Google Maps Indoors
Google Maps starts mapping the indoors: detailed floor plans, Maps 6.0 for Android only; http://eicker.at/GoogleMapsIndoors
Google Maps starts mapping the indoors: detailed floor plans, Maps 6.0 for Android only; http://eicker.at/GoogleMapsIndoors
Google adds a limit on free Google Maps API: over 25,000 daily and you’re charged; http://eicker.at/GoogleMapsCharge
Google: “When the Maps API Terms of Service were updated in April of this year we announced that usage limits would be introduced to the Maps API starting on October 1st. With October upon us, I’d like to provide an update on how these limits are being introduced, and the impact it will have on your Maps API sites. The usage limits that now apply to Maps API sites are documented in the Maps API FAQ. However no site exceeding these limits will stop working immediately. We understand that developers need time to evaluate their usage, determine if they are affected, and respond if necessary. There are three options available for sites that are exceeding the limits: Reduce your usage to below the limits, Opt-in to paying for your excess usage at the rates given in the FAQ, Purchase a Maps API Premier license – To assist in evaluating whether your site is exceeding the usage limits we will shortly be adding the Maps API to the Google APIs Console. Once available you will be able to track your usage in the APIs Console by providing an APIs Console key when you load the Maps API. … We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning. However with the continued growth in adoption of the Maps API we need to secure its long term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable. By introducing these limits we are ensuring that Google can continue to offer the Maps API for free to the vast majority of developers for many years to come.”
Google: “What usage limits apply to the Maps API? Web sites and applications using each of the Maps API may at no cost generate: up to 25,000 map loads per day for each API, up to 2,500 map loads per day that have been modified using the Styled Maps feature…”
Google: “How much will excess map loads purchased online cost? Applications generating map load volumes below the usage limits can use the Maps API at no cost providing the application meets the requirements of the Google Maps API Terms of Service. Excess map loads over the usage limits are priced as follows [for 1,000 excess map loads]: JS Maps API v3: $4, JS Maps API v3 styled maps: $4/$8, Static Maps API: $4, Static Maps API styled maps: $4/$8, Street View Image API: $4, JS Maps API v2: $10 – Excess map loads will not be offered online for the Maps API for Flash. Sites using the Maps API for Flash and exceeding the usage limits should migrate to the JS Maps API v3, or purchase a Maps API Premier license.”
Guardian: “Nothing free lasts forever; and it’s damn hard to make money putting ads on maps. That seems to be the conclusion to draw from Google’s decision to put limits on its Google Maps API. … 25,000 isn’t that many calls. – Although won’t immediately be cutting off those whose applications exceed the call rate, it’s clear that the easy days are over. And of course it also raises the question of whether Google has found that it’s too hard to monetise maps, or that the API calls are bypassing the best ways it has of monetising them. … Obviously, Google, as a business, is free to charge as and how it wants. But it will be interesting to see if this changes how developers approach the use of the maps APIs.”
Wired: “Bad news, map hackers; the Google Maps free ride may be coming to and end. … The bad news is that once your app or website exceeds those limits you’ll be forking out $4 for every 1,000 people that hit your site (or view a map in your mobile app). Alternately, developers can cough up $10,000+ for a Google Maps API Premier licence, which, in addition to the unlimited access offers more advanced geocoding tools, tech support, and control over any advertising shown. … In other words, Google appears to be interested mainly in collecting fees from sites with consistently heavy traffic rather than experiments that see a one-time traffic spike. It doesn’t protect against every potentially expensive use case, but it should make map mashup fans breathe a little easier. – Developers worried about the potential costs of the Google Maps API can always use OpenStreetMap, which is free and, in many parts of the world, much more detailed than Google Maps. Of course, OpenStreetMap lacks some Google Maps features, most notably an equivalent to Street View.”
AT: “Google’s approach to enforcement will likely not be very aggressive. According to the FAQ, sites that hit the rate limit and aren’t configured to pay overage fees will not immediately be cut off. This suggests that sites with an occasional traffic spike aren’t the intended target-Google is mainly looking to collect cash from sites with a consistently heavy load.”
