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Google Maps will soon give you better recommendations
- danShumway 8y ago> "Google will soon launch a new version of Google Maps that will give you more personalized recommendations" I've used enough of Google's products by now to know that the word "better" in this title is probably inaccurate. :)
- jerzyt 8y agoIt is going to be "better." For Google.
- gboudrias 8y agoI'm looking forward to the momentum this will give OpenStreetMap through the sheer annoyance at Google. But I sure wish Google would stop trying to read my mind and just do what I tell it to. Guess the descent is inevitable, since we're the commodity we have to fight with the service, explicitly or implicitly. But oh how I yearn for the days of old when they pretended to be nice.
- joncrane 8y agoTwo things: 1) I generally don't want to do what everyone else in a given area is doing. I prefer the off-the-beaten-path stuff. Will Google know this? 2) Will Google monetize the inclusion in the "local hot spot tonight" recommendations?
- theDoug 8y agoI don't have details on this, but I can't imagine it'd be less personalized for your off-the-beaten-path stuff than it is now, where we get the same as everyone else.
- gagege 8y agoYes. The kind of recommendations I want are things like: "Go for a walk in this park you've never been to. There are benches to read on." and "Go for a bike ride on this route. You'll see parts of the city you'd normally never see."
- lukeqsee 8y agoI'm not sure I want my map to be giving me recommendations. I'm definitely not certain I want my map to be able to give me better recommendations because of how much data that company has on me. I guess all the more reason to continue using Apple Maps.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago> I guess all the more reason to continue using Apple Maps. It is unfortunate that OpenStreetMap doesn't have the resources to create mapping apps at parity with Google Maps. I just want a map app. Not a recommendation app. Not FourSquare. Just comprehensive maps, routing, and possibly traffic data. OSM, please take my money for this! The only way for us to receive long term value from digital tooling is through participation, resource contribution, and stewardship of organizations that can protect these projects (Similar to how Signal received a very large cash contribution for ongoing support, or how OSM and other renowned open source projects have official organizations formed, elected governance, etc).
- kop316 8y agoI finally decided I wanted to use OSM as my main app, and what I have been doing is adding things to it when I see it doesn't have it. That way it can slowly get better, and have what I need with it. I have actually found that if I can't find something on it, I can use Duckduckgo to find what I need, then it can open it on OSM and I can mark it.
- solarkraft 8y agoWhat app are you specifically using? I find it hard to find a well done one for Android.
- solarkraft 8y agoThis should not be all that difficult to do. We have the open map data (OSM) and Valhalla for routing. There are tons of online OSM viewers, so I would guess it to be possible on a phone.
- edgarvaldes 8y agoMmm. Is it the end of the cartographic value of Google Maps? I mean, I want an accurate, up to date and objective map. I don't want recommendations, except when I ask for them.
- DavideNL 8y agoIf your just looking for routes/traffic, perhaps try "Waze" - also owned by Google. It has maps/routes without all the other bloat like recommendations.
- thinkingemote 8y agoThe implication is that as a company you will eventually pay google to rank higher in the recommendation listings. Listings are advertising.
- ct0 8y ago"better" - determined by who?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- romanovcode 8y agoAd buyers
- leeoniya 8y agoinstead, how about giving me directions that dont involve 20 turns down tiny residential streets with 10 stop signs to travel 2 miles. when it can be done with 1 turn on 2 major roads with 2 traffic lights and an extra 0.1 mile? or multi-point routes on mobile? or a maps app UI that doesnt obstruct 60% of the actual map? so many google products seem to reach EOL at "good enough". see also: Gmail, etc.
- puzzle 8y agoAre you sure that's not Waze? Google Maps is deliberately a lot like the latter, even if both products are from the same company. Maybe there is something in the road network (e.g. a segment with bad information) along the route you are thinking of that results in what you describe.
- leeoniya 8y agoi have never used waze. google prefers to minimize distance rather than minimizing route complexity (for some minimal distance or time cost). my wife and i have an ongoing joke that google takes you on the most "scenic" drives through the most obscure neighborhoods.
- puzzle 8y agoWhere in the world are you? If you think Maps has complex routes obsessed with shaving seconds, you should try Waze just for a day. :-)
- cuddlybacon 8y agoNot the person you are replying to, but I find in Vancouver it does that a lot as well. Instead of turning left at an intersection with a light and dedicated turn lane, I find it will often suggest I turn left then right then left to skip the intersection. It always turns out worse.
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- baby_wipe 8y agoI would prefer a faster bootup time and search field that doesn't lag for 3 seconds before bringing up the keyboard. Maybe it's because I'm using an iPhone 5S but it would still be nice.
- icelancer 8y ago>> Maybe it's because I'm using an iPhone 5S It's not.
- Ajedi32 8y agoI don't know. Just tried it on my OG Pixel. Maps loaded in about a second, and the search field activated instantly when I tapped it. So... maybe it is? Or maybe the Maps app on iOS is just slow?
- mseebach 8y agoOn my Pixel 2, and the 1 before it, the Maps UI is sometimes weirdly jerky. Purely anecdotally, it feels like there is some blocking network IO on the main thread.
