Please don't suggest we upload duplicate pics

[MortenCopenhagen]

In the Maps app we can tap More ways to contribute and Contribute now. This takes us to a page where our recent photos are linked to places on Google Maps. All we need to do is tap Post to upload a photo to the suggested place. Super easy and quick.

In my opinion Google Maps has become very good at guessing the correct places. So far so good.

Here is a screenshot of how I’m coached into uploading a photo to a hair salon.

I just have to select the image and the Post button will show up.

The suggested hair salon is the correct one.

But if I don’t add the photo but open the place sheet this is what I see:

UPS! See the suggested photo was already uploaded yesterday to the place by me, and it is even the Cover photo (the first photo) for the hair salon.

As uploading duplicates is a clear and serious violation of the photo guidelines, I would hereby suggest that such prompts to violate the guidelines no longer be suggested and shown in the app.

It is unfair to trick users into violating the guidelines. Especially when such violations can result in serious sanctions.

Please, Google Maps. You can predict and read our photos to correctly identify the pin, but you can not do a simple check to see if a photo is already uploaded. You can do better.

Let me finish by showing two more misleading suggestions to reupload photos that should not be shown.

In this example the photo is suggested uploaded to the shopping center. But I already uploaded this photo to the specific shop inside the shopping center!

Here you see the one-click option to upload contributions that are already on Google Maps.

Please, like and comment if you think Google should improve this feature to not suggest we upload any duplicates. The feature needs a build in check for duplicates.

Cheers

Morten

[Annaelisa]

@MortenCopenhagen

Es ist alles richtig was sie schreiben. Da ich mich in der Regel gut erinnern kann was ich wo an Bildern zugefügt habe ubergehe ich diese Aufforderung immer.

[shunsader]

@MortenCopenhagen ,

I’m confused why you, as a moderator, are posting to this forum, instead of taking it up with Google. It’s clear that you’re letting us know about this problem, but the line

"Please, Google Maps. You can predict and read our photos to correctly identify the pin, but you can not do a simple check to see if a photo is already uploaded. You can do better. "

makes me feel as if someone at Google (who can actually make a difference) is reading through our threads for information that would help them create a better product.

Can you elaborate? - Steve

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @shunsader

I understand why you wonder. But keep in mind that we Connect Moderators are volunteers.

I and others have mentioned this to Googles, but so far to no avail.

When helping Local Guides who face problems with hidden contributing I often have to explain this issue over and over, so to make my life easier I chose to make this proposal publicly. This way I can share a link to this post rather than typing the same explanation over and over.

And hopefully more Local Guides will be aware if this issue.

My personal workaround is to never use these prompts to upload photos. Instead I upload sets of photos from a photo walk in the same order as I took the photos. This ensures I don’t miss any and don’t upload any duplicates.

Googlers sometimes do read these posts on Connect.

Cheers

Morten

[ErmesT]

This is one of the issues always highlighted to the team, @MortenCopenhagen .

I did it personally during the Local Guides Summit 2017 on California. I fully agree with you about the suggestions about photos that we already added in Maps, and I have several examples too, like the one here below

In my case the location is wrong, but the two photos are already correctly uploaded in the right place

So in this case the suggestion by Maps could cause a violation that can automatically end in a ban from the program: duplicate across locations.

Another interesting suggestion is this one:

The four photos of the temple are on fact the same photo, saved with 4 different edits for a personal test. The simple check of the file name would prevent it.

Connect Moderator are Local Guides like you, @shunsader , even if very active here in Connect, and very correct in their contributions in Google Maps. For this reason we usually like to highlight the issues, and frequently we do this also here in Connect became we think that it is important to discuss publicly between Local Guides about the issues.

I am personally used to warn the Local Guides about duplicate photos, but I am also perfectly aware of the fact that many reply to me: “Google Maps suggested me to do that, so how can this be wrong”?

[Annaelisa]

@MortenCopenhagen

Noch ein Punkt. Durch Zufall stoße ich immer wieder in Eckernförde auf Pins die völlig falsche Standorte darstellen und berichtige diese.

