)

Previously: Millions of Business Listings on Google Maps Are Fake: WSJ; How Many Fake Business Listings Are There on Google Maps?

Google Maps Updates (February 2023)

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Updates to Google Maps announced earlier this month include a rollout of immersive view—first announced last year—in the previously announced cities of London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo (the rollout is delayed somewhat: it was promised for later this year last year), with more cities, including Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence and Venice, coming soon [Engadget]. Also announced: an expansion of the augmented-reality Live View feature (previously: 1, 2) to more cities and indoor venues [AppleInsider]; “glanceable directions” enabling navigation from the lock screen (“in the coming months”) [9to5Google]; and improved charging station search results for electric vehicles with built-in Google search [Jalopnik].

Previously: Immersive View and the Death of Consumer Maps.

Online Map Roundup for January 2023

Published on by Jonathan Crowe
Apple Maps

Apple Maps now provides parking information for 8,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Apple also launched Business Connect, a tool for businesses to upload their information to be used by Apple’s various apps: not just Maps, though that’s obvious (and something Google has been offering for quite some time: see James’s post for context). More at Ars Technica.

Google Maps

The first cars to get Google’s enhanced maps (previously), which include things like traffic lights and stop signs, will be the Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3, via Android Auto.

Meanwhile, turn-by-turn directions on Google’s Wear OS smart watch platform will no longer require a connected smartphone.

The Privacy Implications of a Slight URL Change

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Garrit Franke thinks a change in Google Maps’s web address—it now redirects from a subdirectory, maps.google.com, to a folder on Google’s root directory, google.com/maps1—means that location permission given to Google Maps (a normal thing to do when using maps) could be applied across all of Google’s services without asking for additional permissions. [Daring Fireball/Lat × Long]

Marie Tharp as Google Doodle

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Google Doodle of Marie Tharp (screenshot)

Marie Tharp is the subject of today’s Google Doodle, with an interactive narration of her life story. That story—how Tharp’s pioneering work mapping the ocean floor helped prove the theory of continental drift—is familiar to long-time readers of this blog: this is the 12th post I’ve made about the legendary cartographer. But someone is going to be one of today’s lucky 10,000 because of this, and that’s not a bad thing.

Ortelius was a Google Doodle in May 2018.

Report: Google to Shut Down Standalone Street View App

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Street View app iconAccording to 9to5Google, Google looks like it’s getting ready to shut down its standalone Street View app (previously). “This standalone app served two distinct groups of people—those who wanted to deeply browse Street View and those who wanted to contribute their own 360° imagery. Considering the more popular Google Maps app has Street View support and Google offers a ‘Street View Studio’ web app for contributors, it should be no surprise to learn that the company is now preparing to shut down the Street View app.” If their report is correct, the shutdown would take place next March. [The Verge]

Online Map Roundup for August 2022

Published on by Jonathan Crowe

Google Maps sends people looking for abortion providers to so-called crisis pregnancy centres, which discourage the procedure, Bloomberg reports.

Also in Bloomberg, Mark Gurman discusses Apple’s plans to expand its advertising business, which apparently includes adding ads to Apple Maps.

Apple’s cycling maps now include Hawaii, and its detailed 3D cities now include Atlanta, Miami and Seattle. They’re also testing their upgraded maps in Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.

Google Maps updates outlined in a blog post last month include cycling route information, location sharing, and photorealistic aerial views of major landmarks.

Instagram announced a searchable map feature last month, expanding its map feature beyond geolocating posts. This, after a Google VP noted that young users are using apps and TikTok for discovery purposes rather than Google’s Search or Maps. You wouldn’t think that Instagram and TikTok qualify as map apps, but the street finds its uses.