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Turn Right at the Burger King: Google Maps Begins Using Landmarks To Help With Guidance (techcrunch.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

Most navigation apps give you instructions based on streets or distance. But it's arguably in contrast to how people usually provide directions -- some usually point to landmarks that are easier to spot. Google sees some merit in that. The idea is that Google Maps is highlighting some landmarks and other points of interest (fast food restaurants) to help with guidance. TechCrunch reports that some users are already seeing this on Google Maps. And maybe to Google, this opens door for some business opportunities as well. Only time will tell.

23 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. Your mama is so fat, by Spy+Handler · · Score: 5, Funny

    Google Maps use her as landmark!

  2. Maybe? by tomhath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And maybe to Google, this opens door for some business opportunities

    Seriously? Of course that's the plan. Google is an advertising platform.

    1. Re:Maybe? by swillden · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And maybe to Google, this opens door for some business opportunities

      Seriously? Of course that's the plan. Google is an advertising platform.

      This Maps feature actually came out of work to make directions useful in countries and regions where street addresses don't really exist, notably much of India. Apparently someone thought that now that Maps supports navigation by landmarks, maybe it could be applied to make directions easier to follow even in areas that do have street addresses.

      I doubt that anyone has given serious thought to how landmark navigation could be used for advertising purposes. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it seems unlikely to me.

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    2. Re:Maybe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You doubt? Just take a left at Dunkin where you can get 2 for $2 today.

    3. Re:Maybe? by BlackSupra · · Score: 2

      This is a step towards mapping the physical 'sign skyline' and integrating and overlaying the data in Mixed Reality.

      We are on track for this user experience: 'Hyper-Reality' https://www.youtube.com/watch?... *sound warning*

    4. Re:Maybe? by Solandri · · Score: 2

      Actually, studies have found that people prefer to use landmarks to get around rather than street names. When I first learned that (in the 1990s - before Google Maps and GPS), I began giving people directions with both names and landmarks. e.g. Turn right on Main St. That's the one with the Shell gas station on the corner. Once I began doing that, I noticed that the number of people who were late arriving at my house or to events I planned because "we got lost" dropped almost to zero.

    5. Re:Maybe? by ClarkMills · · Score: 2

      I doubt that anyone has given serious thought to how landmark navigation could be used for advertising purposes.

      Seriously?

    6. Re:Maybe? by bain_online · · Score: 2

      This Maps feature actually came out of work to make directions useful in countries and regions where street addresses don't really exist, notably much of India.

      Yeah here in India this feature has been on for long time and is quite useful, Indian streets are not visibly named at all and many have no discernible numbering system. Its hardly a new feature just new to US probably

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    7. Re:Maybe? by swillden · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I doubt that anyone has given serious thought to how landmark navigation could be used for advertising purposes.

      Seriously?

      Seriously. Most of the teams in Google basically never think about advertising... or even about monetization. It's all about user impact and engagement. Monetization is the Ads team's problem. I was in the industry for 20+ years before joining Google, so it struck me as very odd when I was hired at Google, because drawing a straight line from your work to the bottom line is a big part of life in most software shops. Most of Google seriously never thinks about it; we know that ads fund 90% of our paychecks, but our focus is on the users of whatever product we're building. Further, development of everything is rather bottom-up, not top-down. Features almost never start with some executive directing that something be built, they start with engineers convincing their own managers that something would have strong user impact (which is needed for good performance reviews, promotion, etc.). Direction of one organization to do something to help another is fairly rare; cross-organization cooperation is common, but it's driven by the interested organization reaching out to the other organization and asking for help (which is usually given quite freely).

      In a case like this, if there were some initiative to use advertising to monetize landmark navigation, it would come from the Ads team, not the Maps team. And it's likely that the Ads team knows nothing about landmark navigation. Until they read about it on slashdot or similar.

