All of us know Google from their tools which we use every day e.g.
this blog, our school email, online docs, their social portal, their maps,
street view, browser, analytics, mobile operating system, various device and of
course a search engine... I’m sure it’s
not all, there’s much, much more... I would be very happy to hear about what
other Google tools you use?
It’s a bit scary
that potentially they may know everything about us... but you can relax, it’s
not the topic of my presentation for this term! I’d like to write about
something else, a new Google service I discovered lately. It’s a part of Street
View and is called Business Photos. Have you heard of it?
It’s started with Goggle Maps. Thanks to them you could have seen
almost any place in the world from the bird's eye view. You still can, but
their functionality was significantly expanded since then. Later there was
Street View that allowed us to take a walk along a street in a selected city
and country in almost any location in the world... I’m sure you’ve tried it!
Now Google is photographing the businesses placed out of doors – in
those streets. The service is called Google Business Photos...
Google ran a survey during NYC Restaurant Week and
claimed the new service helped increase online reservations rate
in restaurants and hotels at 20% and click through tare at 30%. I have no opinion about the
Google survey but it’s surely useful to see a restaurant or a hotel remotely,
before you even get there and check if you like it.
Example indoors view and arrow allowing to move
forward [3]
But how to photograph so many restaurants, hotels, museums, shops and
much, much more? Sending a car was in this case impossible. So they are cooperating
with local photographers – so called “Google Recommended Photographers”. You
can imagine that they have popped up like mushrooms all over the world.
The photos made by these photographers are visible is
google searches, in the business profile on Google+ and of course in Google
Maps and Street View. Thanks to that you can walk into a company during your
Street View walk... Doesn’t it sound immersive?
Google search result – possibility to see the company interiors
But that is not all it offers – except the
professional photographers – people like us can take such interactive photos
and place them on maps... You need a new Nexus phone dedicated mobile app.
Everyone can be a pro now! :) And the more people use the app and publish their
photos from various interesting places, the more we will be able to see!
Personally I use such tools when choosing the next
holiday location, planning a journey or
dinner with friends. Ability to see what the places really look like is
very important. And the additional possibility to take a walk in almost any
direction is priceless. I found it useful especially when planning visiting new
places – these virtual travels let me make sure I choose a good place. There is
of course a room for disappointment, but in my opinion it’s much smaller, then
in a traditional scenario.
And what do you think about the possibility to see so
many places virtually?
Do you find the aforementioned Google tools useful?
Or do you think Google will soon rule the world?
Do you find the new services, including Business
Photos useful?
Nice, I heard about indoor "street view" from Google, but I didn't know they already doing it outside the USA.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great possibility and , at least in my case, it may affect a lot my decision.
Another thing to like about Google, it's that they always give community a tool and then people do things on their own.
As noticed in the post, you don't need any special gear or a professional photographer to make a indoor view like on examples.
All it takes : just an Android smartphone and 2 mins of time. Small winter example: https://plus.google.com/109855217371422260562/posts/R5NnEfdhHY2
Wow, very nice example! Where was it taken?
DeleteI love panoramic pictures because you can show so much more on them. And with intractive panoramas, you really can show full view of sourounding landscape :) – like on your example.
place called Bormio, Italy. 3000 meters above sea level :)
DeleteThanks! By the way I just noticed you panorama have amazingly good quality... I assume it was taken with a phone. Nowadays technology amazes ma almost every day!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm using google street view very often to check the exact position of bus stops, shops etc, but I wasn't aware that they're going into the shops as well. That's quite interesting, and I wish there were a possibility to update the view more often - just to check the new collection. The thing I really recommend connected with StreetView is Google Art Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVpqTd2ndYY). On this page you can take a tour an visit 46 museums with street view option and even more to see only the collections. And the quality is magnificent! Here is the link for those, who never heard about this site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/project/art-project
The other thing is Google Glass Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG9vfjdcmRw), which could expand the idea of StreetView even more (just as you can see in the video). Even now there are applications on our smartphones that pick up our GPS position and give additional info about the popular places which can be recognized by pointing at them with the camera as augmented reality (http://splatter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/wikitude.jpg). There are games connected with that (get to the point shown in the picture to get some points), but it's slightly different topic... Ale in all - great presentation!
