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Google Decides to Monetize Maps

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Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#51

Post by flukus »

puzzle wrote: post #27
kgwxd wrote: post #6

A few months ago, I noticed navigaton saying thing like "take the next right, after Key Bank". Clearly an ad, as there is nothing ambiguous about the turn. Haven't seen it mentioned by anyone else, am I the only one?

It's not an ad¹. A lot of humans navigate that way, for many reasons. Google has done research on that through the years. Landmarks might be easier to spot and are an useful confirmation that you got the turn right. Do you never ask yourself if you just made a mistake? Perhaps you got distracted by a passenger, another vehicle or a pedestrian. The street name you are turning onto might be not as visible because the s…

I remember reading a pop-sci article many years ago about a study that found women were better at navigating by landmark and men were better at more abstract directions like maps and compass directions, with gay men being good at both.

So while this is annoying for me it could be great for the other 50% of the population, would be nice if it was optional.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#52

Post by puzzle »

flukus wrote: post #51
puzzle wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not an ad¹. A lot of humans navigate that way, for many reasons. Google has done research on that through the years. Landmarks might be easier to spot and are an useful confirmation that you got the turn right. Do you never ask yourself if you just made a mistake? Perhaps you got distracted by a passenger, another vehicle or a pedestrian. The street name you are turning onto might be not as visible because the s…

I remember reading a pop-sci article many years ago about a study that found women were better at navigating by landmark and men were better at more abstract directions like maps and compass directions, with gay men being good at both. So while this is annoying for me it could be great for the other 50% of the population, would be nice if it was optional.

I found in my own amateur UX studies that there are drivers who hear "in a quarter mile, turn right" and don't know how far that is, even after having heard that prompt thousands of times. You'd think that after a while they'd build a mental model of the distance. Instead, they seem to just tune out the "in a quarter mile". This is one of the classes of users for which products need to be designed. (I have similar problems with people's heights.)

Also, as a passenger it's fairly easy to say "turn in five blocks" and track how many blocks are left, maybe even while holding a conversation. For drivers, that seems more difficult, probably due to cognitive overload, unless it's just a couple of blocks. And I've noticed that some drivers react to that kind of direction by scanning the view and quickly translating the number of blocks to a landmark.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#53

Post by Tsubasachan »

Svip wrote: post #36
technotony wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should they offer a free maps service? They are a business with shareholder responsibilities, not a charity, and maps must cost them a ton of money to operate.

OP is not saying they cannot monetise their product as they see fit (it's their product). No one is saying that. But when you have been offering something for free for years, people get used to that being the way of things, users are not going to respond well to the increase in advertisement. Had Google done this from the beginning, people would have been more accepting of it. Generally speaking, if you change a serv…

There aren't a lot of good alternatives to Maps though.

I do find that the service is becoming more and more unusable with all the shitty product placements.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#54

Post by Tsubasachan »

cageface wrote: post #17

Google is really leaving the door open here for Apple to step in and offer a services bundle with a monthly fee that doesn’t involve stuffing advertising into every nook and cranny of the user experience. I generally prefer Google’s services to Apple’s but there might be a tipping point soon where I’m willing to sacrifice some features in exchange for a generally less creepy product.

You are assuming people would pay for an ad free GMAPS. Google tried this with YouTube Red. It doesn't work.

Apple users may be willing to pay for apps, Android users don't swing that way.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#55

Post by cf »

jfoster wrote: post #21
pojntfx wrote: post #3

May OpenStreetMap prevail!

OSM has impressive geographical data now, but in the meantime Google Maps has gone well beyond "we can help you find that street address." Their places data, reviews, photos, navigation, and street view are all adding a massive amount of value. They have shifted the goal posts.

I think there is a good argument to be made for crowdsourcing some of those as well.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#56

Post by tzfld »

jfoster wrote: post #21
pojntfx wrote: post #3

May OpenStreetMap prevail!

OSM has impressive geographical data now, but in the meantime Google Maps has gone well beyond "we can help you find that street address." Their places data, reviews, photos, navigation, and street view are all adding a massive amount of value. They have shifted the goal posts.

>Their places data, reviews, photos, navigation, and street view are all adding a massive amount of value.

This is where OSM should move.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#57

Post by cageface »

Tsubasachan wrote: post #54
cageface wrote: post #17

Google is really leaving the door open here for Apple to step in and offer a services bundle with a monthly fee that doesn’t involve stuffing advertising into every nook and cranny of the user experience. I generally prefer Google’s services to Apple’s but there might be a tipping point soon where I’m willing to sacrifice some features in exchange for a generally less creepy product.

You are assuming people would pay for an ad free GMAPS. Google tried this with YouTube Red. It doesn't work. Apple users may be willing to pay for apps, Android users don't swing that way.

Ad free won’t be enough. I predict there will be some kind of monthly bundle that includes a lot of different services. News, music, video and premium features on top of things like maps. Getting people to pay small amounts for a bunch of individual services is harder than charging them one lump sum per month for everything.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#58

Post by pxtail »

thinkingemote wrote: post #11
clydethefrog wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was an app using OSM that had at least some usability and design. I tried some but had to quit out frustration.

Sometimes you have to sacrifice usability for something more important. AMP is a good example. Users love it. It's more usable, but HN thinks it's evil.

Embedding content inside walled garden and taking away control from content creators is a little bit more than "sacrifice usability"

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#59

Post by m-p-3 »

technotony wrote: post #25
dininski wrote: post #4

I can't stress enough how much of a bad idea this is. I was stunned when a few days ago I was looking up something on Google Maps and started seeing advertised locations/suggestions. Even though I love the product and have been a fan of Google products for the longest time, their current strategy of monetizing everything they can is very off putting. The direction Chrome is taking is also concerning. Don't know what…

Why should they offer a free maps service? They are a business with shareholder responsibilities, not a charity, and maps must cost them a ton of money to operate.

They are responsible, but I don't see how shoving ads into their end-users face is going to be seen positively. There are other ways to monetize a product, for example B2B.

Re: Google Decides to Monetize Maps

#60

Post by ebg13 »

jfoster wrote: post #23
ebg13 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some businesses make the world better. Some businesses make the world worse. Let's not pretend that the two are the same.

Are you trying to imply that Google and/or Google Maps have made the world worse?

Are you trying to imply that adtech has made the world better? Are you trying to erase the difference between mapmaking and tracked advertising? My eyes are about to fall out the back of my head, I'm rolling them so hard.

Google's core business is tracking you and shoveling ads at you. Every time they pollute one of their side hobbies with their core business, it makes that side hobby worse and worse for the world. Search, mail, news, I can go on.

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