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    8. Re:Maybe? by spun · · Score: 2

      The only landmark Google mentions in my city is Firestone. Every single time I drive by a Firestone. "Keep going straight past the Firestone I didn't even need to mention because you don't need a landmark to go straight." Don't try to paint Google as some saintly, charitable organization. That "Do no evil" ship sailed years ago.

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    9. Re:Maybe? by swillden · · Score: 2

      Don't try to paint Google as some saintly, charitable organization.

      I didn't. I just describe how things work.

      That "Do no evil" ship sailed years ago.

      Its "Don't be evil", and it's still considered a key principle.

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  3. Turn right at the Burger King by olsmeister · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But first, wouldn't you like to stop for a tasty Whopper? Mention ad code 3XCDF8578S and receive a $1 discount at this Burger King, valid for the next 20 minutes only.

    1. Re:Turn right at the Burger King by roc97007 · · Score: 2

      It'll probably make the offer first, and won't tell you which way to turn until you buy something or touch a nearly invisible "no thanks" link.

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  4. So let me guess... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For a fee, your business can be a landmark used to help give directions on Google Maps.

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  5. Re:More like landfills by Richard+Stalin · · Score: 3, Funny

    I wonder how much Booger King and Diarrhea Queen are going to pay for brand placement now.

    (*ducks*)

  6. They should have landmarks for when you miss too. by jellomizer · · Score: 2

    In general for driving it is handy, because often road signs are hard to see (Upscale neighborhoods love to make them earth tones, often with flower pots having them hang over them.) , And sometimes are placed rather confusingly Sure the sign for the street is at a right Angle of the street, but your street is approaching it at a 45 degree angle. Or it forks into 2 other streets.

    Also things like a major fast food chain, has nice big signs, that you can see a quarter mile away (further if you live in a flat land area) So you know to keep at speed limit until you get close enough to look for the street.

    However if you miss a crazy street it would be nice to say if you see this, you probably had missed your turn.

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  7. Burger King signs are larger than street signs by linuxguy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I was using Google Maps yesterday to navigate and when it said I should go past Taco Bell, I was surprised. I hadn't heard that before. But overall I was pleased. Signs for Taco Bell and Burger King are much larger than road signs. It is a good move.

  8. Re:Never understood why they don't use time refere by JoeyRox · · Score: 2

    Distance is fixed. Time to travel is not. It might take driver A 5 minutes to cover a distance, driver B might make it in 3. The distance is the same for both. Also, changes in traffic pattern may also alter the time. But distance will remain the same. I can totally see why Google Maps prefers to give you the distance to your turn.

    Hence the "at your current speed" proviso included the verbal time reference. And it could use a rate of progress calculated via a running average of speed per unit of distance relative to the distance remaining to be traveled. And it can use the rate of progress of other drivers for the same segment this driver is traversing to make the calculation even more precise - Google already uses this information for their color-coded traffic maps.

  9. Re:Never understood why they don't use time refere by wizkid · · Score: 2

    Distance is fixed. Time to travel is not.

    Not if you have a TARDIS

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  10. Re:Never understood why they don't use time refere by Calydor · · Score: 2

    The above reasons, and because your suggestion takes so long to say that the time changes drastically (is it 45 seconds from starting to speak, from saying "forty ... five ...", or from finishing the sentence?), and if you're navigating particularly narrow streets you might overshoot because the GPS wasn't done yakking.

    KISS applies to what the GPS should be saying.

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  11. DO NOT..... by meglon · · Score: 2

    .... turn right at Albuquerque.

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  12. Turn Right where the Andersons used to live by goombah99 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's just past the intersection where the old blinking light used to be.
    When you get to the bottom of the hill it's the one that's falling apart next door to the hideous purple painted house.
    You should see the crack dealer lookouts hanging out on the corner.
    You have arrived at your destination.

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  13. Re:Never understood why they don't use time refere by duguk · · Score: 2

    Hence the "at your current speed" proviso

    Why do you assume that the current speed will be maintained?

    Newton's first law?