Search results for "Google Maps"
Google Adds Street View to Hawaii, Int'l Locations; Latitude Gets History and Location Alerts
The Google Earth and Maps Team has been hard at work unloading a bunch of updates. First up, Street View images for the state of Hawaii have been added. Now, all 50 states have Street View. Additionally, Street View imagery has been added to 5 cities in Mexico, "huge swathes" of Spain, and 30 towns in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, new updates have come to Latitude. You can now track the history of where you've been. This history is not made available to your friends. But speaking of your friends, you can now get alerts when they're nearby (and using Latitude,...
Yahoo! Announces Yodel Studio Finalists; Google LatLong Announces Trike Finalists
Last month, Yahoo! and Google launched a couple of contests (separately), and this week both are announcing the finalists. First up, Yahoo! is looking for a new Yodel, and they received 21,000 entries. They've narrowed it down to three contestants each for the US, UK and India. Click on the links below to view the finalists' entries and cast your vote: US Tiffany Jo from Arizona Carlo from Arizona Christopher from Oklahoma UK Katherine Hajar James India Nishant Ankitaa Ayesha Meanwhile, Google launched a contest to see where the new Street View vehicle, Google Trike would go. They received 25,000...
Google Includes Place Pages Ad Info on Placement Performance Reports
In September, Google launched Place Pages, which aggregate content to give a fuller listing for local content in Google Maps. Ads appear on those Place Pages and now AdWords users can see if their ads are appearing on them. The data is included on Placement Performance reports. You can't currently bid for an ad to be placed on a Place Page, but Google says bidding higher will increase your chances of appearing on them....
Google Maps Adds NYC Subway System Layer, Available for Some Mobile Phones Too
Google has added a new layer to their Maps: the New York City Subway System. This will be handy for those of you attending SES New York next spring. To use it, view New York City in Google Maps and then click the "More" option and select Transit. Zoom in and you'll see individual station icons. Click on an icon to get more information about that station. Mobile devices that have access to layers on Google Maps will be able to access the subway maps. Those devices include BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian S60....
5 Google Updates for 11/6/09: News, Maps, Books, Music and Mobile
It's the end of another eventful week in search blogging, and once again there are several Google updates just piled up waiting to be written about. So, we're saving everyone some time and just compiling them into one post. Check them out: Google News has a new sitemaps interface. You have six months to adopt the new sitemap. Google Books now has a magazine search page. Via Google Search's new music search, you can now access exclusive songs hosted by MySpace and Lala for artists such as Lady Gaga and Arctic Monkeys. Google Maps has released imagery of Berlin from...
It May Be The Queen's English, But Google Likes US Results in the UK
As a post at Paul Carpenter's blog notes Google seems to have a preference for US site listings for people searching from the UK. This situation has been discussed before (examples can be found here and here) - and there is even a video from Matt Cutts in the blog post. There are even US sites in the Google Maps listed for UK based searches. This is not too much of a stretch given Google's history of problems with languages. BlogScoped pointed out one of many examples where all 10 results for a French search list pages from one site....
Business Wire Conducts Video Interview of Warren Buffet
Last month, after watching HostingYourParty, which told people how to host a Microsoft Windows 7 House, I asked: If you create something so bad that it goes viral, is it a public relations disaster? Today, after watching "Warren Buffett is Bullish on America's Future, but Says That a Full Economic Recovery Will Take a While," I'll ask a different question: If you create something so good, is it a video marketing triumph even if it doesn't go viral? In the video, Cathy Baron Tamraz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Business Wire, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, interviews...
Google Tests Mortgage Comparison Ads, Updates Real Estate Search in Maps
Google is vamping up its real estate search offerings with two new announcements. First up, AdWords is testing comparison ads in the mortgage/refinance vertical. The idea behind comparison ads is to help searchers filter what they're really searching for when they type in something like "mortgage." Check out this screen shot of a comparison ad, per the Inside AdWords blog (click for a larger view): When you click the ad, you get taken to a chart that lists various rates and lenders. The second real estate announcement is for Google Maps. There are new ways to help searchers find real...
MapQuest Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint
Earlier this week, Google updated the look of its mapping service and now MapQuest has done the same. The goal is to improve readability and give more accurate details such has a building's proportional footprint compared to the streets around it. Additionally, MapQuest says they've added new imagery for terrain and vegetation for Levels 4-9. Here's before and after screenshots of Philadelphia, per the official MapQuest blog:...
Google Maps Launches Navigational Feature for Android 2.0
If you keep up with mobile tech news, you know that a bunch of Android devices are coming out soon. They'll soon be running Android 2.0 and with that will come a new feature: Google Maps Navigation. Google Maps Navigation brings GPS navigation to Android. It will provide turn-by-turn directions, 3D views and automatic rerouting. It will also have, of course, powerful search features. Those search features include: Search in plain English - This helps you when you don't know the exact address. You can search the name of a business, for example. Search by voice - Hands-free is the...
