We told you about Google Hotpot back in November of last year, and the service has waffled somewhere between obscurity and popularity ever since. It was part of Google Places yet was also its own entity, and no one was quite sure what to make of it.
In the intervening months, however, the service has expanded to include a user base of millions using 47 different languages to rate, share, and discover local businesses. Then about a month ago, rumors started to percolate. Was the search engine giant abandoning its local discovery service? Say it ain't so! Was Hotpot lost in the maelstrom of the oversaturated market, as we hypothesized it might be?
Turns out, that's not the case. What happened to Hotpot? Apparently, it's not gone; on April 8, Google announced that Hotpot was "graduating" to become part of its core local product offering, Google Places.
What is Places?
Places is Google's entry into the local discovery engine market. The big difference between Places and, say, Geodelic or Where is pretty simple: While the others mostly use Google Maps to power their services, Places is Google. It has the full strength of Google's ubiquitous search engine, combined with its mapping and location capabilities and boundless user base. It also aggregates data from other services such as Yelp to broaden its information base.
With Places, users can search for, rate, and review local businesses and attractions in a simple, easy-to-use interface. Simply log in (there's no lengthy account creation process, just choose a username), enter a search term such as "restaurants," and Google will automatically show you a page full of options near you. You can see the average ratings from other users and choose your own on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. (There's also a Best Ever option, but we'll get to that in a bit.)
Give opinions, get recommendations
As you use Places, Google takes note of your opinions. What sorts of things do you tend to like? Are you a lively nightlife person or a quiet museum person? Do you prefer steak or sushi? Classic or modern? Cheap hair salons or high-fashion boutiques?
As it learns your tastes, Places will start making recommendations based on what it thinks you'll probably like. Since people's tastes tend to be similar to those of their friends, Places takes that into account and suggests things based on your friends' opinions as well.
Place cards give you details
Places' tiled interface is arranged in a series of Place cards, one for each business in the area you're searching. Each Place card contains a picture, the name of the business, information such as address and type of cuisine or other identifying factors, and an average rating. There are also options to save it for later or tell Places you're not interested. If you click on a business name, you'll be taken to its Place page, where you can read much more information and reviews.
If you've already been to a particular business and have an opinion, click on the stars to rate it. Once you've rated the business, the Place card will flip over, and you'll be able to share a review or tip.
Pick your Best Evers
As you're exploring and rating businesses, you'll notice a medal to the right of the rating stars. This is the Best Ever medal. Use it to note places you consider the absolute best in various categories. You may have been to a lot of excellent Tex-Mex restaurants, but this award should be used for the one you love above all others. You start with only 10 Best Ever medals to give out, so choose wisely!
Use Places across multiple platforms
Like Google itself, Places can be found just about everywhere. Not only can you access it via the Places website on your computer, but you can also visit the optimized-for-mobile website on your smartphone. And of course, there are also Places apps available for Android and iPhone.
There are a lot of mobile apps and websites out there to help you find, rate, and share information about the establishments you like, love, and loathe. Each has a somewhat different experience to offer, and Google Places definitely seems to be one of the stronger options. As with most services of this nature, it gets better the more people use it, so get out there and add your opinions!
[Image credits: Skistar Trysil, Insertinanename]
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