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March 12, 2009
Google Adds More User Content to Maps/Earth Search Results
Google made an announcement today, at the LatLong Blog, about how they are now blending more quality user-generated content to map-based searches. They indicated that the results come from KML, GeoRSS or even Wikipedia content sources. As Google says, they have already been doing this for a while (see a GEB post from October 2007). However, they are more prominently featuring user-generated results than previously. The LatLong post neglects to point out that the new results also appear in Google Earth. A comparison of search results for the samples they provided showed similar (but, not identical) search results for the same terms. However, the results returned are more similar if you re-issue the searches once located over the same geographic region. In either app, the search results seem relevant and useful. Opening search result placemarks exposes more details, and possibly other user-generated content (such as pictures, videos, and even links to 3D models from the 3DWarehouse). The user-generated content results are colored blue. Those results with more familiar red placemarks are the normal Google-based search results from more established sources. I did notice that some results in Google Maps include snapshots of available Street View images for that location.
Posted by FrankTaylor at March 12, 2009 9:45 PM
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