PW: “Unfortunately, the price for styled maps could impact many more developers. Perhaps Google is charging for what it knows is a unique feature amongst its competitors. The feature is also likely extremely computation-intensive, which means it costs Google quite a bit more to provide that service.“
Google: “Understanding how the Maps API usage limits affect your sites – We recognise that sites may occasionally experience spikes in traffic that cause them to exceed the daily usage limits for a short period of time. For example, a media site that uses a map to illustrate a breaking news story, or a map-based data visualization that goes viral across social networks, may start to generate higher traffic volumes. In order to accommodate such bursts in popularity, we will only enforce the usage limits on sites that exceed them for 90 consecutive days. Once that criteria is met, the limits will be enforced on the site from that point onwards, and all subsequent excess usage will cause the site to incur charges. – Please be aware that Maps API applications developed by non-profit organisations, applications deemed by Google to be in the public interest, and applications based in countries where we do not support Google Checkout transactions or offer Maps API Premier are exempt from these usage limits. We will publish a process by which sites can apply for an exemption on the basis of the above criteria prior to enforcement of the limits commencing. Non-profit organizations are also encouraged to apply for a Google Earth Outreach grant, which provides all the additional benefits of a full Maps API Premier license. … To help you measure your site’s Maps API usage, we have now added the Maps API to the Google APIs Console.“
Zagat got googled: Google acquires Zagat Survey, restaurant ratings and reviews since 1979; http://eicker.at/GoogleZagat
Nina and Tim Zagat: “Zagat got googled – We are writing to share the most exciting news in our 32 years in business. Zagat Survey has been acquired by another great company, Google. – From the beginning, Zagat Survey has empowered people by providing a vehicle for them to express their opinions. After spending time with Google senior management discussing our mutual goals, we know they share our belief in user-generated content and our commitment to accuracy and fairness in providing users with the information needed to make smart decisions about where to eat, shop and travel. – It is a testament to the knowledgeable consumers who contribute their opinions that Zagat Survey has become an internationally respected symbol of quality. Their experiences, distilled into numerical ratings and concise, witty, quote-filled reviews, will continue to provide accurate guidance for a wide range of leisure activities.”
Google, Mayer: “I’m thrilled that Google has acquired Zagat. Moving forward, Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering – delighting people with their impressive array of reviews, ratings and insights, while enabling people everywhere to find extraordinary (and ordinary) experiences around the corner and around the world. – With Zagat, we gain a world-class team that has more experience in consumer based-surveys, recommendations and reviews than anyone else in the industry. …I’m incredibly excited to collaborate with Zagat to bring the power of Google search and Google Maps to their products and users, and to bring their innovation, trusted reputation and wealth of experience to our users.”
pC: “Google … is expanding its push into local content with its acquisition of Zagat, which started out as a New York City restaurant guide in 1979 and now publishes guides in 13 categories and over 100 cities. It’s good news for Zagat, which unsuccessfully put itself up for sale in January 2008, pulling itself off the market six months later when there were no buyers. … Zagat has tried to develop its mobile business. Its app, which costs $9.99 per year, was one of the founding iPad apps. The company announced a partnership with Foursquare for a ‘foodie’ badge in 2010 and also partnered with Foodspotting to use that company’s data and photos. … In the past, Google has resisted the characterization of itself as a content company, but this is a major push into local content for sure.”
SEL: “This is huge news for Google (capital ‘H’) and for local. Google is a content publisher now and the content that Zagat brings arguably closes the gap between Google Places and Yelp. We’ll have to see the implementation. … Beyond restaurants, Zagat also offers ratings and revenues of entertainment venues, wine and travel. The online version of the site has developed a community as well; so there’s a social networking dimension to this acquisition as well as content that Google is buying. … I spoke with Google’s Marissa Mayer and Tim Zagat. They told me that nothing would change in the near term; Google will continue to publish the guides and maintain the subscription product. I asked if Zagat reviews would be imported into Google Places and Google’s response was non-committal. Of course they will; that’s the point of this transaction: the content.”
RWW: “The Google local apps are still relatively barebones compared to dedicated competitors like Yelp and Foursquare. Even recent additions to Google’s dominant Maps tools haven’t made it to mobile yet. But this acquisition, along with Google’s purchase of The Dealmap last month, reveal Google’s hand in the local recommendations game, and it looks like a flush.”
VB: “The move is a major blow to user-generated reviews website Yelp, which competes with Google Places and Zagat. Google failed to acquire Yelp back in late 2009, with Yelp reportedly walking away from a $550 million deal. Google further distanced itself from Yelp when it removed Yelp’s reviews from Google Places in mid-2010.”
TNW: “I see this as a much more powerful play than just local offerings. This, combined with Google’s purchase of ITA and its hotel reviews puts the company firmly into the travel business, with more offerings than almost anyone else in the business.”
