Mike Blumenthal

There are faux pas and there are FAUX PAS. Google Maps by virtue of its global scope and the occasional tin ear of its algo has managed to periodically insert itself into the culture wars of 21st Century. Google Maps has been accused of Chinese bias by the Indians and Indian bias by the Chinese …

Last night, reports started circulating (see TechCrunch who broke the story as well as Greg Sterling at SEL & Scoble for analysis) that Google was in late stage conversations to acquire Yelp for $500 million. It is deal that, whether it occurs or not, will have huge impact on the makeup of the local landscape. …

Since October and Google’s inclusion of the “report an error” link, I have been obsessively reporting errors in the general area of where I work. As I noted yesterday, Google has acknowledged and begun to repair these. None the less, a few errors remain in Google’s geo data and the business listings so I decided …

My test* of Google’s ability to correct and update geospatial data is in. They passed, but just barely. While a passing grade may suffice in French class, I am not sure that it is sufficient in this case. Google’s long term business plans are predicated on the ability to deliver local ads to mobile users. …

Google’s Data Rich Dashboard has always provided tantalizing glimpses of how your business listing is performing at Google. Details enough to get a sense that it is either working or not but not enough to really plan an effective marketing campaign. The biggest complaint has been the lack of detail about searches in the “other” …

Update 5:00 pm: The Google Lat Long Blog has officially announced the rollout of their improved sentiment reporting. They also noted that they have “improved [their] ability to find reviews of places, searching more quality sources of information from across the web”. I have heard reports recently of dramatic jumps in some Place’s review counts. …

Update: Google called Barry.  Even though it is in their recommended QR scanners list, they told him “not to use the BeeTagg scanner and try QuickMark for iPhone or Barcode Scanner for Android.  Both worked correctly”. My question: What good is a bar coding system that is only accurate 2 out of 3 times? Barry …

Apparently Kendra Drinkwater, a Napier, New Zealand florist, has been charged with “using the Google search engine to dishonestly, and without claim of right, cause loss to seven Hawke’s Bay florists” and could face penalties of up to 7 years in jail. She is accused of logging into Google Maps under multiple sign ins and …

Earlpearl, a frequent contributor here and elsewhere, recently wrote up this detailed opinion about Google’s use of reviews as a comment on the Plastic Surgery Co. Settles with NYS over False Reviews piece that I wrote this past July. I thought it too full of interesting tidbits to leave buried in the back library. Even …

One of my clients, Barbara Oliver & Co. Jewelry in Buffalo for whom I do some internet marketing, received a Favorite Places poster and a congratulations letter today. Her initial reaction was muted and somewhat suspicious but once I explained that she was one of only 100,000 in the US and one of probably only …