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Level 9

My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

Hi All,

 

I was playing with the IOS Street View app and noticed that most of my 360 images are no longer appearing in the "EXPLORE" tab in the app. I can see the images on my "PROFILE" tab so I know they are still there. I checked on google maps on my PC and inspected the same locations by hanging the little yellow guy over the locations I have loaded images and again they are invisible. The images say "Maps Approved" in the Street View app. They were mostly published in June 2016 and were visible using "EXPLORE" until very recently.

 

However, if I click on a "place" (business or place name) that the 360 was tagged to, the images are available for view in the images for that place. This works in IOS Google Maps app and also on Google maps on my PC using Chrome. 

 

 

My efforts were undertaken as a labour of love, as I suspect Google wont be sending Street View cameras to Grand Cayman any time soon. Taken with 360 precision pano-head, Nikon fish-eye and DSLR, stitched in PTGUI, and corrected in PS. I am taking about a few hundred images that simply aren't visible to Street View any longer. You can imagine I am pretty disappointed. The images now visible in these locations are generally poorly stitched, poorly framed and are not particularly beautiful or informative.

 

I have just loaded some new 360 images (taken with Insta360 One) - and those are showing up in street View "EXPLORE" tab and using the little yellow guy in gmaps/chrome. So it doesn't to be an account-wide problem. I therefore wondered if my older images might have expired - but that seems unlikely as there are older panos at the same locations (taken by other people) that are still showing up on Street View and gmaps.

 

This is an example of an image that is visible through the "place" in gmaps but not visible using the little yellow guy or in Street View app: 360 sphere

 

Does anyone have any ideas? 

 

Thanks!

 

Chris from Cayman

 

Cayman Islands
8 comments
Level 9

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

@ChristopherPrice  The explore feature is an automated process and who knows what they have in the program. I have assumed it is like the ranking factors used in a Google My Business page for photos and will change based on what is posted, the quality and how the program ranks it. Freshness is very probably what you are running into.  The second part of your question escapes me.  Where they all connected in the past or on single locations?

Level 9

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

Thanks for your reply David, I was thinking you were right about the freshness or quality reasons - but then I looked at the competing pictures, older and lower quality (stitching errors and lower resolution than mine). 

And now all my pictures are once again appearing on “explore” again. Very strange and probably never to be explained!

Cheers!

Level 10

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

@ChristopherPrice I'm sorry, I can understand your frustation.

I suspect that connected panos, although of lower quality, will be awarded with better placements in explore.

Personally I think I create nice spheres, but I never saw one of mine in Explore.

The only thing you can be sure is that your sphere is loaded and approved, but nobody could ensure will be shown at specific levels.

Level 9

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

@ChristopherPrice  I have mine hit once or twice when it is at a national park since they tend to focus on those areas.  So I think it is location, combined with the subject,  and random computer formula. And my quality is not as good as @LucioV does. So he should always show up first.   As all, I shoot with so far is the theta V.  I am holding off so far on the investment to upgrade my DSLR with options to shoot 360.  Trying to figure out all the options needed to make it work. Trying to slowly upgrade with low price rotator and clamp for lens. 

Level 10

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

Just to confirm....

Have a look to Badwater Basin: https://goo.gl/maps/JSaP7GJw1Gp

This how the knowledge graph looks like

 

Schermata 2017-10-13 alle 17.05.58.png

 

The header image doesn't belong to that place.

 

This is my 200+ Mpixel pano, and I'm barely able to find at the end of the photostream...

 

https://goo.gl/maps/QU8g3yV8yYp

Level 9

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

@LucioV  Well, you have just proved that the algorithm that selects the pictures has no taste at all. GREAT photo. I wonder if the computer gets thrown off by being shot so high?

Level 10

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

Thanks @davidcox no, I don't think so.... there are shots higher, from Dante's View.

And I did pano also higher, from the top of 3000 m peaks + 500 m, how can an algo could discriminate this kind of shots? Really, I don't think so.

Level 8

Re: My Streetview images are no longer available on the "explore" tab in Streeview app

@ChristopherPrice Thank you for starting very interesting subject. I am so sorry that many local guides do not think about quality.and that quality is not valued at Maps. @LucioV Personally I like good photography more than phone shots, but obviously this is not trendy at Local Guides Program.