Which is why I really really love Google Maps and use it every day. I was recently in Vegas and didn’t have data for my phone or the ability to find locations in Google Maps on my phone and I kinda felt lost without it.  That and Vegas is just damn confusing.

Google has really done an amazing of job of organizing the world’s content so people can find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

But herein lies my main issue with Google Maps: It is now relied on heavily by the general public and regarded as correct 99% of the time – any incorrect information is forwarded to the map subject as it’s seen as their fault.

BUT IT’S NOT THE FAULT OF THE BUSINESS 99% OF THE TIME!

If you’ve read my previous blog post about this you’d know about how Google Maps lost the Town of Sechelt. Without the help of Rebecca Bollwitt (Mrs. 604) we’d still be off the map.

And yes, they corrected the problem after it was blogged and tweeted about extensively. But before going public it was reported by hundreds of people on the Sunshine Coast via Google’s internal ‘report a problem’ mechanism and for years nothing was done.

Get your business listed

Get your business listed!

Google is proactive about getting your business listed with their mapping service and extols the advantages in terms of search engine results and traffic to your website.

But my last three experiences with Google Places and their ’report a problem’ mechanism have meant hours of work and painful communication and left me wanting to run for the hills. I am not a GIS professional, nor am I a Cartographer. To quote that Dyson guy…”I just think things should work properly.”

Why we can’t verify

Google Places wants you to list your business and it uses a number of helpers to find your location properly. But it restricts you to your postal code. This is a huge issue in rural, non-delivery areas where Canada Post assigns post office boxes.

This became a problem for many businesses located at a physical address completely different from the assigned postal code.

It looked like we had one massive organization – Google – not communicating well with another – Canada Post.

When I needed to get a Google Places listing for Ridge Meadows Recycling we couldn’t use the postal code as a business locator. So I had to report the problem and then explain how the post office works in rural Canada. All of this took two or three emails once they acknowledged the problem. And then we had to get an employee with a company email address to reply to Google saying that yes this was the actual business location, etc. etc. etc.

Once we did all of this the business was actually listed properly and users could find the correct location of the recycling depot.

But it took a month and 4 hours of emailing, forum posting, issue reporting and checking for accuracy.

While the client was happy and people were now able to type in Ridge Meadows Recycling and find the correct location of the depot, the entire process felt like I was trying to give birth to an elephant.

Our business listings have been merged

My web design business is still a small operation with myself as the only employee,  along with a couple of contractors. It is growing, but for the time being I use the offices of The Network Hub in downtown Vancouver, along with a number of other similar businesses located in the same building.

On a Sunday morning in March I got a call from Britta Curkovic at aromawebdesign.com who also uses the services and office space of The Network Hub. She said our business listings were merged. These are two independent businesses, with different phone numbers, website addresses, and services offered, yet for weeks our listings were merged. I had an owner-verified listing and I was told by Google that my listing was going to change and I should check this for errors. All of this while we were frantically emailing Google Help trying to get things back to normal. Eventually the listings were split again and we were finally able to be located as independent from one another.

The total time it took to undo the mess was 14 business days and 6 full hours of un-billable time, emailing back and forth with Google and the other business owner, posting to the Google Places forums, and checking for quality assurance.

The problem was corrected but it had to be explained carefully to Google and we had to exhaust all other options before they would even look at the problem.

You are already trying to verify your business

My third issue, and the one that is currently causing a client a lot of pain, is the business listing for Uprising Breads Bakery. After 30 years, Uprising decided to open a new location. To coincide with this they updated their website with a new look and listed the location of the new café. Back in October 2011 I had sent in for verification on the new location. As the weeks and then months went by I sent and resent requests to Google staff to keep a lookout for this.

Finally, after reading about a page Google had recently set up to report problems, I was told by a human at Google Places Help that since there was already one listing that wasn’t verified the new listing was seen as duplication.

The representative was kind enough to verify the listing on the spot and Uprising Breads was very happy to have their two listings.

From start to finish it took 3 months to get the listing verified and at least 10 hours of work from everyone involved.

But wait, there’s more!