- danvayn 8y agoIt definitely could be. Apple literally admitted to slowing down older generation iPhones. I don't know how you can really consider it a non-factor.
- ben174 8y agoI think op is saying he/she experiences the same thing on current-gen hardware. I'm on an iPhone X and just tested and the keyboard shows up immediately when I activate the search field.
- nsp 8y ago2 reasons. 1) they’ve only acknowledged doing this on iPhone 6 and later. 2) it’s slow as shit on my brand spanking new iPhone X as well. A slower phone def doesn’t help, but it’s not the primary issue here.
- tnorthcutt 8y agohttps://i.imgur.com/k2k7SD0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/k2k7SD0.jpg
- hkmurakami 8y agoidk about recommendations, but I've started using Google Maps more than Yelp for calling restaurants and sharing addresses with friends because Yelp takes way too long to boot up compared to Google Maps. Speed matters!
- maaaats 8y agoNever thought Gmaps was considered fast. When I open it on a new, top shelf Android, it takes a few seconds to boot. And it boots directly into whatever I searched a few days ago. Then I have to click back, wait for it to not lag, back again, repeat. Then finally I can search. Most often I click back and close it...
- hkmurakami 8y agoJust tested on my iPhons 6S+. Maps took about 2.5 seconds to boot, 1 second to load search predictions, then showed exacty results instantly after I chose the search term. Yelp took about a second longer on each step, with worse search predictions with partial string input, making me spend more time typing. Also the text is harder to read and the search box is harder to activate. So UX seems to also be a factor adding human lag time to the equation. Maps isn't instant but it's the better of two nonideal options.
- niroze 8y agoAnyone still use Maps in the car? I use Waze.
- s0rce 8y agoYes, only use maps since Waze will redirect you onto surface streets to save an insignificant amount of time with a large amount of inconvenience.
- magduf 8y agoYes. I've tried Waze, and the only advantage it has is showing where cops are (which isn't very reliable, the data is frequently out of date and it shows cops where there aren't any, or doesn't show ones that set up their speed trap recently or are on a rural road). Google Maps will show you alternative routes as you drive, telling you how much extra time they'll take (or save). Waze does not do this, it only shows you one route. I frequently want to take a slightly different route than the one shown, perhaps because I'm coming to a stoplight and it shows the alternate route of turning right to be "similar ETA", and by turning right I can avoid spending 1-3 minutes at the light. Basically, Waze is just too minimalist. I want more information, not less.
- redcomplier 8y agoWaze and Google Maps are the same team run by the same management.
- niroze 8y agowe know. but they are vastly different.
- nathan_long 8y ago> “Today, our users aren’t just asking for the fastest route to a place but also what’s happening around them, what the new places are and what the locals are doing in their neighborhood,” Google VP for engineering and product management Jen Fitzpatrick noted in today’s keynote. Are users really asking for this? I only ever use Google Maps for driving directions. I like that I can type the name of a place and it finds matches near me, but that's all the personalization I've ever wanted.
- assblaster 8y agoI use Maps as a gateway to new areas. If I can't see new places automatically, if I'm not notified, if I'm not otherwise aware of new places, how am I going to come across them?
- kovek 8y agoI think asking locals can be one solution. If not, check out a blog of the city you are visiting, they might publish new places there.
- 6cd6beb 8y agoI get a local newspaper that shows restaurant openings and closings; it seems like a much better fit for that kind of information than something global like google maps. Google maps should be answering two questions: Where is it, and how do I get there. "What's cool and new in my city" seems like a feature that's being shoehorned on because it's a possible revenue channel. >asking locals I like that for hippie reasons like building community and a sense of connection to other people, but I'm also a little disappointed I didn't instantly recognize that the objectively best way to know "what the locals are doing in their neighborhood" is to "ask them"
- mseebach 8y agoIf you have access to a local who's tastes (and temperament and budget) are calibrated to your own, it's a good strategy. If you are in a place for a while and want the most out of it, researching on blogs etc is absolutely the right thing to do. But if you are passing by and looking for a place to have lunch, that's not feasible. Heck, even finding a local who routinely eats out in the local area (in a great many places, people will eat at home most of the time) can be a challenge - in touristic areas, the great majority of people will be other tourists or trying to sell you something. Google Maps, on the other hand, can instantly tell you if the brasserie on the main square is a tourist trap or decent, or if there is a small independent café with great salads on a side street five minutes from you. That's the problem Google Maps is solving.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- niroze 8y agoI can't remember the last time I depended on Google Maps for directions.
- chrissnell 8y agoThe feature I want can be found in Microsoft's MapPoint for DOS back in 1993: the option to plot the shortest route based on distance. I drive a slow, old truck that tops out at about 60 on flat roads and I prefer to avoid interstates and to take the shortest mileage route, since the lower speed limits of small roads are rarely applicable to me. On a drive from the Midwest out to the western deserts, 150 miles makes a big difference.
- shawn 8y agoI've wanted this too after my wagon's struts went out. Not highway safe.
