Last week Google started upgrading the Places dashboards in Australia. Last night (which was this morning in Australia) Google started sending out a notice to Australian Places Dashboard claimants. Several folks reported it in the forums (ht to Nyagoslav) with headlines like “Scam or not?”.

Hello,

Due to changes in Google Maps, we’d like to inform you that unless you review and confirm the information in your Google Places account, we will no longer be able to keep and show it to Google users after February 21, 2014.

As a result, on this date your listing “Pet Friends” may be deleted.

If you wish to keep your listing active, follow these three easy steps:

1. Log in to your Google Places account
2. Review and update your information
3. Click the “Submit” button

Sincerely,
The Google Places Team

1- Google has confirmed that the email is legitimate
2- If you have received one of these you should do as the email instructs

Exactly why Google is sending this out, they are not saying. Whether it is an effort to clean up listings after the upgrade or has something to do with local licensing issues, no one really knows. It appears that the email is unique to Australia at this point.

When Google farts it is a sound heard around the world. This email is no exception. They were reported last night in the forums and folks were concerned that they were either a scam or that they were in trouble. One poster noted that “I have logged in but there is nothing there indicating anything that needs updating”. Google in there inimitable fashion did not alert users that the emails were coming, did not say that they were sent and has not explained the purpose of the email. And when a user gets to the Dashboard there is no explanation or alert that they need to do a “null edit”. No wonder they are confused.

Google has started to understand that customer service means taking care of problems. A huge leap for the company as it starts to grow up.

Now they need to learn that, like The Fed, what it means to communicate better. If they don’t every word will be parsed ad nauseum and folks will lose sleep. And farts expelled in an echo chamber will end up sounding like thunder.