These are great Google projects too. Many thanks for sharing the presentations. I’ve used Google Art Project before, but there were very little Museum available there at the time. I can see now there’s much more and thanks to that it much more interesting. It’s a nice way to “visit” the museum virtually too..
DeleteA curious detail regarding that: from what I know local Google Recommended Photographers are not allowed to take pictures of local museums. Now I know why :)
When it comes to Google Glass I’ve seen a presentation and they are great, but not yet so robust and functional as in the add... It’s an add so it’s obvious. But it’s probably just a matter of time, don’t you think? Have you seen them in action?
Google offers a broad variety of interactive services and I also use a lot of them. The company finds every possible hole in the market and usually fill it in with a great quality product. I haven’t heard about the Google Business Photos add-on though, and it sounds great, because you might check the place you want to go earlier on, but on the other hand, it seems like places around the world and ourselves are being stripped of all of the leftovers of mystery or surprise.
ReplyDeleteYou don’t have to check the places before if you want to have a surprise... :)
DeleteBut sometimes when you plan something carefully it’s helpful! I often meet with my friends and we like to meet each time in a different place – we sit, eat, drink and talk... Once I set up such meeting in a bar where there was no tables to sit at.... Only few bar chairs. It was great for some types of meetings but not for ours... Can you see where I’m going with this? :)
But I know what you meant. As I wrote at the beginning of my article – for me it’s not a lack of surprise but lack of privacy that worries me the most.
DeleteFrankly speaking I do not use Google applications too often. From time to time I use Street View to see cities I am interested in, but each time I feel slightly disappointed with this application. Some time ago I wanted to "go to the streets" of Florence, because it is one of three cities that I wish to visit the most. At the end of my virtual tour I had to admit that I expected something more. In my opinion, such beautiful places should have more than just one photograph dedicated. Though, I suppose that with the growing phenomenon of Street View application, the greater amount of pictures presenting every detail of the city, will appear on the site.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the idea of Street View is brilliant. You do not have to leave home to visit many wonderful places around the world. Not only this is a substitute for long-distance travels, but also helps to plan trip abroad.
When it comes to Google Business Photos ... I think it's cool to be able to see the interior of the restaurant, where, for example, you want to plan a romantic dinner. Thanks to GBP you can choose the one which furnishing, decorations etc. will correspond most with your girlfriend’s/boyfriend's preferences. After all, we all know how important the ambiance of the place where you eat is. Though I wonder how this application will work for places not related with hotel business and gastronomy. I, for example, do not find anything interesting in exploring interior of clothes shops or car salons.
I think that with places like the shops with clothes you mentioned it makes little sense to invest in such photos or virtual tours – unless you’ve got the collection update every now and then and it’s visible on the pictures ;)
DeleteWhat I’m seeing however is lots of interest among the owners of specialistic shops selling e.g. toys, board games, cowboy’s clothes, lego... So places you don’t usually know or visit, but from time to time you would go specially there, because you’re interested in what they selling and the place is rather rare...
You're right. I should be more precise :-) Writing about stores with clothes I had in my mind exclusive boutiques (eg Escada), where a collection consist of no more than a dozen models and is treated as a "work of art". I think that in such a case, it would make sense. And certainly this application makes sense in the case of art galleries and museums. Collections do not change so quickly, and the viewer would have a chance to see not only works of art, but also a lot of cool ideas on interior design.
DeleteGoogle is a fantastic company. I would like to work for this company because this is the company with future.
ReplyDeleteThey a lot of interesting products,.
I use for example: a drive, a search engine,a street view, maps and an email.
With street view we can explore the world during work on the computer.
But most interesting project of Google for me is a self-driving car.
This is the car which does not need a driver and which will move in the street independently.
I hope that this car will be mass-produced in the future.
In that safety in the street will increase.
