3 ms·

I wonder why there isn’t a json file for map and other related details that could just be on each company’s website with location, hours, and other key metadata

by MR4D 4y ago

I wonder why there isn’t a json file for map and other related details that could just be on each company’s website with location, hours, and other key metadata. I would imagine a map equivalent of an RSS feed would be nice, although companies like Starbucks and McDonald’s files would probably need to be compressed due to the sheer number of locations.

maxerickson 4y ago
They don't care about sharing it. https://www.alltheplaces.xyz/ https://www.alltheplaces.xyz/ scrapes location maps and digests them into consistent line delimited GeoJSON.
- franga2000 4y ago
  Thanks for the link! I was one boring weekend away from making this exact thing, but now I can contribute to this one instead
nine_k 4y ago
I suppose some of that is supported by microformats. The rest is supported by Google Maps and Apple Maps, where businesses can submit their location, hours, etc, and do that ASA matter of course. The predominant pattern for a customer is to use a (really the) search engine, feed it the name of the business, and see the details in a snippet, or jump to a (really one if two) maps app. I don't see what would be the upside for Google and Apple to interpret such files, instead of forcing business owners register with their sites, prove identity, contact info, etc, and keep them within their silo along the way :-(
- astrange 4y ago
  There are such standards for transit timetables (GTFS) so I suppose there could be some for businesses too. But I don’t know if they are. I don’t think Google or Apple are capable of locking in another brand like Home Depot like that though.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
hayksaakian 4y ago
Google is indirectly encouraging marketers to promote structured data / schema that specifically spells out these details. In the near future I predict an AI like GPT 3 could interpret unstructured screenshots of websites to answer queries like "what hours are they open"
- astrange 4y ago
  This is the sort of task where you start out saying “let’s use AI to do it” and then instead hire hundreds of contractors in Bangladesh. That’s how a lot of other maps features get there.
- cpeterso 4y ago
  Or use Google’s Duplex AI to call businesses and, pretending to be human, just ask for their hours. Though Google canned Duplex just a couple weeks ago: https://www.engadget.com/google-duplex-on-the-web-shutdown-announced-225937564.html https://www.engadget.com/google-duplex-on-the-web-shutdown-a...
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
  Sure, it probably will hapgen and work, but it feels so wasteful to use AI when we could have just[0] had everyone post the information in machine readable format to start with. [0] I'm aware that "just" having everyone converge on even a handful of standard formats is, in the real world, a high bar. I do think we could do it - yes, probably by Google applying pressure - but adoption remains Hard.

by MR4D 4y ago

maxerickson 4y ago

They don't care about sharing it. https://www.alltheplaces.xyz/ https://www.alltheplaces.xyz/ scrapes location maps and digests them into consistent line delimited GeoJSON.

franga2000 4y ago
Thanks for the link! I was one boring weekend away from making this exact thing, but now I can contribute to this one instead

nine_k 4y ago

I suppose some of that is supported by microformats. The rest is supported by Google Maps and Apple Maps, where businesses can submit their location, hours, etc, and do that ASA matter of course. The predominant pattern for a customer is to use a (really the) search engine, feed it the name of the business, and see the details in a snippet, or jump to a (really one if two) maps app. I don't see what would be the upside for Google and Apple to interpret such files, instead of forcing business owners register with their sites, prove identity, contact info, etc, and keep them within their silo along the way :-(

astrange 4y ago
There are such standards for transit timetables (GTFS) so I suppose there could be some for businesses too. But I don’t know if they are. I don’t think Google or Apple are capable of locking in another brand like Home Depot like that though.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

hayksaakian 4y ago

Google is indirectly encouraging marketers to promote structured data / schema that specifically spells out these details. In the near future I predict an AI like GPT 3 could interpret unstructured screenshots of websites to answer queries like "what hours are they open"

astrange 4y ago
This is the sort of task where you start out saying “let’s use AI to do it” and then instead hire hundreds of contractors in Bangladesh. That’s how a lot of other maps features get there.
cpeterso 4y ago
Or use Google’s Duplex AI to call businesses and, pretending to be human, just ask for their hours. Though Google canned Duplex just a couple weeks ago: https://www.engadget.com/google-duplex-on-the-web-shutdown-announced-225937564.html https://www.engadget.com/google-duplex-on-the-web-shutdown-a...
yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
Sure, it probably will hapgen and work, but it feels so wasteful to use AI when we could have just[0] had everyone post the information in machine readable format to start with. [0] I'm aware that "just" having everyone converge on even a handful of standard formats is, in the real world, a high bar. I do think we could do it - yes, probably by Google applying pressure - but adoption remains Hard.