This day in search marketing history: January 14
What happened when we turned off AMP, plus: Shopify's chat bug, comment spam, mobile first, missing tweets and more.
Topic: John Hanke
Facebook buys AR startup building a 1:1 digital map of the physical world
The acquisition appears to be about augmented reality, but Scape Technologies' capabilities go way beyond AR.
Is Google Maps what augmented reality has been waiting for?
AR walking directions could be a breakthrough application for the industry.
Apple reportedly hiring dozens of new mapping experts and engineers
Apple Maps could be the beneficiary of the company's push into augmented reality and "autonomous systems."
Ingress: Is Google’s AR Game A Stealth Local Data Effort?
I recently got a new Android phone and found a little card in the box advertising Ingress, the “massively multi-player location-based alternate reality game from Niantic Labs at Google.” Ingress had slipped past my notice despite Greg Sterling’s mention of it nearly a year ago. Yet, here it was, already preloaded as an app in […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 8, 2013
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Google Explains Why Your New Page’s Number One Ranking May Drop Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts posted a video explaining why it is not uncommon to see a new […]
Yelp: Google Told Us “Our Way Or The Highway”
If you wanted to see Yelp reviews for a particular restaurant you could either go to Yelp.com or you could go to Google’s Place Page for that same location — and that’s what Yelp is worried about. For the past year or so Yelp and Google have been a little like the two Koreas, not […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 14, 2011
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Set To Advertise During Golden Globe Awards Microsoft is set to run a pair of television ads during Sunday’s broadcast of the Golden Globe awards, according to the Seattle PI. […]
Google’s John Hanke Speaks About New Mobile Incubator
Last week I wrote briefly about Google’s John Hanke’s move into a new role, based on a Forbes interview with him. Yesterday I got to speak directly with Hanke about his “new gig,” as they say. The former CEO of Keyhole came to lead the “geo team” (Maps, Earth) at Google after Keyhole was acquired […]
Google Maps’ John Hanke Becomes Head Of New “Entrepreneurial Lab”
Last year at a conference in London I was told by someone that Google Maps’ John Hanke was changing roles and that Marissa Mayer had taken over Local. The latter was obviously proven out by very public announcements. An article in Forbes now confirms Hanke’s role as the head of a new Google “entrepreneurial lab” […]
Business Photos Help Build Google Places/Maps Brand Identity
Google’s effort to bring photographers to local businesses to capture interior and exterior images now bearing fruit. The company announced that the images that its contractors have been collecting (all over the world) are now online: Starting today, the images we’ve taken as part of the pilot can be viewed on the Place pages of […]
Google Segmenting, Categorizing Reviews On Places Pages
Google is now “segmenting” and separating local reviews from third parties such as Yelp from those of its own user-reviews. It has also added favicons next to the third party reviews to offer some “branding” on Places Pages. David Mihm noticed this yesterday. Here’s what it looks like on a Places Page for popular San […]
Yelp Unlikely To Come Back To Google Places
Earlier today it was reported that Yelp’s content had been removed from Google Places — though not from Google.com results. What’s going on exactly? Here’s Google’s public statement about it: “Place pages organize relevant information about a wide range of places and locations, and they surface great sources of information like reviews and photos about […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, August 2, 2010
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Hot On Sphinn: PPC Bid Management, Link Building Via Twitter, Clueless SEOs, & More Every day, your peers in the search industry are reading and voting on articles that are shared […]
Google And Yelp Express “Complicated” Relationship In Conference Interview
There’s nothing that jaded and weary conference goers love more than to see some “red meat” conflict between panelists during a session. And that’s what TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld repeatedly tried to elicit in an on-stage interview of Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and Google’s John Hanke during the Social Currency CrunchUp event yesterday in Palo Alto […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 1, 2010
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Testing Live Video Stream In Street View According to the Qualite Search Marketing blog, Google has been testing live YouTube video in Google Street View maps in Norway. This is […]
Panel: “The Big Picture With The Big Local Players”
At the Where 2.0 event in San Jose yesterday afternoon, Danny Sullivan moderated a panel entitled “The Big Picture from the Big Players.” In addition to Danny it featured Blaise Agüera y Arcas (Microsoft), Tom Wailes (Yahoo!), John Hanke (Google, Inc.), Dylan Swift (Yelp). The session sought to cover a lot of ground in a […]
Got Questions For Big Players In Local Search?
