As a journalist, writer, and amateur historian I put a premium on accuracy in my work. I feel the same way about what I add to Google Maps. So I’m curious about the review process for photos reported with problems.
I was quite glad to see a change made in one case: Photos reported by a careless and very brief Google Local Guide had placed photos he took at the Seguine Mansion on his one-word review and rating of the nearby Manee-Seguine Homestead, which are two different places (the dead giveaway? The Manee-Seguine Homestead has a high fence around it, is overgrown and has no peacocks; whereas there is an entire flock at the Seguine Mansion, which is well-groomed and under the auspices of the NY Parks Department). For a while they were shown as the introductory photos, which has since been corrected but even now, his photos and review are still listed under the wrong location.
That leaves me curious about the decision-making process for fixing errors. Is it left up to human discretion? How often is the person reporting this actually questioned?
Another example (and one I just reported, which prompted me to write this post): Several of the photos listed on the Google Maps entry for South Brother Island in New York City—including the two currently shown as the introductory photos—are not from South Brother Island at all but of the nearby (and closer to shore) North Brother Island. It could be a simple error, either the poster’s GPS was wildly off in geotagging the photo or they entered it themselves incorrectly.
How do I know this? I belong to a volunteer organization in the city called HarborLAB.org which gets special permission from the NY Parks Department and a guide to visit South Brother Island every year to clean the beach. We go there by kayak and haul out the trash the same way. The island itself is a designated bird sanctuary that is closed to the public. Furthermore, the photos claiming to be of South Brother Island have building ruins in them, remnants of a former hospital turned drug treatment facility that is now abandoned. There are NO standing buildings remaining on South Brother Island, just trees and dense undergrowth, perfect for nesting birds.
I’ll add that I’m no newcomer to Google Maps, I’m one of the earliest reviewers of the product, both it and Google Earth way back in 2006 while I worked for PC Magazine and truthfully, I love both products (it’s why I have invested so much free time adding to them)!