Uprising Breads Location Merge Issues

Six months later Google saw that both listings had the same website address and the same phone number; they surmised that it must be the same listing and combined them. So now (as of May 10th, 2012) Uprising Breads Bakery has photos of one location and the address of the other.

Well, you say, you must be old hat at this by now and know how to fix it.

In the Google Places forums (logged into via Uprising Breads Account) I am told by a top contributor:

This may be due to sharing a common phone number and name.

Seriously? This is why?

What about McDonald’s? What about Domino’s Pizza? What about Starbucks? Places that have dozens of locations in a given city that all have the same name and the same website, similar phone numbers but many different locations.

My best advice remains to give each listing its own phone number, thus reducing the likelihood of future mergers.

His best suggestion is to get a new phone  number? Automated phone systems are commonplace…they save businesses thousands of dollars in employee time and cost. I know that this is the opinion of a top contributor and not an actual Google employee, but my God this is odd. To get a proper website listing you need a new phone number?

Google also doesn’t have a field in Google Places for phone extensions; if we tried to put the extension in the phone field this would error out making his best advice completely useless and actually doing more harm then good.

Sigh…

I could cite even more examples of how I reported a business that closed yet had its Google Places listing for years after, even when Google Street View had replaced its imagery of the location. But, because it was an owner-verified business, it stayed there for three years after the business closed down.

People over those three years came looking for the business that wasn’t there anymore…they trusted that Google was 99% right. Why is the business listing still available (even though it does mention it is closed) after it has been closed for so many years? What purpose does a three year old listing serve the user?

To Google’s credit

To their credit, Google has tried to improve this and made the user edit more viable through Google Map Maker tools. But, after making hundreds of edits to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver, one day a number of them were deleted – not denied but completely vanished – and I felt all my time and effort volunteering to make Google Maps better in my neighborhood was lost – I haven’t returned since. Also, a lot of the edits that were made and approved by the community of editors were never made live on Google Maps, but  only showed up in the Google Map Maker ecosystem.

So, as an owner of a small business and as a contractor to dozens of medium businesses, most of my interactions with Google Maps / Places has been less than stellar.

Changes would I make to Google Places if I could

Easier verification for rural Canada

Run a seasonal kayaking company and changed your location after 20 years? You should be able to easily verify your business listing so that doesn’t require it to be in the same postal code as your business address.

(I understand the restrictions put in place for verified business listings to be associated with a postal code, but as I explained earlier, areas of Canada that do not have street delivery service must use a post office box that might not be in the same postal code.)

Easier reporting of issues

With Uprising Breads there was no easy way to report the issue we were coming up against. Even the top contributor suggested that our issue was an odd one.

And if your problem is “odd” there isn’t a response sequence that describes it.  So long as you get to a form where you can fill in some blanks and hit a Submit button, you will hear back from Google.  It’ll be a week or a little longer, but you will get an email from a person on the Places team. If that person’s answer doesn’t seem to fit your problem, you can email back and further explain what is happening. They will eventually understand that you have two listings merging and start the process to un-merge them. Unfortunately, that process takes 4-6 weeks.

Paid support

As a designer running a web design firm I have encountered these problems numerous times and yet each time is as laborious as the first, even though I know exactly what the problem is and what needs to get done.

I would pay a yearly or monthly fee to have some dedicated support – somewhere or someone I could contact who would be able to help resolve problems for me and my clients quickly and efficiently.

Right now the current system in Google Places costs me time and money it completely confuses clients. The results can change at a moment’s notice, without warning about problems that might arise.

Final thoughts

I do know one thing…the problem isn’t going to go away. It will only get bigger and more complex as more businesses, rural and urban, want to be listed with Google Maps.  Users will notice errors and business owners are held hostage by whatever information Google decides to allow into its ecosystem.

PS. For any commenters out their who suggest that I should report these issues using the tools provided… I can only say… I do, I have and I will…

I went to Mike Mander, the head of the digital department of Beau Photo in Vancouver, and spoke to him about my need for something with more going for it than my phone camera.