[WilfriedB]

@Annaelisa das stelle ich auch öfter fest, aber dies Änderungen werden meist sehr schnell akzeptiert, sofern es sich um einen “Ort”, also ein Point of Interest (POI), Restaurant, Laden … etc handelt. Schwieriger und meist langwieriger wird es bei Straßen oder Plätzen. Besonders schwierig bei Stadtteilgrenzen oder Regionen.

[ArturVictoria]

Hello thanks for your explanation. I already noticed it several times and foublr check if the suggestions are correct. I have some concearns that I hope that with your experience you can make me understand, please:

• I see a few local guides that post on purpose the same photo or also the same photo from a different angle. I flaged it without sny result;

• After level 8 I try to upload videos but I get the general message they are not published because go against the rules. Can’t understand why as I am very carefull with the rules;

• I used to do details explaini g the local. After level 8 they are not published with the explanation they i fringd the rules. That makes me said because my only solution to publish its to edit and just do a very short comment.

Have you heard anything about this kind of problems?

Thanks for your cooperation and have a nice day!

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @ArturVictoria

It would be very helpful if you would use the tagging tool when replying to someone here on Connect. Type @ followed by the username. Type slowly. Then we get an e-mail notification and you are more likely to get a prompt reply. Just hitting Reply does not ensure we get notified by email.

When you see LG profiles on Maps that repeated violated the guidelines, please shoot me a private message with the link and one sentence describing the violations. Then I will check and forward to the Googlers.

I have seen videos get hidden immediately but 2-3 days later they go public after a check. Could this explain your issue?

Cheers

Morten

[WilfriedB]

Hi @MortenCopenhagen I completely agree with you and would even go a step further
Unlike @Annaelisa I quickly forget where and when I uploaded which of my pictures. Not only that it might take me several days until posting anything (e.g. after traveling several days by car), I might also want to show additional pictures or remove on much later, specially after re-visiting places. When I review older photos of mine, I often notice for repeated visits, I tend to make similar pictures years later - posting those would also be against Google’s rules.

I wish, Google would give us some more help to track what we posted and where. I know, I can find my images by clicking My Contributions → Photos and scroll backwards. But how long does it take to scroll back several months and compare all thumbnails visually?
Alternatively, I could select a specific place and search under photos By you. Here I can find mine easily (unless there are duplicate places), but here we cannot delete our own photos, unless they are attached to review! Try it, if you didn’t know.
My personal workaround for now, includes to copy the permalink and store it in my database along with the image. Not perfect and time consuming, but better than spending much time searching later.

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @WilfriedB

Thanks fur sharing your experiences.

It is possible to delete individual photos (also those not uploaded to a review) from the photo contribution list.

All the best

Morten

[WilfriedB]

Thanks @MortenCopenhagen

Reg.: “It is possible to delete individual photos (also those not uploaded to a review) from the photo contribution list.”

Yes, I know, this is what I mentioned before, where you have to scroll backwards for a long time, if the photo wasn’t posted very recently. But when you open your photo in the description of the place (which is easier to find, if you just know the place), you cannot.

[MortenCopenhagen]

@ArturVictoria

Got it now. Thanks. I agree it would be great if we could search for or delete our photos from the place sheets.

Cheers

Morten

[ShailendraOjha]

if you think Google should improve this feature to not suggest we upload any duplicates. The feature needs a build in check for duplicates… Yes sir…i agree with you @MortenCopenhagen

[nigelfreeney]

@MortenCopenhagen

Hi @WilfriedB ,

Completely agree with you and have found myself with the same issues. In previous discussions a number of issues have been discussed that keep being repeated. The moderators report that they do their best to feedback the same issues and we wait for something to happen from Google.

In this case there are two solutions that I was considering before I read this post.

1. A proper search feature so that you could at least search by location and filter by timeframe
2. That there was an archive process - I would consider that any one listing could reasonably expect to have no more than 100 (made up number) active at any given time. This could be more flexible with the categorisation subsets that are currently used. If anything beyond a certain date, if that number is reached, was automatically archived it would make the whole system faster. Everything legitimate that was archived could still available via an archive link.

This would make it much easier for housekeeping and managing your own submissions. You would be able to spot same timeframe duplicates and delete them and archive anthing else without losing points.

I’m thinking of another post topic which is to run a feature poll for everyone to vote on the items that most concern them so that we can have an ongoing list with the highest priority changes clear and upfront.