Google Maps Gets a Subtle Makeover
Have you ever noticed "something different" about someone but you couldn't quite put your finger on it? Usually, it turns out that the person got a slight haircut or was wearing a new shade of eyeshadow or something. It was subtle, and your brain registered the change, but it wasn't obvious. Well, the same kind of change has come to Google Maps. They've updated fonts, street widths, colors, etc. The changes aren't very obvious, but they're there. Take a look at this before and after, supplied by the Google LatLong blog:...
7 Google Updates: Custom Search, AdWords API, Maps, Search Appliance and More
Google had another busy week pushing out updates. That's really no surprise considering Apple released product refreshes and Microsoft released Windows 7. Google hasn't let any major update from any competitor go by without their own news and this week was no different. We've already covered Google getting a deal with Twitter (similar to Bing's deal with Twitter) as well as a new social search experiment set up in Google Labs. Here are 7 updates that are slightly minor but you'll still want to know about: Custom Search is now available for mobile search experiences on smartphone and higher-end devices....
Google Trike: Going Where No Street View Vehicle Has Gone Before
Google has added to their Street View transportation fleet: a tricycle. Dubbed "Google Trike," the pimped out pedaling three-wheel bike goes where cars just can't. Or shouldn't, anyway. The idea was conceived by Dan Ratner, a mechanical engineer/mountain biking enthusiast at the Mountain View, CA search giant. Ratner has already photographed LEGOLAND and the Arastradero Open Preserve. There's a lot of land to cover out there, and Google is taking nominations for the next place in the U.S. to be photographed with Google Trike. Simply go to http://www.google.com/trike to make your nomination for one of the following categories: Parks &...
6 Google Stories for Wednesday, October 7, 2009
There was a ton of news about Google today (in addition to the two [see here and here] we've already covered today), so let's dive right in: Search Options was released on the mobile version of web search for Android, iPhone, and Palm WebOS. By the way, that's the second time in a week where a mobile update is for those three types of devices. Blackberry and Nokia phones are noticeably missing while omitting Windows Mobile is no real surprise. Google Maps released a major update, with improved details for parks, bike paths, and college campuses. The Google Webmaster Central...
Google Syncs Mobile and Desktop Searches
Google has enabled new sync features between desktop computers and mobile devices, specifically for local search and query suggestions. You need to be signed in, of course, to makes use of the sync. Here's what to expect if you do: Local If you're searching on Google Maps, you can star various local businesses. Later, you can pull them up on your phone on Google.com under the Local section. Just look for "Starred Places." Once you bring them up, you can access mobile optimized Place Pages, the new local content pages Google just released. There's also a new category browse feature...
Chance Card: Design a 3D Building for Monopoly City Streets Using Google Sketchup
Hasbro, the makers of Monopoly, have launched a contest where you can design a 3D building for their new interactive version of the popular board game: Monopoly City Streets. But you'll have to hurry. The deadline for the contest is next Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. You'll need to use Google SketchUp to design your building and then upload it to the Google 3D Warehouse to enter. Learn more about the contest rules here. Monopoly City Streets, which launched earlier this month, uses Google Maps for its interactive game....
Go to SES Berlin or SES Chicago for "Three Key Trends"
During the past two weeks, I've given you a couple of reasons why you should go to either Search Engine Strategies Berlin or SES Chicago 2009. For those who want to sing along, they were "two early birds," and "a ranking in the top three." There are other compelling reasons to attend one of these upcoming Search Engine Strategies conferences -- and it isn't to get "three French hens." That might have been persuasive back in the Middle Ages, but it hardly seems relevant or important these days. The compelling reasons driving us to attend SES Berlin or Search Engine...
Google Finally Does the Local Content Thing with Place Pages
Google Maps has launched a new feature called Place Pages. It aggregates a bunch of content for a given search result and places it on a single page. So, if you do a search for a local establishment, you can see user reviews, a map and details about the business such as phone, address and hours. Bing and Yahoo! already do the same thing with their local search results. Ask.com does something similar by incorporating Citysearch. Here's what Google's version looks like:...
Google Adds LIFE Magazine to Book Search
Nearly a year after adding LIFE Magazine image archives to its image search, Google is now offering digitized versions of LIFE Magazine through its book search. The digital archive covers all 1,860 issues spanning from 1936 to 1972. You can access LIFE by going directly to Google Books and clicking on one of the covers. Once you do, you'll be taken to that issue's overview page. You'll notice links to various articles on the overview page: Below the links, you can browse through thumbnails of the covers for every issue: Below that is a map of all the places mentioned...
Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile Updated with My Location, Search Features
Google has updated its mobile app for Windows Mobile. The update includes My Location, Google Suggest and Search with Maps. My Location gives local results for searches. Now, if you're searching for local pizza, simply type in pizza instead of a longer query like "pizza + city + state." Google Suggest is Google's query suggestion feature. Search with Maps, like My Location, enables local search. You'll need to have Google Maps installed on your phone. Then enter a local search and little red pins will show you relevant search results....