The new Fujifix X10

Mike told me about the Fuji X10, which he described as “The baby brother to the Fuji X100,” but with much better macro capabilities and the capacity to use the raw format. (Mike hasn’t lead me astray with any of his advice or suggestions in the past and it’s one of the reasons why my first stop is usually Beau Photo.) He piqued my interest and I asked if I could see one. Then he said it wasn’t going to be released for two months …

I put in a pre-order and waited, but not for long. In just shy of two weeks Mike called, saying my camera had arrived and it was one of only two in stock. I decided to take the X10 out for a test drive at the local Remembrance Day ceremonies in Sechelt.

The cenotaph and wreaths before the ceremony

My first impression was that it’s a small but solid body with a visual viewfinder that’s actually large enough to be usable, along with a shutter release and zoom dial that are in easy reach when the camera is brought up to your eye.

I find the twist on and off feature of the camera ingenious and problematic. I love it when I am using the camera but if I want to turn the camera on I can’t do that without exposing the lens. I just have to hold down the playback button for a few seconds. (and thanks to steve for the clarification in the comments.)

One thing that amazed me about the X10 was its frames per second capacity for a camera in its price range. I set it to capture both jpg and raw formats at medium speed, which the manual states to be about 3 fps and it wasn’t far off. My beloved FM2 with the motor drive was only 2.5 fps and my F90X topped out at 3.5 fps. The technology has certainly come a long way over last couple years.

The light and wind made for a beautiful ceremony

Once the Eye-Fi card was set up, I found the transfer process puzzling. It treats the raw and jpeg image types as different entities and wants to put them in different folders.

I ended up returning the Eye Fi card and just got a regular SD Card as it didn’t really work for me and it drained my battery quite quickly. I know Eye Fi works for other photographer I have talked with, but it just didn’t work for me.

A camera with very few minuses. But here are a few…

The NP-50 battery will last for an hour or two of shooting, but having a second battery on hand is certainly recommended.

The LH-X10 Lens hood does mount quite easily and accepts a standard 52mm filter. But once the lens hood is attached it does block the visual viewfinder a bit. Not a big miss, but worth a mention.

I also ended up returning the shoe mounted flash EF-42 and it was just far to large for the camera. I would say it is more like holding a feather and then putting a gorilla on top of. I felt it was completely unwieldy. I did some weight testing and the camera only weight 20mg more then the flash. I know a large flash can disrupt the balance of camera, but making a flash that weights almost as much camera is not well thought in my honest opinion by the folks at fuji.

I look forward to when Adobe and/or Apple add the X10 to their list of raw converters and to learning how to use the dynamic capture feature to its fullest potential. All in all, it feels great to have a new camera and I’m very pleased with the picture quality I’ve seen so far. I love the feeling of a real camera in my hands and I love the feeling of a shutter release with a hole in the middle. It is something that a phone just can’t deliver… the feel of a real camera in your hand.

PS: All the images displayed were captured on jpg and adjusted with Photoshop CS4.

John Biehler's Thing-o-Matic TK-421 and a collection of objects he has made since he ordered the machine.

I was able to visit John Biehler and his  Thing-O-Matic by Maker Bot on Friday and I was pretty awestruck but the entire technology.

When I first saw John on Canada Day he only had a few samples with him from  his two weeks with the machine.

He is certainly the first and only person I know who owns on and, john correct me if I am wrong, but you ordered your bot he got his shortly after I saw it featured on the Colbert Report.

When I visited his home and saw the apply named TK-421 Thing-O-Matic he had a huge assortment of stuff he has tried and showed me a few amazing samples of what the technology is capable of.

John is also making a second more advanced 3D printer called a Prusa Mendel and most of the pieces are made from his original Thing-O-Matic.

This tech is not for the faint of heart as you have to assemble it yourself and John spent some considerable time learning how too maintain and operate the machine properly but if you have some computer tech hardware knowledge along with about $1200 cdn you can start 3D printing too…

The loaded question I had for John was could he print me something I was looking for?

I was looking for a cable holder for my office at home. I hadn’t needed one until recently, but a quick catalog check and I didn’t want to pay $10 for a piece of plastic I knew only cost at most a buck to produce.

