{"id":1394,"date":"2008-11-04T06:30:45","date_gmt":"2008-11-04T10:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/?p=1394"},"modified":"2008-11-04T07:47:06","modified_gmt":"2008-11-04T11:47:06","slug":"google-maps-dont-get-pregnant-in-wellsville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/04\/google-maps-dont-get-pregnant-in-wellsville\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Maps: Don’t get pregnant in Wellsville"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes Google Maps just gets it wrong<\/a>. It is a large and complex system where a single switched byte makes all the difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For whatever reason if you do a search on Pregnancy Testing Wellsville<\/a>\u00a0, it wants to send you off to Amsterdam NY<\/a> for your appointment, 265 miles away. While Wellsvile is rural, it is in western NY near Corning and not anywhere near Herkimer, Saratoga Springs or Cobbleskill. This quirk shows up on any search using the locale Wellsville whether you search on\u00a0Tuxedos in Wellsville<\/a> or Flowers<\/a>. It could make for one very expensive prom date. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Pregnancy<\/p>\n

A search on the similar term,\u00a0Pregnancy Testing Wellsville NY<\/a>\u00a0returns accurate results. What is odd is that the results screen above indicates that the listings are for Wellsville NY but none are.<\/p>\n

In the end, I don’t suppose that Google has it in for pregnant teens any more than they hate Advertising Agencies<\/a>. I do though, think that as Google Maps gets more tightly integrated into the fabric of our daily lives, it is necessary for Google to fix these sorts of quirks quickly. Unfortunately, someday an unsuspecting user, in a life threatening situation, will be searching for an emergency room<\/a> or hospital<\/a> and be sent in the wrong direction and to a disastrous outcome.<\/p>\n

PS – In an unplanned, related development (as they say), Miriam Ellis reports on her disastrous medical searching experience<\/a> using Google Maps while seriously ill…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes Google Maps just gets it wrong. It is a large and complex system where a single switched byte makes all the difference.\u00a0 For whatever reason if you do a search on Pregnancy Testing Wellsville\u00a0, it wants to send you off to Amsterdam NY for your appointment, 265 miles away. While Wellsvile is rural, it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-google-maps-google-local"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t