OpenStreetMap community @lemmy.ml als @lemmy.blahaj.zone 2mo ago

I'm always surprised how poor legibility the most used digital map has

One shows only a few shops, often the ones that pay the most, the other shows the true number of different places in the area.

19 comments

I don't like that google selectively chooses to show certain businesses over others.

But at the same time the lower screenshot is just pure information overload, it has way too much going on for a casual map to use while walking around and that sort of thing.
- I don’t like that google selectively chooses to show certain businesses over others.
  
  100% paid placements. I started looking for an alternative to Google Maps once they started putting POIs disguised as ads.
- i mean thats what search is for, right?
  
  Sort of, OSM doesn't really have much to search for. For example if I search "gluten free lunch" google will search the reviews and menus, and is pretty decent at showing me options. OSM would not be able to return anything most likely.
- Somehow I think Google shows paying businesses
I think google helps minimize potential distractions while driving, and usually if you zoom in farther it shows more of what’s in the area. Honestly though, which shops show up is already pretty far down the slippery slope into monetarily self-interested bias. I think it’d be nice if they favored the user’s preferences, but then there’s my data that I’d rather not be advertised to on. This enshittification sucks.
Another intepretation: one uses data to distinguish between popular and crappy stores.
- I don't think you were making this argument, but I want to highlight that data is not morally neutral. Google Maps drives even less customers to stores that are smaller, and already have difficulty getting customers.
WHAT? HOW DARE YOU INSULT OPENSTREETMAP, THE MOST USED DIGITAL MAP!

(In all seriousness, I wouldn't be surprised that OSM is actually used the most, especially because it creeps into many other maps. But of course, this usage is spread over many apps and not a single ~~advertising~~ map product, where GMaps is undoubtly the biggest one)

19 comments