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Yes, Google has tricked a massive army of people into doing free work for one of the most profitable companies in the world. Things like "Google Local Guides" g
by ocdtrekkie 5y ago
Yes, Google has tricked a massive army of people into doing free work for one of the most profitable companies in the world. Things like "Google Local Guides" give people a gold star (and maybe a pair of branded socks) for doing unpaid labor. It's kinda hilarious, but also sad.
I imagine there are Google executives in a room somewhere laughing their full heads off every time they think about how there are people who do free work for Google who think they are making the world a better place or something.
- rurban 5y agoWhen they tried to lure me into a "Local Guide" I was offered a free flight, hotel and food at Menlo Park. Once, but still good enough for no work at all.
- vba616 5y ago>laughing their full heads off every time they think about how there are people who do free work for Google who think they are making the world a better place or something. So when you go to a store that Google Maps says is open, and find it's closed, you refuse to correct the hours and go "MUHAHAHAHA...I refuse to help Google, take that, corporate scum!"
- ocdtrekkie 5y agoWhy would I bother checking Google Maps? But basically, yeah. If Google wants my expertise and data collection ability, they can pay me for it. As it stands now they just cold call businesses and ask them with an AI thing.
- nine_k 5y agoWhat other source would you rather check?
- pietervdvn 5y agoOpenStreetMap?
- nine_k 5y agoOkay! I just opened OsmAnd and looked up my local supermarket. Sadly, no work hours. And this is a very popular supermarket right next to a train station in central Brooklyn, NY. The thing is that business owners do update the info on Google Maps, and have an incentive to do so, but only volunteers update OSM. OSM shines where businesses don't care but volunteers do: trails in a park, non-commercial POIs, etc.
- ocdtrekkie 5y agoI always check the actual website of the business in question. Search engines are wrong like 40% of the time in my experience.
- reaperducer 5y agoAt a company my wife worked for, the social media department spent half its time fixing store hours, addresses, and map locations in Google Maps and Apple Maps. I guess it's nice that ordinary people try to do these updates for Big G and Apple. But they're often wrong, or they presume a one-day change is a permanent change, or that it applies to every location on the planet.
- acheron 5y agoWhat? Why on earth would I correct it?
- Dylan16807 5y agoI'm sure you can figure it out. I believe in you. (And that response is because I'm 100% treating your question in good faith and not "I know why I would, but also I know why I wouldn't and prefer that, so I'll pretend I don't know why I would".)
- newguynewphone 5y agoSo the trillion dollar company can be better, of course
- omoikane 5y agoI can see how the gamification aspect of points and levels might be more motivating for some people, but mostly I see Local Guides as not too different from people posting pictures and reviews to various social networks, except that it is more discoverable by people using Maps. I submit contents to Maps for mostly the same reasons why I use social networks and expect nothing in return.
- reaperducer 5y agoand maybe a pair of branded socks Back when it was new and interesting, TripAdvisor used to send people hats if they reviewed a new or unusual hotel. I wish I hadn't lost my hat before I had a chance to wear it while checking into a hotel.