Google+, Google's answer to Facebook, has teamed up with Zagat so that travelers looking for a restaurant, hotel or attraction can find the best of what's around. The new approach is called Google+ Local, and users can navigate to it via the Local tab that's now appearing on the Google+ screen. Easily integrated into other Google tools, you can then find the local results through a standard search through the Google page and you can get directions to the location using Google Maps. Though the new service is available on Android phones, it's not yet available for Apple products like iPads or iPhones.
As an article on USA Today points out, "Google+ Local provides valuable information, including website links, summaries, addresses, Zagat ratings and user reviews about local points of interest and businesses. Before Google acquired Zagat last year, some of the Zagat information could only be accessed for a fee. Now, it's free."
All of this seems like it would be helpful for travelers, but there appear to be some disadvantages. For example, the information provided through the search might be biased. Moreover, you can't view all of the necessary information about place if you don't join Google+ and sign into your account when searching. Non-members of the social network, or those who aren't signed in, "get bare-bones treatment," the article states. Since Google results appear in order of clicks and popularity with searchers, it might also be difficult for travelers to find a more hole-in-the-wall restaurant or an attraction that's not so mainstream.
Another issue, say competing companies, is that Google advertises itself prominently rather than allowing for natural search results. In fact, the article explains, "The Google+ Local results on 'Italian restaurants in Baltimore' fill your computer screen and you'd have to scroll below what's initially visible to find natural search results from websites such as Urbanspoon and About.com that aren't necessarily local."
In response, Google said,"We're trying to provide you with the most useful local results, which our users tell us includes a mix of local business websites, reviews and maps. Local-business websites are often the top answers to a query, and we haven't changed the way we link to reviews by Google users. We work hard to provide useful results, because the great thing about the openness of the Web is that if people don't like our answers, they can easily switch to any other website."
You decide: is Google+ Local helpful or harmful to travelers?
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
