Google I/O 2013 - Google Local and Maps Updates

[Linda Buquet]

Big announcements could be coming out of Google I/O this week.
Stay tuned to the Local Search Forum for all the live action, as it happens!

Below is the live video feed as well as posts and news from the event.
Then any noteworthy news I pick up that pertains to our world will be posted below.

HIT PLAY FOR CURRENT SESSIONS FROM GOOGLE AS THEY HAPPEN!
(Image shows keynote, but "play" streams live!)

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Please feel free to add anything you discover below as well.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Google Maps: Into the Future is the big session coming up today at 12:45 PST where I bet some big new announcements will be made. Probably the new maps update we've been talking about, maybe even the new Places search and/or the local carousel test/update we’ve been discussing will be revealed today. And who knows, maybe lots more. So stay tuned!

Google Maps and the Maps API enjoy huge popularity around the world. The Google Maps API is the most used API on the web. maps.google.com is the most used mapping site. Android and iOS SDKs are branching Maps out into new platforms. In this session, the Product Management Director of Google Maps teams with the Product Manager for the Google Maps API and the lead Developer Advocate to walk you into the future of Google Maps.

 

[Linda Buquet]

They are talking G+ now so I just tuned in to see if anything new is announced.

They just announced free group video. But I missed part of it. It looked cool!

Now they are talking Google as your darkroom for your photos. Your photos + Google's cloud.

"New Hangouts bring your conversation to life with photos, emoji, and video calls."

"Using the power of Google’s cloud, we’re redefining your online Google+ Photos experience with a set of features aimed at improving your photos automatically, based on your camera."

Massive storage, free storage expanded, new image editing tools, etc.

I'm going to try to listen in the background so I don't miss anything.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Head's up!!!

Right now

"The End of Search As We Know It"​

 

[Linda Buquet]

Improving the knowledge graph...

Ask Google re your restaurant reservation, travel plans and other conversation search queries, will be coming to desktop.

Plus "Hot Wording" VOICE SEARCH - even on desktop via chrome.

Ask Google "what time does my flight leave" and Google voice REPLIES BACK.

Or ask Google "show me pics from my New York vacation last year" and she pulls them right up!

Google Now will even except and record voice reminders or send emails via voice!

DETAILS HERE: A multi-screen and conversational search experience

 

[Linda Buquet]

I had time wrong or it changed. NOPE just checked they changed it. It's still listed as 12:45 PST.

FUTURE OF Google MAPS UP NOW!

 

[Optimize Prime]

Whoa!
5 point reviews
Search for businesses in the current view
This is great!

 

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks OP - yes...

New Zagat 5 point ratings change.

Plus new Offers experience integrated into mobile maps.

 

[Optimize Prime]

No more 10 pins!

 

[Laustin1878]

I missed the beginning but the new Google Earth view seems pretty wild! There was a URL to go to to sign up for an invitation. If you caught it, can you share it in this thread?

**Edit** Nevermind, here it is: this page

 

[Linda Buquet]

YEP official word from Jade just posted.

NEW IMPROVED 5 STAR RATINGS
Local businesses get updated rating system

Today, with the launch of the new Google Maps, we announced a change to the way people rate businesses on Google on the Google and Your Business blog.

Users who opt-in to the new Google Maps will rate businesses on a scale that ranges from one to five stars. The system maintains the precision of the former 30 point scale while improving the readability and accessibility of the business listings.

As a business owner, you?ll notice that past ratings have been translated to the five star system. Previously, users rated businesses from ?Poor-Fair? to ?Excellent? on several dimensions; these ratings were converted to numerical scores and expressed on a 30 point scale.

We?re mapping individual ratings to the star system using the following framework:

New Five star system
Poor-Fair 2
Good 3
Very Good 4
Excellent 5

Your business?s overall rating is calculated from both old and new customer reviews as a 1.0 to 5.0 star rating. Old dimension ratings like ?service? and ?decor? will contribute to the overall rating. The new algorithm takes into account statistical uncertainty in the straight average of user scores to make the scores more reliable for places with only a few ratings.

Zagat reviews are still available throughout Google, and you?ll continue to see Zagat throughout Google products with editorial reviews and curated lists awarded to notable places

The changes will appear to some users today and will continue to roll out on Google Maps for Mobile, Google search results and Google+ Local in upcoming months.

 

[Linda Buquet]

I'm getting emails from Google with various announcements and links.
Will post as I sort everything out. BUNCH of stuff is in the works!

 

[Jo Shaer]

Gah, I was going to sit down and eat with that 12.45 announcement so I was in the kitchen and missed it. Relieved that you caught it and are getting the updates Linda

 

[Linda Buquet]

Gah, I was going to sit down and eat with that 12.45 announcement so I was in the kitchen and missed it. Relieved that you caught it and are getting the updates Linda

Sorry I was muti-tasking all over trying to deal with all the updates.

What we just saw about Maps was part of the Keynote which was likely just an overview of all the updates. (Sorry when he said "Now we are going to look at the future of Google Maps" I thought it was the main presentation for maps - didn't realize it was part of keynote.)

Google Maps: Into the Future is a breakout session, still coming up at 12:45 PST. Sorry for confusion!

 

[Jo Shaer]

No criticism meant for you Linda, I'm just a bit miffed with Google at the moment so I was unsurprised that they might have changed something without telling me... again

Now I'm here with my tea

 

[Linda Buquet]

I've tried 10 different things, can't get the live feed for this session.

If you can get to it please post a link.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Got it on YouTube. Looks like didn't start yet here it is.

Hit PLAY then wait for it!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2OgAetgR_ok" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>​

 

[Jo Shaer]

Im watching your first link - works fine for me. I just wish they'd stop talking about games. Am I the only person in the world who doesn't play games on any platform...? I play with an 800lb gorilla all day - this is my computer game!

 

[Linda Buquet]

I was online all over the place checking out tons of stuff so admit I was not glue to that session, mainly listened in the background. But it seemed really maps focused and I didn't hear/see much that related to our world.

Did I miss something? Was there anything we all need to know?

 

[Daniel C Berman]

Anybody else getting the "Your Browser Does Not Currently Support Any of the Video Formats Available" Message when clicking on the latest video embed that Linda posted?