Comments on: Google Maps - User edit abuses happening to Payday loan company?

By: Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search » Google Maps: Will Edit Wars go Politically Postal? | Developing Knowledge about Local Search

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:50:25 +0000

[...] community edit hijackings started in the Payday Loan industries to create location confusion, moved onto theft in the floral [...]

By: Cavan Moon

Cavan Moon — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:56:05 +0000

Exactly, Mike. I’m not suggesting that we do their job for them, but it’s certainly more constructive if we offer solutions, which in many cases seem quite obvious.

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:05:54 +0000

Yes Ahmed that is for sure.

They don’t really need suggestions from us, they do have enough smarts to get their hands around the problem. But the suggestions highlight the lack of even simple procedures that Google should/could/can implement, no?

So in the end it comes back to why haven’t they? and When will they? and if not, then why not? Always hard for me to understand doing it half way.

Mike

By: AhmedF

AhmedF — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:21:19 +0000

Google has more than enough ‘brains’ to figure out dubious behavior.

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:42:02 +0000

I agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly. At times though given Google’s and other’s lack of communication even protecting our clients is hard.

Another low hanging fruit wold be to more aggressively monitor those industries with internet affiliate programs that provide incentives for devious behavior…like the hotels (your example), loans, etc.

I know I have mentioned it before but Ahmed Farooq has a great piece on fighting spam in the local world that offers a reasonable set of guidelines.

Mike

By: Cavan Moon

Cavan Moon — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:34:24 +0000

While all of the search engines are undoubtedly understaffed at their local properties, the question of how to police their systems is one that should have been better addressed prior to making updates to the editing capabilities of users. And for that matter, prior to implementing local listings so prominently in the search results. But since it’s unlikely to change, I think the most productive effort we can make as marketers is to educate and protect our clients and to provide the search engines with sensible solutions.

Mike, I like your suggestion of imposing a limit on the number of edits made to a listing during a certain time frame. I also thought a previous suggestion of yours (enable an email alert every time a claimed listing is changed) was a good one. I would also like to see Google mail a notice to each business whose listing is edited for the first time with a pin number and instructions on claiming their listing.

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:49:19 +0000

Ultimately I suppose yes but even a switch that prevented further editing if more than X number of edits occurred in a certain time would slow it way down and leave only the most abused records for human oversight.

Mike

By: David Mihm

David Mihm — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:37:44 +0000

Potentially a coding shortage, but even if a code could put a “freeze” on listing edits, wouldn’t a human need to review that listing at some point to know who the rightful owner should be?

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:34:58 +0000

Hi David

Yes there does seem to be a staffing shortage. But this seems to me to be a coding shortage, no?

You would think that a technical solution be able to at least put these sorts of things on ice.

Mike

By: David Mihm

David Mihm — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:18:41 +0000

Ah yes, allowing users to manipulate listings in some cases can lead to inmates running the asylum! My guess is that the Local department is just understaffed, at least at the moment, to review all of these kinds of cases?