Lowe: “All of the restaurant reviews on Yelp could fill 16,894 Zagat guides, and only 26% of businesses reviewed on Yelp are restaurants. Congrats?“
WSJ: Google increasingly is promoting some of its own content over that of rival websites; http://eicker.at/GoogleSelfPromotion
WSJ: “The Internet giant is displaying links to its own services – such as local-business information or its Google Health service – above the links to other, non-Google content found by its search engine. … Critics include executives at travel site TripAdvisor.com, health site WebMD.com and local-business reviews sites Yelp.com and Citysearch.com, among others. … The EU received a complaint from a shopping-search site that claimed it and other similar sites saw their traffic drop after Google began promoting its own Product Search service above conventional search results. … The issue isn’t entirely new. The company for several years has used prominent links to services such as Google Finance and Google Maps to boost their popularity, with varying results.”
Google: “When someone searches for a place on Google, we still provide the usual web results linking to great sites; we simply organize those results around places to make it much faster to find what you’re looking for. For example, earlier this year we introduced Place Search to help people make more informed decisions about where to go. Place pages organize results around a particular place to help users find great sources of photos, reviews and essential facts. This makes it much easier to see and compare places and find great sites with local information.”
SEL: “The question of Google’s right to refer traffic to its own sites is once again in the center of policy debate. The European Commission is looking at this issue as part of its larger anti-trust investigation against Google. It’s also a question at the heart of the federal regulatory review of the ITA acquisition. … What are or should be Google’s ‘obligations’ to third party publishers? This is the central question it seems to me. – These are all very difficult issues and become extremely problematic at the level of execution. If regulators start intervening in Google’s ability to control its algorithm and its own SERP it sets a bad precedent and compromises Google’s ability to innovate and maybe even compete over time. … It has also been held by courts that the content of SERPs is an ‘editorial’ arena protected by the First Amendment. So hypothetically Google could only show Google-related results and still be within the law. … Google’s dominance of the market may decline in a few years. I’m not a laissez-faire, free-market lover but the market may take care of itself. Facebook and others are working on ways to discover content that don’t require conventional search-engine usage.”
TC: “Displaying local results this way is a little less in your face, but the end result is the same. In both cases, the main link still goes to the businesses’ own websites, but the Google Places links are also prominent. Either way, the message is clear to local businesses: list your profile in Google Places and you will have a better shot at appearing at the top of the first search results page. – Are these results better for users? It depends on how good are the Google Places listings. Some of them are very good, I will admit. But try any local search and I bet you will consistently get Google Places results, sometimes taking up most of page – not always at the very top, but always as a block. They can’t all be better than results for businesses which don’t happen to have a Google Places listing. Remember, Google Places is still fairly new and developing.“
Rayport: Mobilfunk und mobiles Internet verändern das menschliche Leben in epochaler Weise; http://eicker.at/MobilesInternet
Google Street View startet in Deutschland. Zumindest startet Google Street View in Oberstaufen; http://eicker.at/Oberstaufen
AA: “Google Street View vor dem Start in Deutschland: Die Marktgemeinde Oberstaufen (Oberallgäu) wird ab Dienstag, Punkt 10.30 Uhr, der erste Ort in Deutschland sein, der in dem umstrittenen Dienst zu sehen ist – noch vor Metropolen wie Berlin oder München. … In dem umstrittenen Google Street View-Projekt sieht Oberstaufens Bürgermeister Walter Grath ‘gar kein Problem’. In Oberstaufen – der Ort ist laut Aussage von Bürgermeister Grath ein klarer Befürworter des umstrittenen Internet-Angebots – wird am Dienstag eigens dafür eine symbolische Hochzeit gefeiert. Offiziell. Samt Google-Sprecher Kay Oberbeck und einer Hochzeitstorte.”
SZ: “Die von Datenschützern kritisierte Ansicht von Straßen und Privathäusern soll erst in den nächsten Wochen freigeschaltet werden. Nur in Oberstaufen im Allgäu ist schon die ganze Stadt zu sehen – auf besonderen Wunsch der Gemeinde, die hofft, damit mehr Touristen in den Ort zu locken. … Deutschlandweit hatten 240.000 Bürger Einspruch dagegen eingelegt, dass ihre Häuser in Google Street View zu sehen sein werden.”
