4 ms·

One more reason why I don't trust POIs I find on Google Maps. I always try to find the actual business' page to check for phones and opening and closing hours.

by boobsbr 12y ago

post_break 12y ago
But it's a restaurant so you know they like to not list the phone number, hours, or menu (sarcasm).
- nnnnni 12y ago
  You've also got to love how the menu is always done in flash, so you most likely can't view it on a phone...
  - wutbrodo 12y ago
    Tangent: You can still view Flash on most phones sold, no? I think as long as you're using something other than Chrome (like FF).
    - nnnnni 12y ago
      There are ways to do it, but I'm pretty sure that it was dropped even for Android a year or so ago. Regardless, it's a pain to navigate flash restaurant menus. Just give me a plain list!
      - wutbrodo 12y ago
        No for sure, I wasn't disagreeing with the comment (hence the tangent disclaimer), just pointing out something that most people have a misconception about. I'm pretty sure that you can still install Flash on Android, just not in Chrome (or probably the stock browser, where it still exists); My phone has KitKat on it and I can use the Flash plugin as long as I switch to Firefox.
- swalkergibson 12y ago
  Mostly relevant XKCD: http://xkcd.com/773/ http://xkcd.com/773/
bhartzer 12y ago
You can't even rely on a business' website anymore, though. You have to actually call them on the phone and talk to a real person there, at the business. Too often even the business owner doesn't have time to update their website or get the "web guy" (read: his brother in law's son) to update the website in a timely manner.
- twoodfin 12y ago
  If I were Google, Yelp, or Facebook, I'd give serious consideration to selling local businesses pre-created, theme-able web sites on a subscription basis. They already have essentially all the content such sites would need, and better designers than most small businesses would have access to. I regularly run into local places that use their Facebook page as their de facto virtual storefront, but that format could be much better customized for individual business varieties' needs, even putting aside the limitations of living in Facebook's garden.
  - sharth 12y ago
    There are companies that exist who target that market. squarespace.com for example.
    - twoodfin 12y ago
      Yeah, but with Squarespace you actually have to do the work of building and updating your web site. I'm proposing Google, for example, use a mix of algorithms and design to expand that "info box" you get when you search for Willy's Pizza or Suds Laundromat into a full site, and sell it as a turnkey solution. "Here's your (crummy, last-updated-2011) web site today, and here's the beautiful one we've already built for you, including full online reservations and take out ordering. With just a few clicks you can customize it with photos or a new menu. Pay us $NN/month and we'll immediately switch your domain to point at this shiny new site." Squarespace could move in this direction, too, by continuing to specialize and extend its templates until a good looking, functional site takes an average of minutes. But Google has the advantage of already knowing enough about the average small business to build it a better web site in literally milliseconds.

One more reason why I don't trust POIs I find on Google Maps. I always try to find the actual business' page to check for phones and opening and closing hours.

by boobsbr 12y ago

One more reason why I don't trust POIs I find on Google Maps. I always try to find the actual business' page to check for phones and opening and closing hours.

post_break 12y ago

But it's a restaurant so you know they like to not list the phone number, hours, or menu (sarcasm).

nnnnni 12y ago
You've also got to love how the menu is always done in flash, so you most likely can't view it on a phone...
- wutbrodo 12y ago
  Tangent: You can still view Flash on most phones sold, no? I think as long as you're using something other than Chrome (like FF).
  - nnnnni 12y ago
    There are ways to do it, but I'm pretty sure that it was dropped even for Android a year or so ago. Regardless, it's a pain to navigate flash restaurant menus. Just give me a plain list!
    - wutbrodo 12y ago
      No for sure, I wasn't disagreeing with the comment (hence the tangent disclaimer), just pointing out something that most people have a misconception about. I'm pretty sure that you can still install Flash on Android, just not in Chrome (or probably the stock browser, where it still exists); My phone has KitKat on it and I can use the Flash plugin as long as I switch to Firefox.
swalkergibson 12y ago
Mostly relevant XKCD: http://xkcd.com/773/ http://xkcd.com/773/

bhartzer 12y ago

You can't even rely on a business' website anymore, though. You have to actually call them on the phone and talk to a real person there, at the business. Too often even the business owner doesn't have time to update their website or get the "web guy" (read: his brother in law's son) to update the website in a timely manner.

twoodfin 12y ago
If I were Google, Yelp, or Facebook, I'd give serious consideration to selling local businesses pre-created, theme-able web sites on a subscription basis. They already have essentially all the content such sites would need, and better designers than most small businesses would have access to. I regularly run into local places that use their Facebook page as their de facto virtual storefront, but that format could be much better customized for individual business varieties' needs, even putting aside the limitations of living in Facebook's garden.
- sharth 12y ago
  There are companies that exist who target that market. squarespace.com for example.
  - twoodfin 12y ago
    Yeah, but with Squarespace you actually have to do the work of building and updating your web site. I'm proposing Google, for example, use a mix of algorithms and design to expand that "info box" you get when you search for Willy's Pizza or Suds Laundromat into a full site, and sell it as a turnkey solution. "Here's your (crummy, last-updated-2011) web site today, and here's the beautiful one we've already built for you, including full online reservations and take out ordering. With just a few clicks you can customize it with photos or a new menu. Pay us $NN/month and we'll immediately switch your domain to point at this shiny new site." Squarespace could move in this direction, too, by continuing to specialize and extend its templates until a good looking, functional site takes an average of minutes. But Google has the advantage of already knowing enough about the average small business to build it a better web site in literally milliseconds.