Nearby Intersections on GOOG-411
Friday, May 29, 2009 | 10:18 AM
It is amazing how much information can be displayed on even the smallest map, yet we sometimes forget that geographic content is not always available visually.
If you're out and about, you can call GOOG-411 and get local information about businesses. Now we've made it even easier to orient yourself without a map in front of you: call GOOG-411, ask for 'details', and in addition to the address and phone number of the business, we'll also point you to the nearest street intersection or adjacent streets.
You can try it now: call 1-800-466-4411, look up 'Google in New York', ask us for more 'details', and we'll tell you that our Chelsea office is 'near the intersection with West 16th Street'. Unless you're a seasoned New Yorker, this might very well save you from walking up or down a few blocks.
The nearby intersections are available for most businesses in the US and Canada. They are derived automatically by an algorithm written on 20% time by Googlers in New York and London. Tell us other ways you would want to use this new feature -- we hope to expand it to other products soon!
Labels: GOOG-411, Mobile Blog
4 comments:
ChadwickHJones said...
"They are derived automatically by an algorithm written on 20% time by Googlers in New York and London." I don't understand what that means. :)
May 29, 2009 at 11:14 AM
aaron said...
Googlers get 20% of their time to pursue projects outside the normal scope of work. Projects that may or may not be useful in the end. I believe Google News and Google Talk are products of the 20% time as well, but I'm not entirely certain about that.
May 29, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Sir.Nathan said...
That post made very little sense. Might need a re-write. I'm confused what the goal of the feature is and what it does and how it does it. I really am not sure what just happened...
May 29, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Movanet said...
Hi, I saved my favorites on my e71 but when I had to change my handset it all dissapear. Is there any way you could store information online -- instead of placing it on the handphone?
June 1, 2009 at 9:26 AM
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