With in seconds john had found a design on thingiverse, a vast catalog of designs that you can print. You can find everything from busts of Yoda and Steven Colbert to that cable holder you always wanted…

The change I joking left on the table for the actual cost of the cable clips.

The software even tells John what it will cost him to produce the product.

“That be a total of 37 cents Robert, will that be Visa, Mastercard or Amex?”

Search in my pockets for some change I found 40 cents and left it on the table. We both had a chuckle over that… 20 minutes later I had the piece in my fingers.

John also has complete control over the density of the product and the speed it would be printed.

In closing 3-D printing is quite the technology and I Look forward to this technology advancing in the coming years. We’re along way away from having a Star Trek Replicator in our homes, but for the first time I seen something that can make a product upon request with in minutes…

The Cable Catcher s3 in both Green and Orange

Close up photo of cable holder Photo by John Biehler using his new iPhone 4s

Thank you… We have verified your cold call hard sell tactics and will never be using your services… Have a nice day

On Sunday October 9th my service provider site5. Was dealing with a Denial of service attack (DoS) attack on their Vancouver hosting location. As always they were on top of it.  So I tweeted that my website would be down and so would the website of the home based business I run 32spokes web design. Being that it was the Canadian Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend, it just gave me more of an excuse to watch the Winnipeg Jets in their first NHL game in 15 years. I wasn’t really doing any work, I was just fiddling around with something.

Once we were back up I tweeted that it was a DoS and we were back up and running. Hey great job site5! I like the hosting plan I have and it works for what I need at the moment. No more no less.

Monday rolled around and I got a phone call in the morning from California of which I didn’t answer (it is a holiday after all). In the afternoon they called again. The number was the same. I answered it just to keep the phone from ringing all bloody day.

Versign: Hi it’s Salesman from Verisign I see you had some problems with your website over the weekend can we talk about how we can help?

Me: Nope I am very happy with my hosting provider and don’t need any other services at the moment. You do know it is a holiday in Canada?

Versign: Oh I am sorry about that. Can I set up a call to talk later?

Me: Nope

Versign: Can I just give you my contact information.

Me: I know who you are your a big company, I’ll call you if I need anything. (patients wearing thin)

Versign: Just let me give you my contact information and maybe…

Me: Your really not getting this… No thank you good bye. Maybe you should check your calendar before cold calling next time.

Versign: No reason to get rude I am just asking…

An hour later…

Cell phone rings. I don’t answer I am doing the lunch dishes.

Answering machine message:

“Hi this is Salesman#2 from Verisign, I see you had a DoS attack on your website this weekend. Maybe we can set aside 10 minutes to talk about how we can provide a solution so your website is protected…”

Twenty minutes after the cell phone call:

Business line rings again: (now I am just pissed)

Versign: “Hi this is Salesman#2 from Verisign I see you had some issues with your website and I was wondering if we could set aside some time to talk about how…”

Me: Seriously? I am not interested stop calling me on a holiday weekend! Goodbye!

Versign: Oh umm…

Me: ‘click’

Seriously this is not how to do a effective marketing campaign. I understand that the hard sell works with some people. But I have never liked it and walk away from any company who employes it as fast as possible. I’d rather to figure whether I want to work with the other company  myself and it is usually comes down to excellent customer service and a good long track record. I had heard of VeriSign before they are a large SSL certificate company. But not taking no for an answer and calling multiple times a day makes me question your intention. They noticed my tweet, but didn’t reply to my tweet. They found my number on my website, but didn’t send a email. Both methods of contact would have got me just as quickly. But they wanted to do a cold call because it’s then harder to say no to.

The calling on the holiday monday was just more an annoyance then anything. But gave me in the impression that the company hadn’t done it’s homework before trying to sell me something…

The things I like about the companies I deal with is that they prove I should be their customer through the service they provide. Not because they told me they are great at what they do or I had to deal with them or I was going to be in trouble if I didn’t use them.