SO: “Google Street View ist ein Internetdienst, bei dem sich Nutzer in Fußgängerperspektive durch die Straßen von Städten bewegen und Rundum-Panoramen der Straßenzüge betrachten können. Street View ist bei Datenschützern umstritten, weil es nach deren Ansicht private Details über das Wohnumfeld von Menschen verrät. Bis Jahresende will der Dienst mit Panorama-Ansichten von Straßen der 20 größten Städte Deutschlands aufwarten. Mehr als 244.000 Haushalte in den 20 Städten hatten beantragt, ihre Wohnhäuser in dem Google-Dienst unkenntlich zu machen.“
Jarvis: “Germany, what have you done? – Street View is online in Germany and it includes – or rather, excludes – 244,000 addresses that Germans have demanded be pixelated. They have, in their word, demanded their Verpixelungsrecht. … In the land of Deutschnet… Germany has now diminished the public. It has stolen from the public. – This is not a matter of privacy. And don’t tell me it has a damned thing to do with the Nazis and Stasi; that’s patently absurd. If anything, the Stasi would have exercised their Verpixelungsrecht to obscure their buildings from public view, taking advantage of the cloak of secrecy the idea provides. That’s the danger of this. – This is an issue of publicness. These are public visions now obscured.“
Google automates keyword determination and bidding for local business ads with Google Boost; http://eicker.at/GoogleBoost
Google: “Boost enables business owners to easily create online search ads from directly within their Google Places account. No ongoing management is needed after the initial set up, and this beta is currently available to select local businesses in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago. – Boost ads are eligible to appear in the ‘Sponsored Links’ section of Google.com and Google Maps search result pages. … To create your ad, all that is required is a short business description, a web or Place page, your business categories and a monthly budget. From there, our system automatically sets up your ad campaign – figuring out the relevant keywords that will trigger your ad to appear on Google and Google Maps, and how to get the most out of the budget you allotted.”
RWW: “As a program of Google Places, Boost could offer substantial monetization that would enable Places to experiment with other innovative location-based technologies outside of advertising. Consulting analyst firm PSFK has identified what it calls Pre-View, real-time data and video served up from local shops, as a key part of the future of retail, for example. Experiments or acquisitions in that field could be made all the more feasible by a fat pipeline of revenue produced by local advertising made easier through automation.”
SEL: “I just spoke to Google and discovered that agencies and third parties managing multiple SMB AdWords accounts cannot get access to these ads at present. I also discovered that $50 is the minimum monthly spend regardless of location or category. However dollar figures and estimated clicks will be category and be location sensitive. Advertisers can spend more than the suggested maximum by using the custom button to specify a higher or different amount.”
It is clearly an extension of a businesses investment in local and Google’s interest in all things local and mobile at the moment. However, my biggest concern is how will you be able to monitor and control spend and CPA?
Obviously you can only control your monthly spend: convenience vs. control.
The NYT asks for regulations of the Google algorithm: http://j.mp/bCwI4g and Marissa Mayer responds; http://j.mp/cXl54c
NYT: “Google handles nearly two-thirds of Internet search queries worldwide. Analysts reckon that most Web sites rely on the search engine for half of their traffic. When Google engineers tweak its supersecret algorithm – as they do hundreds of times a year – they can break the business of a Web site that is pushed down the rankings. … The potential impact of Google’s algorithm on the Internet economy is such that it is worth exploring ways to ensure that the editorial policy guiding Google’s tweaks is solely intended to improve the quality of the results and not to help Google’s other businesses. – Some early suggestions for how to accomplish this include having Google explain with some specified level of detail the editorial policy that guides its tweaks. Another would be to give some government commission the power to look at those tweaks. … With these caveats in mind, if Google is to continue to be the main map to the information highway, it concerns us all that it leads us fairly to where we want to go.”
Mayer: “Search engines use algorithms and equations to produce order and organisation online where manual effort cannot. These algorithms embody rules that decide which information is ‘best’, and how to measure it. Clearly defining which of any product or service is best is subjective. Yet in our view, the notion of ‘search neutrality’ threatens innovation, competition and, fundamentally, your ability as a user to improve how you find information. – When Google was launched in 1998, its fundamental innovation was the PageRank algorithm. It was a new and helpful tool in helping users decide which was the best information available – and one of many hundreds that have since been deployed by search engines to improve the ranking and relevance of their results. – Yet searching the web has never been more complex. Type ‘World Cup’ into Google today and you will see millions of returns, ranging from recent news articles to images of players. Often the answer is not a web page: sports scores, news, pictures and tweets about matches are included. Such results stem from an upgrade in Google’s technology launched in 2007, which made it possible to include media such as maps, books, or videos on a results page. … Here the practical challenges would be formidable. What is fair in terms of ordering? An alphabetical listing? Equally, new results will need to be incorporated – new web pages, but also new media types such as tweets or audio streams. Without competition and experimentation between companies, how could the rules keep up? There is no doubt that this will stifle the advance of the science around search engines. … But the strongest arguments against rules for ‘neutral search’ is that they would make the ranking of results on each search engine similar, creating a strong disincentive for each company to find new, innovative ways to seek out the best answers on an increasingly complex web. … We know that Google plays an important role in accessing information. We also welcome scrutiny and want to ensure everyone understands how we work. Yet we believe the best answer for a particular search changes constantly. It changes because the web changes, because users’ expectations and tastes evolve and because the media never stay still. Yet proponents of search neutrality are effectively saying that they know what is ‘best’ for you. We think consumers should be able to decide for themselves – with an array of internet search engines to choose from, each providing their very best.”
