Hmmm, wonder why Google’s brand in my brain is going up and not down?
You have to look no further than the new “AskCity” which is all the rage this morning over on TechMeme.
First, a little aside. Why can Google do maps with one input box while Microsoft, Yahoo, and Ask need two? That’s lame. Major kudos to Google. It simply is easier to use. And, yes, this is a major reason why I use Google instead of the others. Why? Cause I’ve done hundreds of map searches and invariably I put the wrong thing in the wrong box. Hey, I’m a “stupid Americun.” But Google makes me feel smart ALWAYS.
But, then, I ask Live.com, Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and AskCity to find me Amsterdam on a map. Just type “Amsterdam” into any of these and see what it does.
Google, Yahoo, and Live do just fine, but AskCity takes me someplace in the United States. Lame. Strike two.
The bar has gotten higher for local services. If you aren’t international you won’t beat Google. Even for a “stupid Americun.”
Oh, and Google was faster than the rest of them too.
Scobleizer 
i tried putting in my city of “waterloo, on”
ask city takes me to “Weatherlea, Onancock, VA .”
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i tried putting in my city of “waterloo, on”
ask city takes me to “Weatherlea, Onancock, VA .”
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Yes! Hopefully when you get to back to the US you can drill this message home to more people – the world is a big place.
Oh, I also hate it when the United States of America comes first in some alphabetical lists of countries….
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Yes! Hopefully when you get to back to the US you can drill this message home to more people – the world is a big place.
Oh, I also hate it when the United States of America comes first in some alphabetical lists of countries….
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Typing in Toronto (a pretty major city, I like to think) gets you some listings in Toronto, Kansas.
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Typing in Toronto (a pretty major city, I like to think) gets you some listings in Toronto, Kansas.
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It doesn’t do much better with “London”. Even “England” takes you to what looks like a little town called England, Ohio.
Sheesh, couldn’t you guys think of some original names for your towns? 😉
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It doesn’t do much better with “London”. Even “England” takes you to what looks like a little town called England, Ohio.
Sheesh, couldn’t you guys think of some original names for your towns? 😉
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Aren’t companies paying for placement on these services?
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Aren’t companies paying for placement on these services?
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robert
Welcome to the world that doesn’t count. If you are not in the 5 countries that Google Maps provide a geocoder for then you basically dont exist. Mashups? forgetaboutit…
I wrote at length about it: http://forsalebylocals.wordpress.com/2006/10/09/online-real-estate-geolocation/
Tony
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robert
Welcome to the world that doesn’t count. If you are not in the 5 countries that Google Maps provide a geocoder for then you basically dont exist. Mashups? forgetaboutit…
I wrote at length about it: http://forsalebylocals.wordpress.com/2006/10/09/online-real-estate-geolocation/
Tony
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Google uses two boxes when you click on business listings. One box or two, AskCity at leasts returns restaurants when I search for “restaurants” in “san francico” or “dc”. Google gives me 6 hotels in the top 10 results and 4 out of the top four. Maybe AskCity is US only, but at least it can tell the difference between a restaurant and a hotel.
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Google uses two boxes when you click on business listings. One box or two, AskCity at leasts returns restaurants when I search for “restaurants” in “san francico” or “dc”. Google gives me 6 hotels in the top 10 results and 4 out of the top four. Maybe AskCity is US only, but at least it can tell the difference between a restaurant and a hotel.
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Forget Google Maps or a laptop all together, I use my Nokia N93 with Yahoo Search (S60 software), which has local search (yellow/white pages), combined with map. All in an instant & suweet.
Above else, have a great time, Robert! Too bad we can’t join.
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Forget Google Maps or a laptop all together, I use my Nokia N93 with Yahoo Search (S60 software), which has local search (yellow/white pages), combined with map. All in an instant & suweet.
Above else, have a great time, Robert! Too bad we can’t join.
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Worked nicely on the two searches I did for places here in Hawaii. Sorry, rest of the world.
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Worked nicely on the two searches I did for places here in Hawaii. Sorry, rest of the world.
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Robert,
According to Om’s interview it is only for US cities right now.
http://gigaom.com/2006/12/03/askcity/
– Sean
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Robert,
According to Om’s interview it is only for US cities right now.
http://gigaom.com/2006/12/03/askcity/
– Sean
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Sean: and that’s lame when you’re trying to get people to switch off of services that already do more than just the US.
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Sean: and that’s lame when you’re trying to get people to switch off of services that already do more than just the US.
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You’ve been to Cork a lot recently… ever noticed that not one of these sites can search on a street address in Ireland?
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You’ve been to Cork a lot recently… ever noticed that not one of these sites can search on a street address in Ireland?
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Robert, I don’t disagree. However, the PM states that international is coming in 2007. I have no problem with them launching the product and then quickly adding international support. In fact, launching early & adding features (like Intl) actually seems like a better approach.
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Robert, I don’t disagree. However, the PM states that international is coming in 2007. I have no problem with them launching the product and then quickly adding international support. In fact, launching early & adding features (like Intl) actually seems like a better approach.
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Hey Robert, I’m not sure if it’s fair to say that Yahoo requires two boxes for map search. Single input for an address on either Google or Yahoo. The difference comes in doing direction mapping. In that case, the second box is for your next destination when getting directions(which leads to a third box, should you be mapping a multi-point route).
Now, I’m sure we could debate if the onebox approach is most appropriate for directions. I would say you’d have a tough time arguing that it’s hands down the best way to go about that use case, though.
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Hey Robert, I’m not sure if it’s fair to say that Yahoo requires two boxes for map search. Single input for an address on either Google or Yahoo. The difference comes in doing direction mapping. In that case, the second box is for your next destination when getting directions(which leads to a third box, should you be mapping a multi-point route).
Now, I’m sure we could debate if the onebox approach is most appropriate for directions. I would say you’d have a tough time arguing that it’s hands down the best way to go about that use case, though.
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I was surprised they didn’t integrate permalinks as well. I tried http://city.ask.com/indianapolis and http://city.ask.com/city/indianapolis and there’s a page not found on either.
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I was surprised they didn’t integrate permalinks as well. I tried http://city.ask.com/indianapolis and http://city.ask.com/city/indianapolis and there’s a page not found on either.
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i seem to remember google maps being terrible concerning the rotw when it first appeared, give them a chance to sort it out internationally and I’m sure it’ll be a different stroke for diff….
i expect all the map making companies are pleased another search engine is giving away its business for free
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i seem to remember google maps being terrible concerning the rotw when it first appeared, give them a chance to sort it out internationally and I’m sure it’ll be a different stroke for diff….
i expect all the map making companies are pleased another search engine is giving away its business for free
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When I search for burgers in ny on AskCity, I actually get real local burger places, not 10 results for Burger King like Google brings up. I understand Burger King serves burgers, but I(and most people as well) don’t need web to tell me that, neither do I need reviews for Burger King. At least AskCity is smart enough to understand that.
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When I search for burgers in ny on AskCity, I actually get real local burger places, not 10 results for Burger King like Google brings up. I understand Burger King serves burgers, but I(and most people as well) don’t need web to tell me that, neither do I need reviews for Burger King. At least AskCity is smart enough to understand that.
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