Not long ago, the paper maps showed us how to get there. The printed street name fonts were so small on the paper that I had to use the grid index to find the street. The grid index was like cells in a spreadsheet, telling us the nearest column (A, B, C…) and the row (1, 2, 3…) to help locate the street by narrowing the search area. Even with the grid help, I sometimes needed a magnifying glass! Once found, I would use a highlighter to mark-up the route.
We have come a long way since the paper days of maps. Google has transformed the maps for the masses the way digital camera transformed photography.
Not only does Google Maps tell us how to get there but where to go and why. The how part is constantly refined and answered by Google but the where and why part mostly relies on us – the people using the Maps. The system works well when there are enough people contributing reviews, photos and edits to reliably answer the where and why part of the question. Drop by drop, the bucket is filled for all of us to enjoy.
Before deciding on a restaurant or a hotel, I read reviews on Google Maps to see a pattern and check out the surroundings on photos. Information such as repeated positive (or negative) comments about food quality, service, parking, cost etc. and other unique observations are important. It also helps to know how receptive the business is in responding to critical feedback. A detailed review is really useful in establishing the relativeness – a five-star rating in downtown Jakarta is quite different from a five-star in rural Java! You will take points off if the restaurant toilet is not clean in Jakarta but will add points if one is barely present in a rural area.
Finding information that is useful to me has encouraged me to do my part; adding my drops in the bucket. I try to add unique information rather than only generic terms such as “excellent service”, “friendly staff” and “great location” etc. Do they have something peculiar about the place? Look for information such as how long do you have to wait for a lift because there is only one operating.
A review tells the story one sentence at a time; a photo with a million pixels at the same time. Photos add to the relativeness I mentioned earlier. Most of the photos I have posted on Google Maps were taken looking outside a window – be it the apartment or office in a high-rise or from the backseat of a car window at the street level.
The skyline in Jakarta is rapidly changing. Office and apartment buildings are going up at a rate of one floor a week. A photo with the view of a local Jakarta shopping mall outside my apartment back in 2012 now has over 1.8 million views on Google Maps. The power of crowd-searching!
Be careful at whatever level you’re – at or above the street. Make sure your surroundings are safe, look outside your window, aim and shoot – with your phone camera.