Did this interaction ruin my day? No, but this type of sell is happening far more often. This post is just to show what impression a company like verisign leaves me with after they try contact me. They did more pushing me away then attracting me any service they were offering.  When I switched hosting providers more then a year ago. I went looking for a company that had a good track record and didn’t try to sell me something I didn’t need or want. This is process of which I choose all the companies I choose to deal with.

Postscript >> All of this from one tweet on a sunday afternoon? Ya got me as to why I was targeted as a customer…

From the Apple //+, Macintosh Plus, iMac, iBook and the MacBook Pro I am currently writing this post on, Steve certainly had a direct effect on most of my life and currently provides a conduit to my lively hood as a web designer / developer.

And while I know we will survive after his passing. I can’t imagine what our tech life would be without his influence.  I will certainly be wearing my black turtleneck tomorrow (I own three).

I recently listen to a NPR fresh air interview from 1996 while he was still the CEO of NEXT and PIXAR and well before the big comeback of Apple with Steve at the helm. He talked about how the mouse was brought to the Macintosh and the graphical interface that we all think is common place. I’ll leave you with this quote from the interview…

“Our goal was to bring a liberal arts perspective and a liberal arts audience to what had traditional been a very geeky technology and a very geeky audience.”
~ Steve Jobs speaking about the invention of the Macintosh

RIP STEVE JOBS 1955 – 2011

Will miss you Steve

This is East Van 2

When I first submitted to the THIS IS EAST VAN project, (see previous blog post) I thought it was pretty cool. It was something that brought me back to why I love photography: it’s how I tell stories.

It turns out that lots of others liked the idea, too. THIS IS EAST VAN became a stunning book of photos by East Van community members; it conveys what East Vancouver means to them in a visually powerful format. Its success is reflected by its placement at many great Vancouver outlets, including the Vancouver Art Gallery.

If you missed out on being part of THIS IS EAST VAN, despair no more – they’re doing it again. Until September 15, you can submit your photos for inclusion in the upcoming THIS IS EAST VAN 2. (I love it when a good idea grows like that.) This time around TIEV has added the convenience of submitting via their website. And, they’re doing a film as well, so if you have video clips that show your East Van, have a look at the film guidelines, too.

As mentioned in an earlier post, there are few calls for submissions that I take the time to participate in. THIS IS EAST VAN (thanks Erin and Rob you guys rock) is one of the best that I have ever been involved with.

PS: East Vancouver is a community that I love and has fostered much of my growth in recent years. Partnering as a sponsor with the TIEV project is a natural for my web design company 32spokes Web Design.

Thanks to Rebecca Mrs. 604 for writing this article on putting Sechelt back on the map.

I was first told about this Google Map mishap at WordCamp last week. Local web designer Robert Dall explained that over the last few years members of the community have tried pretty much everything to get their town listed. These efforts include hundreds of people reporting the issue to Google, tweeting about it @GoogleMaps on Twitter, and the Mayor of Sechelt, Darren Inkster, has even written an official letter to Google – all to no avail.

You can help out the cause by tweeting  @GoogleMaps with the tag #PutSecheltOnTheMap And hopefully we can get Sechelt, BC put back where it belongs.

Sechelt is actually located where the black arrow is pointing.

This is East Van

I have entered very few photo contest. I have submitted to even fewer “call’s for submissions”. I’d either disagreed with the terms of the submission or just have a lack of interest in the actual project.

This was different…  This is East Vancouver. The neighbourhood I have lived in (abet somewhat part-time at the moment) for almost 3 years. The unique nature of the independent vibe and creative culture I found in East Vancouver and especially Commercial Drive really fed my soul and has given me a lot of food for thought ( It gave me a lot of great coffee as well).

Buskers on The Drive

So when I heard about the This is East Van call for submissions it peaked my interest and I checked out the site. My interest was completely captivated when I read it was two creative types (not unlike myself) who live and work in the community and that “with reckless abandonment” had an idea to make a book about a community they live in.

Saturday Morning

Well I don’t think I have ever submitted my photos fast then I have to this project. It was everything a community photography project should be and I am lucky enough to have three photos accepted into the book.