- magduf 8y agoGoogle Maps (and in fact just about every nav program) has an option for "no highways". That'll probably be better for your objective than just plotting the shortest route, which may very well follow a highway at some point since highways frequently are more direct.
- chrissnell 8y agoYes, I use this option frequently, but it's still not always the shortest. For instance, here in Kansas, it will avoid interstates but route you on U.S. highways, even though there are more direct state and county roads. I want to see the very shortest route and make that decision for myself.
- magduf 8y agoHmm... usually when I use Google Maps (esp. on the desktop version), it'll give me several route options at the beginning. One of those is usually the fastest, and another is usually the shortest distance. You can then pick the preferred route and it should follow that (though, during driving, it can get screwed up if you take a wrong turn and then try to re-route you on the fastest route again).
- simoneau 8y agoChoosing walking directions comes pretty close to meeting this use case.
- davidw 8y agoIt'd be nice if it stopped harassing me to leave reviews and pictures for every place I stop these days.
- efm 8y agoYou can turn that off. Maps: Settings: Your contributions
- davidw 8y agoI don't mind it, occasionally, but lately it seems like every single thing...
- redcomplier 8y agoYour definition of harassment seems to be one most people wouldn't agree with. There are setting to turn this off. Another solution is to go to a competitor like Apple or Bing Maps.
- magdadc 8y agoHi everyone! Less than happy to read this news, as my husband and I have been working on a similar solution for some time now. We've created an app https://maplog.it/ https://maplog.it/ which allows you to create different lists, share them with others and give you better recommendations for places to go out. We are currently working on an iOS and Android apps. Do you think it makes any sense to continue or should we just drop the idea? Would love to hear what you think!
- lukeqsee 8y agoHey magdadc, I founded a company competing with Google Maps on another level (map tiles & other geoservices), and I think it's super important to have competition in the mapping space (just look at how much it costs if you want to use Google's data anywhere!). Your site looks super polished. Keep up the good work! One thing I don't particularly like is having to sign in to see a map of things nearby. I'd love a main view that shows me just the map with interesting places marked as pins. (E.g., "Places Near Me" takes me to a signup page, which immediately turns me off.) Best of luck!
- magdadc 8y agoThanks so much for the feedback and encouragement! Good point on 'nearby' being locked. All the best luck to you as well!
- mseebach 8y agoActually making good, meaningful recommendations isn't a solved problem. Google has mass, and anything with more than ~4 stars generally isn't going to be awful, but it's a blunt instrument. Searching just slightly more specifically than that and the wheels come off. I don't immediately see how your app solves the problem, it seems there are some lists of things, but it's an unqualified jumble. I am looking at the best bars in London list, and pretty much all my favourites are on there, but Gordon's, Duke's, Termini and Calooh Callay are very different places for different occasions (and, especially in the case of Duke's, different budgets), and there is nothing to help me decide. Finding a bar, even a relatively good one, in London isn't a valuable problem, IMO, and certainly not one Google isn't going to beat you at -- finding a bar like Duke's in, say, Zürich is (for the particular subjective value of 'like' that I have in mind). A list of "that kind of bars" with a few options in every city might be a good answer, but I don't envy you the challenge of curating that sort of thing at scale.
- gregmac 8y agoLargely via Android Auto, I've had mixed experiences with Google Maps recommendations in the past. What I really want it to do is look at my calendar, and if I have something scheduled soon with a location attached, suggest providing navigation to that. This has worked sometimes, but it's completely not reliable as it sometimes simply doesn't do it. What I really don't want it to do is blindly suggest navigating to locations I've previously been to. The last couple times I went to the dentist (something I do approximately twice a year) it's asked if I want to navigate there every day for the following week. The only thing I've found (mostly) reliable about it is if I get in my car at the end of the day, the navigation suggestion is 'home', and in the morning, it's 'work'.
- colanderman 8y agoHonestly I'd appreciate it if Maps stopped giving recommendations. They always pop up whenever I open the app, and I never want them. Unfortunately there's no way to turn them off, so every time I need to open Maps, I'm forced to wait for recommendations to load, and then swipe them away, before it's useful to me. Terrible UX, thy name is Google.
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoTake a moment and ponder what would happen if you hooked a trailer full of racing shells up to a 14-passenger bus, tossed a set of keys to the assistant coach of the crew team and told them to get to the Charles river. Yes, better restaurant suggestions is exactly what will make Maps more competitive. /s. The Valley Filter Bubble(TM) rears its ugly head once again. Just giving people an "I don't know the area, please don't give me a route with a million steps and rapid fire turns when there exists an alternative with a fraction of the complexity that only takes several minutes longer" check box would differentiate them from every other consumer grade route planning software and make using maps for a route in an unfamiliar area (example use case: picking something up on CL) or when driving something bigger than a SUV in a dense city way less stressful. A little warning that "this route contains under-height structures" (the location and height of which is publicly available) with a little icon on the map for each one would probably reduce the number of rental trucks, motor-homes and mini-buses that get can opened by an order of magnitude or two. There's a lot of little low hanging fruit but reducing the number of routes your route planning software sucks at isn't as sexy as trying to predict what restaurants people will want to eat at.