4 ms·

I dunno, there's been a Starbucks open a couple blocks from me for six months now. Wasn't on Google Maps until I went and added it myself!

cryptoz 12y ago
Well, they only re-drive most places every few years (Toronto seems to have 1-2 year gaps), so their own image sources won't necessarily have that data yet. Although, you'd think that local business listings would also be a data source and would probably be up-to-date. Do they scrape retailers' sites to learn about store locations? Guess not but would have assumed so. Just wait for the self-driving car tests to ramp up. I think one of Google's early deployments will be a fleet of self-driving cars equipped to take streetview photos - this should enable something like weekly redrives of cities.
hnriot 12y ago
Keeping up with starbucks opening/closing stores would be impossible without the distributed power of their users, they pop everywhere, move regularly and aren't really critical for mapping. Luckily in SF you can't throw a stone without hitting a coffee shop, and of course, people here only use starbucks to meet people for craigslist transactions, no self respecting hipster would ever go in one.
- gniv 12y ago
  To play devil's advocate: The starbucks.com store locator is presumably up to date, so one can find openings and closings relatively easily. Additionally, Google is now providing wi-fi for Starbucks, so they really should have all the locations. The hipster cafes, though, seem harder to find automatically.
beering 12y ago
It's incredible how Google can get so many people to work for them for no pay. Would you similarly contribute to closed-source proprietary software if given the opportunity?
- zaphoyd 12y ago
  I'd put that sort of contribution in the detailed bug report category, something I'd absolutely contribute to closed source proprietary software if I thought there was a good chance it would get fixed and that I wouldn't have to deal with it being broken anymore.
- magicalist 12y ago
  I've filed many bugs on IE, Safari, and Chrome (for the last two not just on the Webkit/Chromium side, but also on the proprietary Safari/Chrome side). I see your point, but the reality is that my users are there and these are also products I use every day. It's in my interest to have them work correctly.
- calinet6 12y ago
  It makes it more useful to me when others contribute, and more useful to others when I contribute. So, yes. Quite uncomplicated.
cdr 12y ago
Google Maps still does poorly in small towns, as far as I've seen. Not that you can really expect any better. The data in my hometown has clearly never been ground-checked (or even sanity checked by a remote employee), it's all clearly culled from webcrawelers and corrections by locals. There are businesses marked that haven't existed in a decade or more, and businesses that have existed for a decade aren't on the map. Yet another good reason to have a decent website as a small business I guess, when it's potentially the primary source of data for mapping/"local" services.
- calinet6 12y ago
  This is in a major city with a young tech-aware population, but point taken.

cryptoz 12y ago

Well, they only re-drive most places every few years (Toronto seems to have 1-2 year gaps), so their own image sources won't necessarily have that data yet. Although, you'd think that local business listings would also be a data source and would probably be up-to-date. Do they scrape retailers' sites to learn about store locations? Guess not but would have assumed so. Just wait for the self-driving car tests to ramp up. I think one of Google's early deployments will be a fleet of self-driving cars equipped to take streetview photos - this should enable something like weekly redrives of cities.

hnriot 12y ago

Keeping up with starbucks opening/closing stores would be impossible without the distributed power of their users, they pop everywhere, move regularly and aren't really critical for mapping. Luckily in SF you can't throw a stone without hitting a coffee shop, and of course, people here only use starbucks to meet people for craigslist transactions, no self respecting hipster would ever go in one.

gniv 12y ago
To play devil's advocate: The starbucks.com store locator is presumably up to date, so one can find openings and closings relatively easily. Additionally, Google is now providing wi-fi for Starbucks, so they really should have all the locations. The hipster cafes, though, seem harder to find automatically.

beering 12y ago

It's incredible how Google can get so many people to work for them for no pay. Would you similarly contribute to closed-source proprietary software if given the opportunity?

zaphoyd 12y ago
I'd put that sort of contribution in the detailed bug report category, something I'd absolutely contribute to closed source proprietary software if I thought there was a good chance it would get fixed and that I wouldn't have to deal with it being broken anymore.
magicalist 12y ago
I've filed many bugs on IE, Safari, and Chrome (for the last two not just on the Webkit/Chromium side, but also on the proprietary Safari/Chrome side). I see your point, but the reality is that my users are there and these are also products I use every day. It's in my interest to have them work correctly.
calinet6 12y ago
It makes it more useful to me when others contribute, and more useful to others when I contribute. So, yes. Quite uncomplicated.

cdr 12y ago

Google Maps still does poorly in small towns, as far as I've seen. Not that you can really expect any better. The data in my hometown has clearly never been ground-checked (or even sanity checked by a remote employee), it's all clearly culled from webcrawelers and corrections by locals. There are businesses marked that haven't existed in a decade or more, and businesses that have existed for a decade aren't on the map. Yet another good reason to have a decent website as a small business I guess, when it's potentially the primary source of data for mapping/"local" services.

calinet6 12y ago
This is in a major city with a young tech-aware population, but point taken.