Googland

[G] See more views with the new Google Maps widget
[G] Let Your Hotpot Friends Help You Search on Google Maps
[G] JoshSundquist is January’s “On the Rise” star

[G] See more views with the new Google Maps widget

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 02:29 PM PST

Google LatLong: See more views with the new Google Maps widget

When we launched Google Maps, we had one layer -- the map. Since then, we've added more than ten different ways to explore the world around you, including photos, transit and traffic information, as well as satellite and terrain views. We've now updated the design so that you can more easily see and switch between the various viewing options that are available.

Suppose you're planning to meet your friend for a concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, and you want driving directions to plan your trip from your apartment in San Francisco. When accessing Google Maps, you'll see a new widget in the upper right corner that allows you to easily select from either the Maps, satellite or Earth view. In addition, the single widget icon showcases all the different layers available to you, enabling you to quickly see more detailed information just by mousing over the ones you want.

Since it's nearly rush hour and traffic information would be useful, you select that layer by clicking on it in the widget:

Unfortunately, the traffic layer shows that there are heavy delays along your route. You wonder if taking public transit is a better option, so you turn off the traffic layer by clicking on it again, and turn on the transit layer instead:

Ah, it looks like there's a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station near your apartment and one near the Greek Theatre. Public transit it is! If you also want to find a local spot to grab dinner after the show, you could search for [restaurants] in the same Google Maps window. Your recently viewed searches will appear in the new widget, enabling you to easily see both your destination and search results at the same time. This makes it easy to find a place nearby.

We hope this new all-inclusive widget for accessing map types, layers and recently viewed searches improves your experience exploring and navigating to the places you want to go!

Update (11/20): Sorry for the delay, but the new widget for viewing map types, layers and recent searches will be available soon. We'll update this post again when the widget is live.

Posted by Amanda Leicht, Product Manager

URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/01/see-more-views-with-new-google-maps.html

[G] Let Your Hotpot Friends Help You Search on Google Maps

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 02:29 PM PST

Google LatLong: Let Your Hotpot Friends Help You Search on Google Maps

Most of us know lots of friends, each with very different areas of expertise when it comes to places to recommend. With the recent launch of Hotpot, we made it easy for you to see your friends' ratings and reviews listed right inside search results.

While this is really helpful, and we've had a lot of fun with it, we often found ourselves wanting to see all recommendations by a particular friend for a particular search. Problem solved, thanks to a simple new feature we cooked up.

Say I'm searching on Google Maps for "italian restaurants" in New York. I'd probably trust my buddy Octavian's recommendations over Bernhard's (who is more of a hamburger guy, really). Now all I have to do, to see Octavian's entire list of Italian restaurant recommendations in the city, is click on his name when he pops up in my initial search; this filters my search results to only those he's rated and shows them on the map. It's like I'm seeing the world, through Octavian's eyes.

Getting a hand from a friend is even more helpful when I'm on the go. So now I can do the same thing in Google Maps for mobile on Android; clicking on Octavian's name in my search results filters to show only his recommendations.

Add your friends (at least those with good taste) on Hotpot and encourage them to rate so you can explore their recommendations when you search on Google Maps.

Posted by Daniel Yehuda, Hotpot Engineer

URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/01/let-your-hotpot-friends-help-you-search.html

[G] JoshSundquist is January’s “On the Rise” star

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 06:01 AM PST

YouTube Blog: JoshSundquist is January's "On the Rise" star

Congrats to Josh Sundquist, who edged past Luke Conard in the final hours to win this month's edition of On the Rise, the program where you decide who goes on the homepage based on a shortlist of channels that've experienced fast growth in the last month. Josh is on the homepage today, thanks to your support.

Josh's list of talents seemingly has no end. He's an author, a skier, a rapper, a motivational speaker and, naturally, a skilled videographer:

Here's more from the man himself:

"The growth of my channel is due entirely to the awesomeness of the YouTube community. I especially want to thank iJustine. Even if I wanted to, I could not possibly exaggerate how much she has helped my channel. Also thanks to KsicsFaces for his vids about me, to the VlogBrothers for the stage time at VidCon 2010, to ShaneDawsonTV and Smosh for tweeting my vids, to WillOfDC for promoting my tour, to sxephil, LinzLoves and WHATTHEBUCK for tweeting my book, to Catrific and ItsMeJennaE for putting me in their box, to MissGlamorazzi for her shout-out, to Lisa Harbin for all her behind-the-scenes assistance, and most importantly, to you, my viewers. Without you all watching, talking into a camera would be a very weird hobby. Which is to say, more strange than it already is."

And that's not all. Due to the fun we've had since starting this program, we've created a channel to house regular playlists of even more rising YouTube stars -- because so many more channels deserve a wider audience. These playlists will be featured on the browse page and Tweeted, and will be updated several times a week. Make sure to check back often as your own channel might be featured!

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched "Amputee Rap."