Google Maps has launched a desktop mapping tool that allows users to add new or missing paths to the landscape.
This feature, which will begin to develop in more than 80 countries in the coming months, allows users to add missing roads by drawing lines, renaming roads, redirecting or removing incorrect roads, and reporting whether a road is closed.
All they have to do is click on the side menu button in the Maps house, click on ‘Edit the map’ and select ‘Missing Road’.
Google added that it will review all contributions before they are published to make sure that pranksters do not add paths that do not exist.
Google Maps also tries to help local businesses by quickly allowing users photo updates instead of word-of-mouth reviews.
The technology giant is giving users new ways to edit Maps as they make sure the service ‘reflects the real world’ during the current pandemic.
‘With all the changes our world has seen over the past year, people are relying more than ever on high quality, up-to-date information about the places around them – such as when a restaurant in the area is open or when a local grocery store is opening its hours date, ‘the firm said in a blog post.
‘We make it easy for anyone with a Google Account to contribute their local knowledge across more than 200 million places on Google Maps.
“These community-led updates help people everywhere to make better decisions about what to do and where to go.”
Google is currently asking you to click on the map where the missing path should be and enter its name.
Once the feature is known, it needs to be updated so that users can drag in the missing paths.
To ensure that the tool is not hijacked by pranksters and to ensure that suggestions and changes are accurate, Google contributes to road updates before they are published.
The firm says it will email the authors about the status of their edits.
With another update announced by the company in the blog post, which will roll out ‘in the coming weeks’, users can share photo updates on their phone.
In essence, it lets users share the latest business information and helpful tips by simply uploading a photo.
A photo update is a recent snapshot of a place with a short text description, without the need for a long overview or rating.
This will help other Google Maps users find and share experiences with recent photos.
Google Maps users can upload as many photos as they want, among businesses under the Updates tab, as an alternative to writing a review
To leave a photo update, users should go to the ‘Updates’ tab when looking at a place in Google Maps to see the latest photos shared by merchants and other people.
To add their own update, they can tap ‘upload a photo update’, select photos, leave a short description and then post.
“You can post as many photos as you want and find photo updates that others have left in the Updates tab,” says Google.
Google also encourages Maps users to update 100,000 businesses with new photos, reviews, and updates in the coming month.
To do so, users can click on the Contribution tab in Google Maps and add ratings, reviews, and information about local businesses visited, such as a cafe or bakery.
Google calls it the ‘local love challenge’, as it aims to help businesses affected by the pandemic.
“We’re seeing people show love and support for local businesses in Google Search and Maps by leaving photos, writing reviews or updating factual information like the new hours of a store,” says Google.
“We want to strengthen the same local love with a feature we are launching now.”
This feature works with Local Guides, the community of users who share tips and photos about places in the Maps app that anyone can join.
Local directories were launched six years ago and now have 150 million contributors worldwide, Google also revealed in the report.
Since its launch, local directories have contributed more than 70 percent of the reviews, photos, and other types of user-generated content on Maps.
Google celebrated 15 years of Google Maps last year with the launch of a new and updated design that gives the site a ‘more vibrant’, detailed and colorful look.
15 YEARS GOOGLE MAPS
A shot of Google Maps as it looked when it was launched 15 years ago. Google says the service has since ‘redefined what it means to be a map’
– On February 8, 2005, Google Maps was first introduced to computers as a new solution to help people get from point A to point B.
Just a few months later, Google Earth was launched, offering 3D views of the planet. Google Earth today contains more than 36 million square miles of high-definition satellite imagery.
In December 2005, Portland, Oregon, became the first city to use the Transit Trip Planner, which helps commuters see schedules and routes for public transportation. It started as a standalone product, but was eventually folded into Google Maps.
An early version of traffic conditions in Maps for desktop. Google Maps released real-time traffic information for more than 30 U.S. cities two years after its launch
– About two years after the launch of Google Maps, the company released real-time traffic information for more than 30 US cities.
– Google Street View launches May 29, 2007. Many of us will remember seeing a Google car past the street survey.
– In November 2007, Maps became mobile. Google has released version 2.0 of Google Maps for mobile, available for Blackberry, Palm devices and others. In 2008, its first Android app was launched, followed by the iOS app in 2012.
Google Tractors can help fill in the gaps in Google Maps by taking a 360-degree backpack housed in a backpack
In 2012, it introduced the Street View Tractor, which allowed people to reach hard-to-reach on foot, using high-tech equipment packed in a backpack.
– In November 2015, Google launched offline maps so that offline users can still take advantage of Google’s directions and search for specific destinations.
In February 2019, Live View, which uses augmented reality to help users understand which way to go, comes with arrows and directions clearly covered.
Augmented reality in Google Maps helps users reach their destination