SEL: “The New York Times is the number one newspaper web site. Analysts reckon it ranks first in reach among US opinion leaders. When the New York Times editorial staff tweaks its supersecret algorithm behind what to cover and exactly how to cover a story – as it does hundreds of times a day – it can break a business that is pushed down in coverage or not covered at all. … And Now, Without The Satire… Search engines are very similar to newspapers. They have unpaid ‘organic’ listings, where usually (though not always), a computer algorithm decides which pages should rank tops. The exact method isn’t important. What’s important is that those unpaid listed are the search engines’ editorial content, content it has solely decided should appear based on its editorial judgment. … What the New York Times has suggested is that the government should oversee the editorial judgment of a search engine. Suffice to say, the editorial staff of the New York Times would scream bloody murder if anyone suggested government oversight of its own editorial process. First it would yell that it has no bias, so oversight is unnecessary. Next it would yell even more loudly that the First Amendment of the US Constitution protects it from such US government interference. … Guess what. The First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and freedom of the press apply to more than newspapers. In fact, they apply to search engines. The courts have said so, most clearly back in May 2003, in the SearchKing case. … But by and large, Google’s been a net positive actor, from where I measure things. It deserves better than a knee-jerk reactionary editorial from what’s supposed to be one of the leading newspapers of the world.“
HB: Google, building an empire on your street, phone, in your DNA. Trying very hard not to be evil; http://j.mp/aACUT2
Google allows local businesses to get paid listings within the 7 Pack of local listings; http://j.mp/94LJ9e
Gerrit Eicker 08:08 on 30. November 2011 Permalink |
Google: “‘Where am I?’ and ‘What’s around me?’ are two questions that cartographers, and Google Maps, strive to answer. … And now, Google Maps for Android enables you to figure out where you are and see where you might want to go when you’re indoors. … When you’re inside an airport, shopping mall or retail store, a common way to figure out where you are is to look for a freestanding map directory or ask an employee for help. Starting today, with the release of Google Maps 6.0 for Android, that directory is brought to the palm of your hands, helping you determine where you are, what floor you’re on, and where to go indoors. … Detailed floor plans automatically appear when you’re viewing the map and zoomed in on a building where indoor map data is available. … We’ve initially partnered with some of the largest retailers, airports and transit stations in the U.S. and Japan…”
SEL: “Google is essentially using the same techniques (WiFi and cell tower triangulation) to locate people indoors that it uses outside. Outside GPS is also available, but it doesn’t work inside buildings. Google has apparently made some modifications of its approach to render interior location very precisely but it’s not using sensors or any new technology. … During my call with Google I started spinning out various scenarios for these maps going forward: product inventory information, integration with interior photography, ads and deals and so on. Of course Google wouldn’t say anything about any of that.”
TC: “The initial version of the indoors maps is missing a couple of obvious features. For one, search doesn’t yet work with it – so while you’ll be able to scroll around a map to find a restroom or the shoe department, you can’t just start typing. Likewise, there aren’t any turn-by-turn directions (which may sound silly, but would actually be very useful in, say, a large train station or airport). These seem like logical candidates for future releases, though. … Today’s launch includes participation from many major airports, as well as some big-name retailers like IKEA (which has mapped out all of its stores) and The Home Depot. Of course, Google can’t work directly with each and every indoor venue, so it’s also launching a self-serve tool that will allow store owners to upload floor plans and/or blueprints of their venues. The tool also includes a feature that will help map GPS coordinates to interior of the store.”
RWW: “This is a key move for Google’s mobile business, which up until now could only take you to the front door of the place for which you were searching. Google Maps on the desktop recently got 3D photo tours of small locations, an extension of Street View, but this is a bigger step. When Google Maps goes inside, Google can take you all the way from searching for something to holding it in your hand, advertising and data-gathering all the way. … Interestingly, Bing Maps got interior mapping on its mobile Web version this August, but it didn’t make much of a splash.”