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Google Maps' Moat

justinobeirne.com

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Re: Google Maps' Moat

#591

Post by redwood »

sytelus wrote: post #142

Many people don't realize why Google maps are so much better than anything out there. I would actually give lot of credit to Marissa Mayer who suddenly became in charge of maps from otherwise more higher position. Thanks to her influence in Google SLT and ability to make impressive arguments, she was able to make a case for maps as core pillar in Google's offering and consequently obtain huge investment and large tal…

This is not accurate. MM was a late entrant and didn't like being there, had minimal impact.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#592

Post by totalZero »

davotoula wrote: post #376
irrational wrote: post #133

One thing I really appreciate about Google Maps is how accurate the times are. There have been numerous times where google maps says is will take x minutes to get there and I think "Nah, I'll be able to get there faster than that." Nope, I've never had google maps be off by more than a minute or so. I think it must take into account not just road conditions and traffic, but also how much I am likely to go over the sp…

I wish they introduced a "motorcycle" vehicle type. At least for cities, it makes a big difference in arrival time estimations.

Seems tougher to do estimation specifically for motorcyclists.

Some areas allow lane splitting, others don't. Some riders are on tourers that can't hop through traffic but can maintain highway speeds comfortably, others ride single-cylinder dual sport bikes that can't maintain 60 without taking a physical toll on the rider. And every rider has a slightly different risk tolerance, which translates to different behavior in traffic. I personally don't mind lane splitting between two semi trucks cruising abreast at highway speed, but I get anxious squeezing through cramped city traffic. And I slow down considerably anywhere a SMIDSY might happen, even if I have the right of way.

Also, it may be difficult for Google to identify who is riding a motorcycle from location data alone, which is what they would use to generate the motorcycle estimations. Not sure how they would do it...maybe using accelerometer/gyro data to identify inward leans during turns? The assumption being that cars will lean outwards, while bikes will lean inwards.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#593

Post by Arnt »

kuschku wrote: post #488
Arnt wrote: post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same as usual: Picking a niche and trusting that Google prefers to spend its attention on improving adwords rather than on inventing a niche product. Google is scary, because it's unusually competent for a big company. But apart from that it's the same as usual: The bigcos can devote a big team to build whatever it is you're building and then leverage their existing customer relationships to sell it to many of their…

Most bigcos aren't doing that because it's illegal, not because they don't want to. If you, e.g., have market dominance in operating systems, you can't prefer any web browser, install any browser as default, or advertise any based on the OS. In the same way, if you control web search, you can't prefer one web shopping site, or one web maps service. And you especially can't integrate one, but not the other. The goal o…

I used the word 'niche', you counter with web browsers.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#594

Post by gedrap »

sytelus wrote: post #351
kbart wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Google maps are so much better than anything out there." I'd take Nokia's Here anytime instead of Google Maps (offline maps alone are worth it). Also, I honestly don't understand a logic behind crediting something as complex to a single person ("a hero") -- "S. Jobs created iPhone", "M. Mayer created Google Maps" etc., there were whole teams of smart people working on these projects, I'm sure they would have been fi…

Google maps works offline in most countries. I wouldn’t have survived my International trips without it. I’ve used Google map for public transit in many countries. Most time I get SIM card while travelling just to use Google maps.

I've tried both Google and HERE maps when traveling to a number of countries, and found HERE significantly better offline. It was constantly able to detect my exact position and update it as I kept walking, while Google Maps were quite inaccurate.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#595

Post by kuschku »

Arnt wrote: post #593
kuschku wrote: post #488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most bigcos aren't doing that because it's illegal, not because they don't want to. If you, e.g., have market dominance in operating systems, you can't prefer any web browser, install any browser as default, or advertise any based on the OS. In the same way, if you control web search, you can't prefer one web shopping site, or one web maps service. And you especially can't integrate one, but not the other. The goal o…

I used the word 'niche', you counter with web browsers.

So you're saying that we shouldn't expect any new competition in web browsing, and it's expected to stay an Oligopoly forever, unless a new entrant to the market gets a significant advantage?

That, too, sounds exactly like what would be needed to demand more government regulation of that market.

One of the tasks of the government is to ensure that any market is free to new entrants, and that only the best product wins, and network effects are eliminated.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#596

Post by starchild_3001 »

wutbrodo wrote: post #25

Is there a reason anyone uses Apple Maps, aside from wanting to avoid Google out of principle/privacy/monoculture concerns? To be clear, these are entirely legitimate reasons, but I was wondering if the product has any direct benefits for the user (which is a coherent subset of reasons given the modal users' level of concern about systemic issues). I'm not trying to randomly snipe at Apple here, I just know very litt…

On iOs/mobile, Apple Maps has a much prettier, more usable UI. All the buildings are shown 3d in Bay Area during navigation. Google maps does not show 3d while navigating. From this point of view, Apple offers a superior user experience. That's why I use it.

I switch to Google when traffic is really bad, as I trust its timing estimates more.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#597

Post by rplnt »

tinus_hn wrote: post #569
rplnt wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Many people don't realize why Google maps are so much better than anything out there. Absolutely not true. I don't use Google Maps in Czech Republic at all as there is a solid local map provider[1] - (they offer whole world through OSM, so I use that on phone as well[2], but it's not that great). They lost some edge with Google going full-textured 3D few years back (actually the Czech map had it sooner, just not as…

That's some really neat rendering, I can't remember seeing a better representation of the OSM data.

The tourist layer (default on mobile) is great with all the data OSM has on bicycle paths.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#598

Post by JepZ »

GFischer wrote: post #539
JepZ wrote: post #494

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to give an example Google Maps vs. OSM: https://www.google.de/maps/@53.6402644,10.0622627,17.38z https://www.openstreetmap.de/karte.html?zoom=17&lat=53.63958...

The fact that Germany banned Street View contributes to it being less useful there, and I theorize that it might indirectly contribute to less data in Germany. Street View is so amazing, it's a huge game-changer from Google.

I didn't know that Street View was banned? Well, I noticed that there are probably no updates, but I always thought that Google quit taking photos because it caused so much trouble and negative publicity.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#599

Post by GFischer »

JepZ wrote: post #598
GFischer wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that Germany banned Street View contributes to it being less useful there, and I theorize that it might indirectly contribute to less data in Germany. Street View is so amazing, it's a huge game-changer from Google.

I didn't know that Street View was banned? Well, I noticed that there are probably no updates, but I always thought that Google quit taking photos because it caused so much trouble and negative publicity.

It's not strictly banned, Google just decided to abandon Germany and Austria because they required permission on a household-per-household basis.

They seem to be starting back.

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Google-Street-View-not-in-Germa...

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#600

Post by _Tev »

tinus_hn wrote: post #569
rplnt wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Many people don't realize why Google maps are so much better than anything out there. Absolutely not true. I don't use Google Maps in Czech Republic at all as there is a solid local map provider[1] - (they offer whole world through OSM, so I use that on phone as well[2], but it's not that great). They lost some edge with Google going full-textured 3D few years back (actually the Czech map had it sooner, just not as…

That's some really neat rendering, I can't remember seeing a better representation of the OSM data.

Exactly, especially public transport in Prague is so much better looking in mapy.cz I almost stopped using google maps.
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