The official blog for Google Maps
Welcome customers into your business on Google
January 26, 2012
(
Cross-posted on the
Small Business Blog
.)
When we initially announced the
Business Photos pilot program
, we wanted to give business owners an easy way to get customers in the door online using interactive, high-quality, 360-degree images of places on Google Maps and on Google Search results. With thousands of businesses under our belt — from
salons
to
gift shops
— we’ve been hearing the same question again and again from both business owners and photographers alike: How can I participate?
Well, with the overwhelming success of the first pilot, we’ve decided to unveil a complementary initiative that will help us reach more interested business owners, more quickly: Trusted Photographers.
View Larger Map
Click and drag to view the inside of
Spice Market
, New York City.
It’s simple. Visit our
new website
and search for a Google Trusted Photographer in your area. Either email or call a photographer in your area to schedule a time and agree on a price that you will pay the photographer for a photoshoot of your business. This self-serve model makes for easier scheduling and quicker turnaround, while also supporting the local photographers in your community. During the hour it should take for the shoot, you can collaborate with the photographer about how best to display and capture your business. When finished, the photographer will upload the images to Google, and shortly thereafter, you’ll see 360-degree panoramic views of your business on Google.com, Google Maps and on your Google Places listing.
See how Business Photos has helped
Toy Joy
of Austin, Texas.
Trusted Photographers are available in 14 U.S. cities, as well as in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France. Don’t see a photographer in your area?
Let us know
, as that will help us determine where more Trusted Photographers are needed.
Posted by Gadi Royz, Product Manager, Google Maps
Google Earth 6.2: It’s a beautiful world
January 26, 2012
(Cross-posted on the
Official Google
and
SketchUp
blogs)
We're taking bird's eye view to a whole new level with the latest version of
Google Earth
, released today. With
Google Earth 6.2
, we’re bringing you the most beautiful Google Earth yet, with more seamless imagery and a new search interface. Additionally, we’ve introduced a feature that enables you to share an image from within Google Earth, so you can now simply and easily share your virtual adventures with family and friends on
Google+
.
A seamless globe
The Google Earth globe is made from a mosaic of satellite and aerial photographs taken on different dates and under different lighting and weather conditions. Because of this variance, views of the Earth from high altitude can sometimes appear patchy.
Today, we’re introducing a new way of rendering imagery that smoothes out this quilt of images. The end result is a beautiful new Earth-viewing experience that preserves the unique textures of the world’s most defining geographic landscapes—without the quilt effect. This change is being made on both mobile and desktop versions of Google Earth. While this change will appear on all versions of Google Earth, the 6.2 release provides the best viewing experience for this new data.
Grand Canyon before and after
Sri Lanka before and after
Share your explorations with Google+
Google Earth is a great way to virtually explore the globe, whether revisiting old haunts or checking out a future vacation spot. With the
Google Earth 6.2 update
, we’ve added the option to
share a screenshot
of your current view in Google Earth through
Google+
. If you’ve already
upgraded to Google+
, you can share images of the places you’ve virtually traveled to with your
Circles
, such as family, friends or your local hiking club. To try this new feature, simply sign in to your Google Account in the upper right hand corner of Google Earth and click “Share.” Images of mountains, oceans, deserts, 3D cities, your favorite pizza shop on Street View—you can now experience all these amazing places around the world with people on Google+.
Search improvements
We’ve also made some updates to the search feature in Google Earth. Aside from streamlining the visual design of the search panel, we’ve enabled the same
Autocomplete feature
that’s available on Google Maps. We’ve also introduced search layers, which will show all the relevant search results (not just the top ten), so now, when looking for gelato in Milano, you can see all the tasty possibilities. Finally, we’ve added biking, transit and walking directions, so if you’re itching for a change of scenery or looking for a new route for your regular commute, you can now use Google Earth to generate and visualize all your options.
Biking directions in Google Earth
Download Google Earth 6.2
and start exploring and sharing today!
Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager, Google Earth
New Biking Directions Legend
January 26, 2012
If you’re looking for new ways to get around for fun or to work, or might be trying to live a greener lifestyle in 2012, why not try biking? In March 2010 we
introduced biking directions
and since then
Google Maps
has been sharing biking directions with cyclists across the U.S and Canada.
