Google maps combined with Google’s business center has long been a great source for brick and mortar places to get “on the map”. Google has reinvented this wheel with Google Places.
Google has extended it’s features for business owners that have a physical location. With Google Places owners can put their place on Google Maps and track stats of people who find them on the map. I would assume this also extends to people who tap on “pins” on location aware phones or browsers like Firefox 3.
Businesses get a unique incite into who they are serving with out being illegally or immorally nosy, and Google gets even more data to crunch to supply to its users. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Google search results math factors in your whats popular in your location when suggesting a place to get pizza, instead of just whats around you.
I’ve included the puff video that is on their landing page, its interesting even if your not a business owner. If you are a business owner you can visit Google Places at: google.com/places
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