Could you share a link to the self-driving car project? Sounds very interesting.
Deletehere:
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhE2nuEKsLk
Wow! That's fantastic! I already have plenty of ideas how to use them.. Think that first of all they could replace lorry drivers, taxi drivers, bus drivers... and other jobs like that. They are not tired and don't drink ;) But that's also a great help for people with disabilities, will allow blind people to drive... Can't wait when they are in daily use. I'll probably be old then, but who cares – I'll be able to travel by car even if I'm not fit enough ;)
DeleteI suppose they should not ever replace those... because we are still far away from having such an artifical intelligence which would allow computers to react in not-provided situations. Nevertheless - it is still a great feature for helping to do difficult things like parking on taking over the steer when a real driver falls asleep
DeleteThis is a new idea of google:
Deletehere:
http://wyborcza.pl/1,75400,15288591,Soczewka_kontaktowa_zmierzy_poziom_cukru__Nowy_wynalazek.html
Among the Google tools most common I use the browser. Sometimes I use Google Maps and Street View. They are extremely useful in such a big city like Warsaw - mainly to check the access road or availability of parking spaces. Sometimes I also use Google Docs - if you work in a group and there is no opportunity to meet face to face, this tool is extremely useful too. Possibility to work at the same time, by several people, on the same file facilitates communication and increases efficiency. If someone is looking for research on any topic I recommend the Google Scholar browser (http://scholar.google.pl/ ). Maybe isn’t as extensive as PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed), but it also works quite well.
ReplyDeleteI think that the possibility to see so many places virtually it’s a great idea. We can see them without leaving our chair at home – so comfortable. I'm not saying that it’s better than the actual tour, but it gives the ability to see the world. Personally I don’t use this tool to sightseeing. Maybe once using street view, I went on a journey through New York what have I already wrote in the post „Things you can learn about on the internet. Or simply enjoy them.” (http://konwersatorium3.blogspot.com/2013/11/week-5-things-you-can-learn-about-on.html ) from November – thus a long time ago. I’ve never planned tour in this way - at most, to the place of meeting.
I haven’t heard about Business Photos yet, but it seems to be an interesting solution. For me can be useful especially when choosing a meeting place, for example, if we want a nice setting for an important dinner or business meeting. The interior decor is one thing - but also important are the level of service and quality of food. On these issues, opinions of people who have already visited the place could help. We can find them on portals such as for instance www.gastronauci.pl.
I use Google tools for group-work too. They are almost irreplaceable for me and the team at work... If they are ever replaced it should be with something extra useful and friendly... Have you heard that they allowed external companies to write "Add-ons" to Google Docs? The place with add-ons becomes very similar to Google Play Shop... Lot's of useful apps you can use inside or next to Google Docs Apps...
DeleteI've never heard about that, but it sounds very interesting.
DeleteI must search more information in this topic.
I haven't heard about business photos before, this is really a nice feature. Security in places that have been photographed already, decreases in my eyes. Imagination creates right now some crazy scenarios about gangs or terrorists who knows a plan of a given place, without even trying! It doesn't matter wheather it is a hotel, a restaurant or a club
ReplyDeleteSaying that I'm a bit of hypocrite, I keep all of my important stuff on google drive, so what if some guy in NSA have similar or even better access to that than I do? Well, that is the price of using so good and free services of google.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe Google recommened photographers don't photograph the whole building - they agree with the place owner what to show... And it's almost always only the public space, so anyone can go there and see it with their own eyes...
DeleteBut when it comes to NSA, I'm almost sure they have access to your Google Drive if they want to... So, be aware ;)
Don't forget about our web-cams :)
Deleteyes, remember about them! :)
DeleteI have no idea how it was possible to live without Google. Search engine is one. But Google Maps! It saved my life many times when I wasn't sure where am I or where is the place I'm looking for :) Sometimes Google Maps also has poblem to find the proper localization but at least it shows proper area. And Street View might help. Thanks to Street View I was also able to show few places I have visited to my parents, or dorms I lived in during studies. I had no idea I can check also indoors, I will definitely check this solutions because as you have written - it might reduce the risk of failure during privite or business trips. Thank you for that!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy I could help then! :) Honestly it's not me but Google and their Recommended Photographers, but I know one so I'll thank him from you ;)
DeleteAnd what do you think about the possibility to see so many places virtually?
