With the holidays coming up (and finally some time off after some incredibly busy months), I decided to check once again if I could spot new categories to use for places on Google Maps. And the answer is a full-fledged YES… there are 9 new ones (and 3 removed) since the previous times I checked (as reported in posts like this one).
Some of the new ones are health-related, like ‘Child psychiatrist’, ‘Oral maxillofacial surgeon’ (if you have no clue what that is exactly: no worries, I also had to consult the Wikipedia entry), ‘Psychomotor therapist’ and ‘Gynecologist’ (there already was ‘Obstetrician-gynecologist’, but the new one is meant to be used in case the practitioner is a gynecologist only - as can be derived from the unique identifier for the new one: ‘gynecologist_only’). Others are car-related (as has been the case already on previous category-adding occasions ‘Auto bodywork mechanic’ (if anyone more specialized in the matter is reading this: please explain to me what the difference would be between this one and ‘Auto body shop’), ‘Auto painting’ and ‘Ram dealer’. And finally there’s also another one related to recent tech innovations: ‘3D printing service’.
The full list of added categories:
Auto bodywork mechanic
Auto painting
Child psychiatrist
Compressed natural gas station
Gynecologist
Oral maxillofacial surgeon
Psychomotor therapist
Ram dealer
3D printing service
Three categories have been removed, and those could be labeled ‘for use in 1 specific country only’ (so I guess this might be part of the cleaning operation I reported on earlier). They were intended for use in France: ‘Producteur de Champagne’ (the term ‘champagne’ is protected and can only be used by manufacturers in a specific part of France), ‘Grand cafe’ and ‘Zac’ (also a French thing)
A great update @JanVanHaver . Thank you so much for keeping us informed on this topic.
I have to admit, the new categories that you are sharing did not get me very excited though (lol). I had no idea what a Ram Dealer was until I just Googled it, just showing you how much I am interested in cars (lol).
I assume it is clear that this is a sub-category of car dealerships, otherwise, I can see issues arising with places where you can buy RAM memory for your computer (hahaha).
@JanVanHaver In india RATION SHOP are very important which supply rice , wheat , suger etc under govt. control.It is present all over our country. But there are no categories for RATION SHOP.
If possible Please add this to categories which will be very helpful .
@DeepayanS I remembered that you posted about this before and while looking for that, I stumbled upon this post where it was suggested to use ‘Foodbank’. Or would there be fundamental differences in your view/from the perspective of your country?
No , Foodbank is not a proper category name for it , only ‘‘Ration shop’’ is perfect for it .
Because Ration shops are now present in most localities, villages towns and cities. India has more than 5.5 lakh shops, constituting the largest distribution network in the world.
Hi @JanVanHaver thank you for sharing with us about these categories, the old, removed and new. I would like to know if categories differ for specific countries and regions or we share the same categories world wide?
From the quick research I did, it seems there is at least 1 fundamental difference from a foodbank: in a ration shop people still have to pay (albeit a reduced price). So, a separate category would be justified.
@DeepayanS the best thing you can do is post this as an idea in the Idea Exchange section here, clearly explaining why none of the current categories fit, and perhaps include a picture of such a ration shop.
@Raphael-Mahumane there is 1 global list with just under 4000 categories, and you have access to it if you use Google Maps in English. When using it in other languages, there are fewer categories available (typically around 3000 - varies per language) as not all categories are translated.
Wow, @JanVanHaver that is amazing, I only know a few, is there a way to see a full list except by using the search when typing them on Google Maps during an edit?
@Raphael-Mahumane please check out the podcast episode I had on the topic. In the shownotes there is a link to a tool that will show you the full list, also in local languages.
‘Auto bodywork mechanic’ (if anyone more specialized in the matter is reading this: please explain to me what the difference would be between this one and ‘Auto body shop’), ‘Auto painting’ and ‘Ram dealer’. And finally there’s also another one related to recent tech innovations: ‘3D printing service’.