Flipping through the book as I wrote this post I see many photos that spark memories of an event or a time of the year. Other images are foreign, a part of the city I have yet to explore.

Snow Day

I think Erin Sinclair and Jason Uglanica have really done an amazing job on this project and to celebrate the launch of This is East Van they are having a party. I am attending… You should too.

The Waldorf Hotel
1489 East Hastings
Downstairs: THE CABARET
May 5th, 2011
Doors Open at: 8PM

Where can I get this book you say?

• Barefoot Contessa
• The Waldorf
• The Wilder Snail
• Mintage
• People’s Co-Op Book Store
• Sharks and Hammers
• Antisocial
• Make
• Les Amis du Fromage

Also you can order the book online from the This is East Van website and I have been told on good authority that if you live in the community you might get the book hand delivered by either Erin or Jason themselves.

Will leave you with this teaser video from the This is East Van Website.

The movie Short Circuit

With that Homage to the 1986 movie Short Circuit about robot #5 who is electrocuted and suddenly gains consciousness. The number 5 is very much alive and doing very well.

But I am actually referring to Site5.com a hosting company based in Denver, CO… And yes Site5 is very much alive as well. (site5 has no relation to the movie I am just trying to be funny)

See, back about a year ago when I was first working with Bikes on the Drive they were hosted with Site5 and it was my first experience with them. I was still with my old host (who will remain nameless, this post isn’t about them) at this time. As the summer drew on I noticed considerable service differences between site5 and my old host, I also noticed the down time I was getting compared to Bikes on the drive at how quickly any service request I had with site5.com was answered quickly.

Come August 09 my old hosting provider server was completely bailing after 8 years of almost uninterrupted service. I decided to jump ship and move every site I had over to site5 and I really haven’t looked back.

What has kept me with site5 after the first year?

• With out a doubt the customer service I have gotten from the site5 team and their ability to answer questions, sometimes complete out of scope for a hosting provider has been remarkable.

• Reliability, only a few times have I had a customer support request that was critical to my sites performance keep me and my clients from their websites for more then a couple minutes.

• Easy to use control panel for me and the clients who want access to it.

• Google has started including how fast the server delivers the site in it’s search engine ranking it has become important for the site operate as fast as it can.

• You can email the CEO directly (or follow him on twitter) and he will email you back. (try that with go-daddy)

Site5 Logo

All of the customer service reps I have recently had contact with have been good but I really have to commend the support from Dawn. She doesn’t just provided the answers to questions, but more wants to know why your asking the question. Dawn seem have this uncanny way to understand the level of server knowledge you have and then provide you the easiest course of action to your level of expertise.

This one little thing is crucial to support. In my schooling I was never taught a thing about how servers work and the commands you may or many not need to perform the daily tasks in setting up a site and most tech support center’s don’t seem to understand this.

This also reduces my needs for service levels in the future as many support personal at site5 take the time to explain what I need to do instead of just doing it for me. I don’t have to ask again. Nor am I sent down the wrong path not knowing why I am doing this and what it will do.

I have also been asked why don’t you host with servers in Canada?

I wanted something larger then the mom and pop shop I had came from, but I didn’t have any need dedicated hosting and after a searching around a bit I couldn’t really find anything in Canada that matched the just right hosting I got from Site5.

So yes, number 5 is very much alive!

Since that memorable, hectic, time, I’ve said a sad goodbye to East Vancouver and Commercial Drive, one of the great little neighbourhoods in Canada. I met phenomenal people there, friends and neighbours with whom I shared ideas and initiated collaborations.

Pondering how to turn an economic downturn into a personal upturn, I moved back to the Sunshine Coast. I applied for and was accepted into the Aspire Program, which will help me shape my experiences with web design, marketing, art direction and photography into my own business.

There is trepidation, as the path chosen comes with a steep learning curve; but no one ever promised it would be easy. I’m comforted by the security of living at home as well as this program’s 15 years of proven success. Knowing the number of graduates still operating their businesses, and learning of the program’s reputation among coastal residents, I know I’ve made the right choice, and I’ll be launching my business come this late November.