Next week, I’m moderating a session at the Where 2.0 conference involving big names in local search: Bing, Google, Yahoo and Yelp. Got some questions you want put to the panel about current challenges in local and where things are going? Let me know! The panel, The Big Picture, from the Big Players, begins at […]
California Lawmaker Jumps On ‘Google Maps Helps Terrorists’ Bandwagon
A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would limit what Google Maps and other online mapping sites are allowed to show, on the basis that these online tools help terrorists plan attacks. We’ve been here before: Late last year, the Indian government suggested that Google Earth should be censored after terrorists involved in the […]
ComScore To Report Google Maps Now Number 1
Forthcoming January traffic data will reportedly show that Google Maps has taken the lead from MapQuest as the top mapping site in the US. According to the numbers that I received (I’ve asked comScore to verify), MapQuest’s January monthly unique visitors were 41.5 million and Google’s were 42.2 million. This is the first time that […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 13, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google: ‘Don’t Blame Us For Terrorism’
Comparing it to blaming car makers for deadly car bombs, Google Earth chief John Hanke recently said Google shouldn’t be blamed for terrorist use of Google Earth. Hanke defended his online mapping tools in a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. “You have cars; you have car bombs,” Hanke said. “You have GPS […]
It’s Google’s Ocean, We Just Swim In It
Earlier today Danny blogged the Google Ocean launch event live. It was the “most produced” and Apple-like of the numerous high profile Google announcements I’ve attended — featuring former Vice President Al Gore, singer Jimmy Buffett and several scientific and oceanographic luminaries such as Dr. Sylvia Earle. The crowd was star struck by Gore and […]
Live Blogging The Google Earth 5.0 / Google Ocean Event
Google is having a special event today featuring former US vice president Al Gore to announce its new Google Earth 5.0 software that features new underwater views of the world’s oceans (Google Ocean) and 3D views, as well as “historic imagery” that allows people to see the earth back in time through archived satellite views […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 13, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web
Google Incorporates Geodata In API, Partners With ESRI, Yahoo Introduces “Internet Location Platform”
Google’s John Hanke keynoted the Where 2.0 conference this morning and discussed the development and evolution of the “geoweb.” But he also announced that KML files (now a public standard) and GeoRSS data (I believe) being indexed by Google are now going to be available to third parties via the Google API. That means things […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 18, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google Maps Opens Up Editing To Everyone
Last year in November Google opened up Maps to community editing, allowing people to move the pushpin markers to correct or improve the accuracy of business locations. John Hanke, Director of Maps & Earth, told us at the time that Google would move beyond just place markers and allow registered users to edit Maps more […]
Google Maps Goes Wikimapia, Lets The People Move The Map Points
Registered Google users are now permitted to adjust the place markers for businesses on Google Maps and soon will have the ability to more broadly edit local business information. Changes will initially go through a human editorial process to ensure the accuracy and propriety of information as the new capabilities are rolled out. Google told […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 31, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Google Mapping Announcements Revisited
Yesterday I discovered Google’s new “Street View” by chance, looking for directions, and blogged it, before it was officially announced and before I’d had a chance to talk to anyone at Google. At Where 2.0 yesterday I spoke to John Hanke, Google Maps GM, after the official announcement about Street View and some of the […]
Google Under Fire For Showing Pre-Katrina New Orleans Images; Others Doing The Same?
Google goes back to pre-Katrina maps from USA Today reports that Google Maps has changed their satellite imagery of New Orleans to show pre-Katrina images, getting some local residents angry and wondering if there’s some type of cover-up in the works. However, it’s unclear if these are pre-Katrina images or not — and the situation’s […]