

Google to beef up Places, Street View with interior business photos - aikinai
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/05/google-offers-businesses-free-pro-photos-for-use-with-google-maps.ars

======
MatthewB
This is good for everyone. Businesses will realize that more and more people
are doing initial research online, which will cause them to 1) improve overall
service 2) make more information available online 3) keep their business as
tidy as possible!

------
aikinai
It's interesting if you check the link for where they're offering the service;
there are only five US cities, but nine areas (some prefectures) in Japan. I
wonder why the coverage is so large in Japan?

It also seems a bit haphazard. Why Hyogo?

~~~
guard-of-terra
They probably want to use this service to try streighten their position in
areas where Google is comparatively weaker. Therefore, Korea, Japan.

If I'm right, we shouldn't expect Europe to be their priority (for example),
because Google is already very strong there, no real competition. Expect to be
closer to the bottom of the list.

