Mike Blumenthal

In June of last year, reports started flowing into Google support groups about hijackings of claimed listings. In December, I communicated to Google a method by which “blackhat” locksmiths were hijacking business records previously claimed via the Local Business Center and which Google had posited as secure. Towards the end of January, Google notified me …

I have written often and critically of Google’s (mis)use of the PlusBox since it was introduced in December 2006: •Google and the PlusBox Blues •Google Plus Box – Where does the (wrong) data come from? •Change Your Address In The Google Plusbox In 5 Simple Steps •An Internet Change of Address Guide Last April 1, …

Google has been doing its darndest to catch Mapquest and become the most visited mapping site…seems that they have been succeeding in that, having caught up and possibly passing Mapquest. If this Google Trends Chart is any indication, it also appears that users are actively looking for Google Maps and that their mind share in …

A number of businesses in the Maps Help forums have reported Placed Closed labels being placed on their business listings. This issue was highlighted recently on SearchEngineLand and SEO Roundtable. It appears that the increase in Place Closed labeling was due to a change on Google’s end and not nefarious community edits. The designation was showing …

Yahoo CEO says she prefers Google Maps to Yahoo Maps – Shane McGlaun, DailyTech.com Bartz is looking at email as one of the anchors for Yahoo’s business and she says that she ordered ads to be stopped on the companies email service in countries with low bandwidth to provide a better user experience. She said …

There have been a number of recent posts in the Google Maps forums from apparently legitimate locksmiths that have raised the issue of illegal locksmith activities to new levels. One locksmith has apparently gone to the extent of hiring a private investigator to track down the locksmith scam artists and posted personal detail about the …

Updated by Joel 03/04/09 9:00 PM EST The question of how to suspend/delete a duplicate listing in the Local Business Center has always been somewhat confusing. Several readers had reported, and I had experienced, the outcome that if not done properly EVERYTHING IS REMOVED from Maps. It leaves one a little gun shy. Here is …

Maryland Ruling Supports Anonymous Postings – Wendy Davis, MediaPost “On the one hand, posters have a First Amendment right to retain their anonymity and not to be subject to frivolous suits for defamation brought solely to unmask their identity,” the court wrote. “On the other, viable causes of actions for defamation should not be barred …

Google has been working hard recently at limiting the ability of bulk uploaders to spam the Maps Index. Their efforts have significantly cut the frequency of reports of large scale abuse. However it appears that the new Yellow Pages are out and more than fingers walked on over to Google. Massive amounts of Remote Call …

Rob Reynolds works for Pop-A-Lock, a large multi location locksmith chain. He coordinates their SEO and SEM activities particularly the Google maps/local business listing efforts and is also a central figure in Pop-A-Locks efforts at combating the scammer/spammer issue. Here is a recent comment that he offered up in reply to my recent posts on …