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Google Maps has become an eyesore

fastcompany.com

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Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#521

Post by JSavageOne »

Criticize Google Maps all you want, but it is easily one of the most useful apps to me, especially as someone who's been been living nomadically the last 5 years. It's kind of scary how dependent I am on this app. Anytime I need to find a restaurant, dentist, electronics store, etc. - I'm looking first on Google Maps and my life is basically dictated by the results.

I have lists like "Places to Work" which is a list of all the nice coffee shops and places I like to work out of (currently have 200). I star hotels + AirBnBs I'm staying in, and bookmark a ton of things. I rely on it for public transportation. If I could only pick 3 apps on my phone, Google Maps would definitely be one of them.

I do wish there were better alternatives and I hate being overly dependent on one company. Unfortunately the open source alternatives like OpenStreetMap don't really even compare.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#522

Post by ImPostingOnHN »

erremerre wrote: post #428
Knee_Pain wrote: post #328

The funniest thing to me is that Google Maps seems to be the "normal person" option and yet only OSM tells me where water fountains are. Millions of tourists worldwide use GMaps to navigate around in foreign places and yet they have no option to see where the closest place to refill their bottles is? Especially in the summer?

I don't care where are water fountains, but what bus/train/metro can I take to go to another place, where is the bus stop. At what time does arrive, and which bus stop do I need to get down. I can do that only on google maps. Open Street Map does not provide that info. Now I am sure there are some local app I can use for each individual city that works fine. But with google maps I only need to have one app. As user,…

there is a non-local app that does so for multiple cities:

https://transitapp.com/region#all-regions

I've used it in 2 larger US cities so far, and can vouch for its functionality

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#523

Post by pessimizer »

gardenhedge wrote: post #424
tommit wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like the person you're responding to has a problem with them selling their data in real-time to 3rd parties, rather than just any Google employee knowing where they are heading.

surely google employees can't look up peoples locations..

Surely they can. Who would be locking them out? Another google employee. So the useful questions are which google employees can look up people's locations, and through what process?

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#524

Post by manbitesdog »

I understand most of these problems are the undesirable consequences of Google Maps trying to make money. But there’s no excuse for the ones that are just bad UX, like the zoom level or location changing when searching “food” at a given place, or how it’s impossible to search “smash burgers” if there’s a business called smash somewhere around

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#525

Post by tiberious726 »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #289
ohgodplsno wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends. Basically, the API is free if all you do is display a map, keep the Google branding at the bottom, and add a few of those pins. Make one of those pins move because it's actually a car, and suddenly your cheeks are getting clapped with 6+-figure bills.

I wrote a system that incorporates Google Maps. It’s an open-source system that is used worldwide, by a few thousand loosely-organized nonprofits. When Google Maps suddenly required associated credit cards, it caused a great deal of trouble. It still causes problems. That’s because most of these entities are not 501(c)(3) orgs, with bank accounts and debit/credit cards. In fact, the organization enforces deliberate p…

> In fact, the organization enforces deliberate poverty, amongst its chapters.

You mean a cult. This isn't a real issue for properly run 501c3, it's a tax registration for a reason.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#526

Post by manicennui »

lancesells wrote: post #395
Ycdr4thfdd wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's even worse is that often I'll click "restaurants", zoom in all the way, and then click "Search this area", yet Google will still refuse to show some popular restaurant, even when there are no other restaurants displayed in the window. The only way to get those restaurants to show up is to search them by name. Not sure if they're intentionally penalizing certain restaurants, but it's pretty bad.

FWIW Apple does the same thing to me in my neighborhood. I live in Brooklyn where there are restaurants on every block but it'll zoom out and show ~15 restaurants scattered over a mile with half in Manhattan. Pretty unusable.

I don't think that they understand how people in NYC and Chicago live. It is designed for people who are driving everywhere.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#527

Post by throwaway2037 »

stiray wrote: post #447
aikinai wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a real issue, but it has nothing to do with Google specifically. You’re basically saying that information on road networks should be obscured or restricted so governments can indirectly control the flow of traffic. Japan actually has some soft regulations in this space about routing and road visibility (e.g. residential roads are hidden when you’re on thoroughfares). But they’re just suggestions so only domes…

No, I am saying that by diverting drivers to regional roads without taking into account local population, this is directly Google fault. Why? Before Google started messing with information about congestion, there was no issue. Regional roads swallowed without any problem those few adventurous tourists that decided to use them. Now you find an average Joe everywhere. Wanna se another interesting example (use google tr…

The solution sounds simple. Force non-locals to buy a Swiss-like vignette to drive on those roads. And, make it damn expensive, like 1000 Euros. You can probably put a police checkpoint around a corner about 500 meters after the sign and fine people who are missing the vignette something like 2000 Euros. Finally, use social media and obnoxious free media (City AM and friends) to tell everyone about it. It should take care of itself in about 3 months.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#528

Post by ajnin »

Biganon wrote: post #494

> TOO MANY ADS CLUTTER THE MAP ...he complained, in an article on a website where 30% of vertical space is used by an autoplay video ad featuring an idiot asking me whether I'd eat "mustard Skittles". Ironic.

Out of admittedly slightly perverse curiosity I opened the site without adblock : at some point when scrolling the whole page is covered with ads. An eyesore indeed.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#529

Post by globular-toast »

LimeLimestone wrote: post #193

Is it just me or have you guys also noticed that the routes suggested by Google Maps have gotten worse? It seems that it only takes into account current traffic jams and not the ones which will occur 30mins into the trip. For instance, there's this spot in my city where I know there is a traffic jam at around 3:20 PM every day. I usually set off from home around 2:50 PM, which means I'll hit that congested area by 3:…

Why do you use it to travel a route you go every day and know you know better than the app?

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#530

Post by bee_rider »

Knee_Pain wrote: post #388
coldtea wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

[flagged]

“99%” when used like this is essentially an expression in English, for “almost all” or “almost certain.” It is very hard to believe that they have the actual statistic or that it happens to be exactly 99%, so I wouldn’t worry about anybody getting mixed up.
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