Since no bike path is the same, many users have requested an easier way to differentiate the different types of bike routes that are available. Starting today, a new legend feature can help you understand what the different colors on the bike maps symbolize.
Dark green is for dedicated trails and paths
Light green is for roads with dedicated lanes
Dotted green is for roads that are friendly for cyclists
Look for the biking legend in the upper right hand corner of the map
You can view this legend by clicking on the widget in upper right corner of Google Maps and selecting the Bicycling layer. You can also access biking directions on your Android device or by going to
maps.google.com
on your mobile browser.
Whether you want to drive, take transit, walk or even bike, Google Maps can help you get around. To see how it works on your Android phone take a tour
here
.
Posted by Dave Kim, Product Marketing Manager, Google Maps
Public Alerts now on Google Maps
January 25, 2012
(Cross posted from the
Google.org Blog
)
Today marks the launch of a new Google Crisis Response project:
Google Public Alerts
, a platform designed to bring you relevant emergency alerts when and where you’re searching for them.
If a major weather event is headed for your area, you might go online to search for the information you need: What’s happening? Where and when will it strike? How severe will it be? What resources are available to help?
The Google Crisis Response team works on providing critical emergency information during crises. Our goal is to surface emergency information through the online tools you use everyday, when that information is relevant and useful.
With today’s launch of Public Alerts on Google Maps, relevant weather, public safety, and earthquake alerts from
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
,
the National Weather Service
, and the
US Geological Survey (USGS)
will be accessible when you search on
Google Maps
. For instance, at the time of this post, “Flood Indiana” triggers an alert for a Flood Warning in Northern Indiana.
If you click through to “more info” on this alert, you’ll find a page showing more details about the alert, with the full description from the alert publisher, in this case the National Weather Service, a link to their site and other useful information.
Whether you see an alert depends on which alerts are active at a given location, their severity, and your search query. If you’re interested in seeing all of the active alerts in one place, visit our homepage at
www.google.org/publicalerts
. This page also provides a link to more information on our new platform and gives instructions to interested organizations who want to make their emergency data available through this tool.
We’re learning as we go and we’re working hard to continuously improve the range and relevance of the content you see, so we’d really like your feedback. Please send feedback our way using the link at the far right of our Google Public Alerts
homepage
.
We hope Google Public Alerts provides you with information to make better decisions in times of crisis.
Posted by Steve Hakusa, Public Alerts Engineer
Take a tour of South Korea using Street View
January 24, 2012
Tourism to South Korea is on the rise, with neighbors from East Asia and beyond making trips to see the birthplace of Korean dramas and K-Pop, sample authentic kimchee, and find cutting-edge fashions in the capital’s Myeongdong shopping district. Today we’re introducing
Street View
imagery for the two biggest cities, Seoul and Busan, making it even easier for travelers to plan their next visit to South Korea using Google Maps.
For example, you can preview your vacation in Seoul by starting right in
Gwanghwamun square
. Viewing the surroundings and statue of naval commander Yi Sun-sin provides a sense of the city’s unique intersection of modern and traditional.
View Larger Map
For those who want to stretch their legs, we recommend walking in
Insadong
, a famous shopping area for art and antiques, and then taking in the beautiful autumn foliage at the
Stone Wall of Deoksugung
when it’s time for a rest. Fans of the universally-beloved Korean soap opera
Winter Sonata
may want to check out a few background sites from the show, including the hallowed gates of
Choongang High School
or the
Seoul Plaza Hotel
.
View Larger Map
In the southern seaside city of Busan, famous for its
film festival
, view the water from
Namhang Bridge
and then the woody romance of
Dalmaji Road
, famous as a spot for couples to view the moon at night.
We’re thrilled to release this new street-level imagery and hope it helps tourists — both real and virtual — better find their way to Korea’s great destinations. We also look forward to bringing more Street View coverage to Korea over the coming year.
Learn more about Street View
here
.
Posted by Sun-Gi Hong, Product Manager, South Korea
New 45° imagery available for 24 cities
January 23, 2012
The second 45° imagery update of 2012 includes new imagery for 17 U.S. and 7 international locations in
Google Maps
.
Ulm is a university town in southern Germany, located at the Danube river. One of the most famous buildings in this town is the Ulm Minster in Gothic style which measures more than 160 meters in height. Climbing the 768 steps to the top platform, visitors will see a breathtaking panoramic view of the Alps on clear days.
