If The Map Is Wrong, You Have Nobody To Blame But Yourself
from the cartography-2.0 dept
Online mapping services have proven to be very popular, and the technology that can produce accurate driving directions on the fly is definitely impressive. But there are still gaps in the technology, and if you every ge badly burned by inaccurate directions, it can really shake your confidence in a given service. And though the technology will improve, it will still make mistakes. Now Tele Atlas, one of the largest providers of map data, is asking users to help it identify mistakes. So if it tells you to go left at the junction, and you should've gone right, you can let it know. This is a good start, but who's going to remember to go back to the site and let the company know about a mistake after the drive is over? The real breakthrough will occur when reporting an error can be done easily, perhaps through an on-board navigation device. No solution will ever be completely perfect, but blending technology and human awareness should, over time, make these services much better.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
It's nice...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Even so...
It's a good idea to still have a Thomas Guide. I used one of those devices, it never made a mistake but newly built areas or areas under construction may be imperfect.
If there are any doubts, I'd check the Thomas Guide as a contingency.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Even so...
If all else fails, bring your cell phone and the phone number of where you are trying to get to...any pray that the person on the other end knows how to give directions!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It has so far happened to me three time, all separate and spread out, and every time it happens I'm so pissed I'd happily go back and let others know about the issue.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
...
"but who's going to remember to go back to the site and let the company know about a mistake after the drive is over?"
As things become more and more leaning toward the "open source" ideology, many things will be amended efficiently. IMHO, I think this will be a very productive path for this company.
There will be some that go back, and those few shall help the company have an achievable goal.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ever watch some WiKi Enteries ?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
A similar situation to what already happened when you got the bad instructions in the first place... The goal of these people is to allow for community contributed data, which is typically self-policing (but not always). I would imagine though, that they aren't letting boatloads of random visitors actually _change_ direction entries, only provide helpful details or point out glitches in the directions through comments.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Back
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
another person turning in my driveway...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: another person turning in my driveway...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
3rd sentance typo
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yeah...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
GIS data
When GIS (geographic information systems) were first starting to get implimented back in the 90's the focus was on making money from selling maps and data. Since about 2000 the focus has changed from trying to turn a profit with these system to the power of sharing information. Local governments in general do have very accurate information (at least compared to Navteq and TeleAtlas) and they are all eventually going to come around and start sharing at least their road data more freely (many already do). When this happens the maps you find online will definitely get mroe accurate.
Personally I've been contacted at my county several times for street data, but we have policies againts them sharing the data and what we charge for the data is quite prohibitive as well. So needless to say, good luck with navigating in my county.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Automatic would be cool
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bad maps, what to do?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Bad maps, what to do?
If TeleAtlas is planning to more quickly implement user feedback, then kudos!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
who's going to go back and notify???
I already do, but it requires going online and submitting a few lines about it, and if it happens on a route I travel infrequently, then its easier to forget where and when the error occurred. If I could report it from the device, that would be great! I would think that Techdirt might have been in good position to realize that avid users actually like to make helpful contributions. Present post excluded.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
use satellite-road map hybrid
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Make it easier to report...
It doesn't need to be perfect, just a basic hint of what's wrong so they can go get the more recent data and fix it. Their techs will be doing the gruntwork of integrating updated maps into their database, all the users need to do is tell them where attention is needed. The easier they make this process, the better it is for everyone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mapquest problems
I let them know about the problem and they said they couldn't do anything to help. At all.
However, if I was interested in contacting the three services they use to get information than I might be able to get something changed.
I contacted all 3 and they all said, "It must be the other guy, we have you in the right place."
So, after a year of constant e-mails, I finally got one of the companies to take a look... and they realized they were wrong.
6 months later Mapquest finally updated Farwell started searches from the about 10 miles down the road. 6 months after that they found the right spot.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fixing small errors is nice, but there's a bigger
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I reported an error to MS about MapPoint
Had I turned right and gone the number of feet I was told to go, I would have ended up in the Atlantic ocean, and yes, I could have made the turn onto the beach and into the ocean, there wasn't anything preventing anybody from doing that. It was surreal.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That would be the best solution - GPS tells you whhen you've gone offf the 'intended' route anyway, so log (and send details) when you do, and if you get there quicker use it adjust the route - no need to make an effort to report it, and it would get infromation from every journey.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It is possible
GPS may not work that well, as you cannot report an error while you are being lost - the reason simply is that you won't be lost if you know that the directions are wrong. So, this is certainly a feedback kind of system. Also, it would be nice if they flag the error and tell that to other users when they search for "similar" directions warning them to watch out. They eventually should fix their data. It would also be great if they can integrate the user's comments with the directions that might be useful to other users. The comments such as "there is a lot of traffic on this freeway due to construction...." or "they have speed traps at this location, watch out or you will get a ticket" etc..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Google Maps
I went to Osceola County web site (http://www.osceola.org/index.cfm?lsFuses=Department/AboutOsceola/7022) and looked to the same area and I found an intersection called Reedy Creek Blvd at Sherberth Rd. (Tele Atlas)
My question is: Why the maps.google does not have this existing Reedy Creek Blvd? I know the Google maps and Google earth maps have some delay but this inconsistency make wonder How can I know when the Satellite photos were taken or the year of the maps drawings? Please, give some guidance on this issue. Thanks. Jose
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Incorrect directions
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
So far Mapquest has not helped the situation.
We have put up some signs in English and Spanish. We have talked to the developers in the new development that is being constructed. We feel that Maptech has not had the chance to give it to Mapquest to update its maps, but it sure is causing us a lot of trouble, and the drivers also more trouble as they can't turn around and have to back up four tenths of a mile to the main road before they can go north another four hundred feet to turn into Grenata Preserve Place and their destination.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]