ReplyDeleteAdvantages and disadvantages. Depends. Knowing is power. Information is everywhere, but sometimes it can be to much. On the other hand think about disabled people. It might be the only way (for them or others) to see the world.
Do you find the aforementioned Google tools useful? Or do you think Google will soon rule the world?
I HOPE they will soon rule the world.
Do you find the new services, including Business Photos useful?
Well, I think You're missing the big picture here. Business pictures is not something new. It's been with us for years now. Pamphlets, adds, commercials, everywhere. Later on we had travel guides etc. The only new thing we might observe here is the idea of using internet (remember that companies do have their websites etc).
Why would you like them (Google) to rule the world? It's common to said that WE are Google products, they monetize us and our attention... I'm aware of the trade I do with them when I use their tools, but I wouldn't want them to rule the whole world without any supervision... People become mean and bad when they are almighty... The history has proven that lots of times. Don't you think?
DeleteTwo weeks ago I went to Zillertal in Austria - before the real travel I'd visited the place with Google street view, what gave me the general idea what I will see there and had printed myself directories how to get there from Google maps, what was really helpful specially I do not have any kind of automated navigation.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless I think that real walk will never replace the virtual one.
As most of you, I use Google Maps/Street to pinpoint the exact location of a store, bus stop or other destination in areas I don't know too well. Business Photos is a new one for me and I could see a great potential in implementing this service to hotels, restaurants, entertainment centres, shopping malls etc. This would surely boost interest in such spots and clients would mostly know what to expect from a place.
ReplyDeleteObviously it is a great feature, I hope it will be soon a lot of these spherical photos @Warsaw ones.. but I am still sure that photos cannot >>ever<< say about any place everything you would know being there by yourself. Of course it is very useful to divide places to two groups, i.e. "I will never go there" and "I should try it" but still.. I am not sure how they pick those "certified photographers", as they started to show up like a mushrooms after a rain. Sometimes (or even - very often!) pictures shows everything in a better way than in reality - it is not always on purpose (hard to use complicated photoshop's tools there) but due to specific recording of cameras - as they will not ever record anything like a human eye.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, seems to be great step into google's glasses - and something like agumented reality... you can imagine you pick on your glassess while walking over the street full of restaurants and look at the logo of every one... then see in you glassess the inside!
Virtual representations of stores and public places is a fancy but very useful way of advertising. The place such as a restaurant can be checked beforehand. And it is not a bunch of photos taken from a strange „artistic” perspective, but almost full 3D environment.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I've been using streetview only for taking virtual trips in interesting places. I've never used it for searching for any specific place.
Heard about it, checked few times, even a friend of my colleague who runs the small restaurant in Warsaw have paid google to do this kind of marketing. Because it's of course linked to the google ads package. Haven't check the spherical photos yet but I will :-). Anyway google maps is a great thing to play with, you can check any place on the earth from the street view and this is just amazing...
ReplyDeletegreat!
ReplyDeleteLet's create a single email on google mail. Let's join your e-mail with android. Let's add your photos. should publish everything we do on google+. Let us learn from google chrome.
I wonder how many people appreciate privacy. How many people wondered what happens to data photographs, etc. All these data entrusted to one corporation - is not it too much?
After reading a number of Mac computer:
know how to spend time with who you meatting what we do where we work, where we live, etc. ..
I think a lot of
and in addition we add photos to google map?
Perfect!
thanks but I would use a different browser and other email.
I think this is one of the greatest advantages of technology, it's so amazing that you can see in detail almost every part of the earth. I used to 'travel' to USA every day for a moth before I actually arrived there.
ReplyDeleteI think Google tools mentioned above are extremely useful not only for advertisement purposes but also for people with passion for photography. They have opportunity to get commercially involved.