[YuliiaZa]

Totally agree with your post, @MortenCopenhagen

[PennyWise1]

Oh dear, I am so guilty. I just normally listen and gladly click click.

It makes so much sense. The mall itself should be shopfronts, Isles, pretty features and informational stuff. Not the special on the pien shoes of a shop inside the mall of which nobody will know where to grab them pretties

I will do better🫠

[nigelfreeney]

@WilfriedB @shunsader @Annaelisa @ArturVictoria @ErmesT @AdamGT @TerryPG @LudwigGermany @TravellerG

Hi @MortenCopenhagen ,

This is a very interesting thread and raises issues about the questions of who validates the rules and when they should be updated.

A specific case to consider. A shopping mall has it’s own business listing. In that shopping mall is a clothing shop. But the mall does not specifically target the customers of that particular shop which happens to sell a particular style of clothing. It becomes the featured picture of the mall and gets over a million views in a year. Because the Google Maps’ algorithms have decided that it is a good picture.

This inidividual shop doesn’t benefit from all the views it receives because the majority of customers who see the image are actually looking for food, or electronics, or greeting cards. Each of the individual stores within the mall deserves to be serviced with the opportunity of visibility based on their own product popularity that is determined by the visitors to the mall.

So if the picture is good enough to attract one million views for the mall , isn’t it logical that the same picture might also get one million views from people who are actually looking for the clothing that the shop itself sells - because it is a good picture.

In this case the problem is not having duplicate images it is effectively having duplicate listings - this shop is located in the mall. But this does not help the shopper because the shopper looks for the mall or looks for the shop but probably doesn’t do both.

If the shopper looks in the mall then they only get a surface superficial impression of the services on offer from any individual shop.

There are two obvious solutions:

1. Each shop is listed separately within the mall and
   1. There is a link from the mall photo to the shop listing - this would add a whole new level of complexity
   2. It becomes accepted that the same pictures used in the mall can also be used in the individual shop listing
2. This would appply whenever there is a point of interest (POI) listed within a POI

I am not suggesting that my answer is the only resolution to this problam but there are a lot of contradictions within the rules that we have to abide by. These can be demotivating, frustrating and anxiety provoking - when really this should be a fun activity.

Motorway service stations in the UK are a good case in point
Welcome Break Leicester Forest East Southbound Services M1

If you visit this listing it is very difficult to identify what facilities and shops are inside the building. I know that they have KFC because of this picture:

But this is not a typical branding for KFC and the main listing has nearly 3,000 images listed. In fairness I spotted two normally branded images before reaching this one but I think I have made my point - there is not an easily accessible listing of the different shops as standard in a shopping mall with links to their individual business listings.

So until this is changed it actually makes sense that customers would find shops through different channels and each of those groups of customers would benefit from seeing the same images.

[Annaelisa]

@nigelfreeney und alle anderen,

es ist alles richtig man kann aber auch ein zweites abweichendes Foto zufügen und ob das selbe Foto genau so erfolgreich wäre ist fraglich ob es genau so gefördert und ins Blickfeld gestellt wird

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @nigelfreeney

You forgot to add the Maps link to the shopping center.

You wrote, “This inidividual shop doesn’t benefit from all the views”. I doubt that the shop owners perceive the value of photo views the same way as we Local Guides do. So they might not even care. Or they might appreciate the extra exposure on the placesheet of the mall.

You wrote, “…the picture is good enough to attract one million views for the mall”. The high number could be because the shopping mall is a popular/high traffic place and not necessarily the photo quality.

I agree that it can be misleading to customers and unfair to other business owners when the cover photo of a shopping mall shows only one shop. You could try flagging the cover photo as “other” and explain. But this is not likely to change anything in my experience. I would consider making a much better photo representing the entire shopping mall and hope this gets selected. Or you could try to escalate this via the Maps Support forum. Or you could reach out to the marketing department of the shopping mall and suggest they select a more representative photo as their preferred cover photo. This is a setting for business owners on Google Maps.

I’m not sure I understand your proposal. Today it is possible to list individual shops within a location. And on the placesheet of the shopping mall a directory of the stores is shown prominently. This works pretty well in many shopping centers. However, some business owners and Local Guides are not aware of this feature.

Please state what guidelines are “demotivating, frustrating, and anxiety provoking”.

All the best

Morten