Who Are My Neighbors, Mr.Search Engine?

Phoe6 writes "'Google's goal is to connect searchers with the information they need whether it's halfway around the world or in their neighborhood,' said company co-founder Sergey Brin, as Google is unveiling its location-based search tool local.google.com. This is going heads on with Yahoo, as it put its SmartView content on its maps." Phoe6 also points to this AP story carried by the Houston Chronicle about "Verizon Communications' SuperPages.com, overhauled to deliver more useful local results." Google's service seems to work pretty well -- I've just located a few coffee shops with free wireless within easy walking distance. Update: 03/17 18:33 GMT by T : Here's a no-reg link to the same AP story.

Comments

misleading title

[frazzydee]

I think that the title is a little bit misleading. If you go to the site, the text directly above "Google Home" and "Local Search Help" says: "Find local businesses and services on the web." This isn't to find your neighbors: it's to find your nearest McDonalds, etc.
Also, the local search help page talks about finding businesses, and mentions nothing of finding specific people.

Why does this need it's own page/interface

[ffub]

Coudln't this just be added to the existing google interface with place: or location:?

Re:Why does this need it's own page/interface

[eln]

If you're trying to market a particular capability, forcing people to use keywords to use it is a bad strategy. If it has its own web page, it's visible and has the chance of encouraging people to use it even if they didn't previously know it was there. How many regular users know about all of Google's keyword searches? How many power users even know all of them?

Especially since they're trying to compete with other players in the market with this particular feature, maximum visibility and ease of use is paramount.

whether it's halfway around the world

[myownkidney]

What Rubbish!

The form says: US address, city & state, or zip

US Only?

[IANAL(BIAILS)]

So are there any plans for Google to use a similar service in Canada? I'd love to try a search linked to my postal code, but it looks like it's only accepting Zip numbers...

Re:I choose to mod Google -1, Redundant

[lukewarmfusion]

Wow. There were quite a few search engines before Google, too. There's obviously no way they could do searching any better, so why try?

Do you want to assume that Google can't compete or improve on an existing service or product?

My Neighbors Are All A-round

[SEWilco]

Let's see...
If I'm in the center of Europe, the nearest attractions are Io, Ganymede, Callisto, Metis, Thebe, Lida, Himalia...

You want to know your neighbors?

[cachorro]

Go outside. Take a walk. Look around. Talk to people.

Kids these days!

local as in USA

[Anonymous Coward]

but hey 191 other countries don't matter right ?

Re:Needs Work

[Tassach]

I searched for a hardware store close to my Manhattan zip code [and didn't find any nearby]

Consider where you live: if you searched for overpriced pretentious yuppie coffee bars, you would have probably gotten 100 hits in a 5 block radius :-) If you did the same two searches for East Bumfuck, Indiana, you'd get very different results. The HardwareStore:CoffeeBar ratio in a rural farming community is going to be a lot higher than it is in a trendy urban neighborhood or in the 'burbs.

Not available outside the United States of America

[talexb]

.. but it's a start. And Google is still #1 for me. No fancy banners or junk about Hollywood's latest production, just the facts. Beautiful. Less is more.

Re:Troll?

[JThaddeus]

Yeah, the joke just reached out and slapped me. But I figured some would see it as preaching rather than a gag that cuts both ways. Religion brings out zealots and as Washington Post humor writer Gene Weingarten notes, "Humor is largely cynicism and zealots are too earnest to be cynical."

Aarrrrrgghhhhh

[attaboy]

It looks like a great service, except for one thing:

Just like yahoo (aka Yahoo Maps) and many other online services, google uses MapQuest to provide directions.

I wish more sites would instead start using the company formerly known as MapBlast/Vicinity. Their Line Drive maps are much easier to use, and their directions are much better, at least based on extensive personal experience.

Granted, they got bought by the Beast, but the technology still works...

I wonder what Mapblast is doing wrong that the consistently inferior service gets consistently greater exposure and linkage?

Maybe one of these days I can figure out a way to turn a link like this into a link like this

Maybe a combination of a hosts file entry and a quickie PHP script on my personal Web server to parse and redirect... Or would that be considered a violation of the DMCA? *grin*