My reinterpretation of Alfred Korzybski’s phrase illustrates the tendency of Google Maps to aim at the optimum without ever reaching it. I will point out some personal stories to show strengths and ways to improve the service.
In the years after 1954 the Town of Umkomaas in South Africa experienced a strong Italian immigration from the Italian Region of Friuli. Today a few streets are still named after a common surname “Del Bianco”, the ancient Roman town of Aquileia and Friuli itself.
I was curious to give a glance at the town. Thanks to Street View I did not need to fly there. However I happened to find that the names on Google Maps were misspelled. I double checked by enlarging the pictures in Steet View. Thanks to the feature “Suggest an edit” (and some tenacity, since the modification was not approved at the first attempt) the names are now correct.
It’s amazing how a person being more than 10.000 km away may help to improve a map without the need of his physical presence. On the contrary I have been quite disappointed since last August.
I visited Villach in Austria. The town was the birthplace of Paul Watzlawick who eventually moved to Palo Alto to become one of the most influential psychologists to date. At the tourist office we asked if there was any place that could be visited regarding him. After a telephone call to the closest living relative it was revealed even to them that the square in front of the tourist office was named after him! I immediately took pictures and used the “Add a missing place” option. However up to now my improvement had no luck.
Small stories for a Big Planet. Google Maps Will never reach perfection, but it could go the extra mile (it is never crowded!). Should I be selected to take part to Connect Live 2020 I would like to participate to breakout sessions where we brainstorm ideas to improve the service.