View Larger Map
Cleveland, Ohio is an important hub at the southern rim of Lake Erie. Many banks, insurance companies, and healthcare firms are headquartered here; this is also the home of the famous Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame:
View Larger Map
In the southern hemisphere, we’ve published imagery of Porto Alegre in the very south of Brazil. It has more than one million inhabitants. The many parks in Porto Alegre makes this city one of the most beautiful in all of Latin America.
View Larger Map
Have fun exploring the new sites!
Here is a list of updated cities:
US:
Boise/Caldwell, ID; Buffalo, NY; Chattanooga, TN; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Greenville, SC; Houston/Pasadena, TX; Kansas City/Gladstone, MS; Knoxville/Louisville, TN; Memphis/Bartlett, TN; Mobile, AL; Nashville, TN; Pensacola, FL; Racine, WI; Santa Monica, CA; Sarasota/Englewood, FL; Stockton, CA
Europe:
Baiona, Spain; Basel, Switzerland; Friedberg, Germany; Mannheim, Germany; Santander, Spain; Ulm, Germany
South America:
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Posted by Bernd Steinert, Geo Data Specialist
Biodiversity on the move
January 19, 2012
Editor’s Note:
Today’s guest author is
Ari Daniel Shapiro
from
Atlantic Public Media
(APM), a non-profit public media organization in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. APM was the recipient of a
Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant
, funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the
Tides Foundation
. We’re excited to showcase how Atlantic Public Media has weaved Google Earth and KML tours into engaging stories about the diversity of life.
Life gets around. Tiny
Arctic Terns
soar from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and back, in a single year. A kind of sea algae known as
“sea grapes”
roam from Australia to the Mediterranean as stowaways, and then promptly conquer their new home.
As a radio producer, I’m used to telling these kinds of stories with audio, weaving together interview tape, ambient sound, and narration. For the last two years, I’ve worked with
Atlantic Public Media
and the
Encyclopedia of Life
(EOL) to produce an audio series entitled
One Species at a Time
. Each episode pays homage to a different organism that gallops or creeps or pulses on our planet. We collaborate on these stories with Marie Studer, the EOL's Learning and Education Director, who has championed our podcast as way to make the natural world come alive and generate excitement amongst people who want to learn about it and explore.
While our podcast and public radio programming brought these tales of the natural world to listeners all over the planet, we always look for ways to tell these stories better and share them more widely. Eduardo Garcia Milagros, a biologist and KML developer in Spain, approached us last year with the idea to use
Google Earth
as a platform for these mini-documentaries. Brimming with enthusiasm, he shared “When I first opened Google Earth, I went to see my hometown. Once I started exploring KML capabilities, I realized that Google Earth can be an amazing educational tool, especially when you have a good story.” Inspired by his excitement, we decided to identify species whose stories could really be best illustrated through a map, such as the Arctic Tern’s annual migration.
Our tour on Arctic terns can be
viewed on YouTube
or
downloaded
and explored in Google Earth.
Incorporating Google Earth into our narratives proved to be an interesting challenge for me and Jay Allison, my editor on the project and the Executive Director of APM. We wanted to make the most of the map as a medium to bring to life the tale of the Arctic Tern and other species for viewers. By integrating geographic animation and imagery from all over the world with the audio and images from contributing scientists, we were able to support and enhance the story. For example, in the sea algae tour below, we circle the globe to the Amazon rainforest to illustrate a phenomenon in the ecology of the Mediterranean.
Our sea algae tour can also be
found on YouTube
or
downloaded
for viewing in Google Earth.
These tours combine voice, sound, images, video, and data-driven animations to explain how two creatures have been able to travel so much of our planet. Coming from a public radio documentary background, we tend to approach things from a purely narrative or poetic angle, but Google Earth tours allow for audio/visual dialogue as well. The movement isn't purely in the story. The map can become part of a “conversation,” and we're just beginning to explore the possibilities.
We hope to produce more of these
Biodiversity on the Move
tours in the future; we’d like to hear what you think of them and what we can improve next time. Drop us a line on the
Encyclopedia of Life blog
.
Posted by Ari Daniel Shapiro, Atlantic Public Media and the Encyclopedia of Life
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