How Google's "Business Photos" Are Helping Local Businesses
Over the past
two years, one of the many programs Google has been testing and developing is
called Business Photos. It grew out of the “street view” aspect of Google
Maps, which provides a 360-degree panoramic view of the area around a street
address.
Business Photos
now extends that same technology inside certain local business establishments
that want to give it a try. Among the first piloting the technology are the
Soma restaurant Ironside, nearby wine bar District, Public
Bikes, and the Brick Monkey, in Redwood City.
Chris Vance,
owner of District and Ironside, says he just started using the program at the
end of last year, “and already, I don't know what we'd do without it.”
That’s because
it’s helping him get more business. “People can just look on the site and a get
360 degree view and see if they like it without having to actually visit the
restaurant.“
It helps us get
events. People coming to tech events, maybe from out of state, can see and
decide whether it’s right for them. It definitely helps us get more business.”
Vance says that
initially he had to overcome some reservations about letting a photographer
have such unfettered access to his restaurant.
“When Google
approached us, at first I felt kinda weird about it, you know, having someone
having free walk through access when restaurant was empty. It was mainly
security concerns on my part.
“But then when I
saw what they could do in just 20 minutes it was pretty amazing. I am a
photographer myself, I went to photo school, and I still don't understand how
they do it. How they piece it together.”
Google
spokesperson Deanna Yick explains how it works:
“Basically what
this is about is being able to take that immersive 360 degree experience of
street view and take it indoors. Photographers use tripods with multiple lenses
to take photos from all different angles, above, below, side views and then
stitch them together into a 360-degree view. You can see inside the business
and get a feel before you ever walk through the door.”
In a blog
post on May 1, Google unveiled the latest aspect to the Business Photos
program, which involves Trusted Photographers (both pros and
novices), who have been trained how to use Google’s technology on behalf of the
local businesses that choose to participate in the program.
(Local
photographer Tev Lvee handles the Ironside and District shoots.)
“Now we’ve
opened both sides of the ecosystem, so to speak,” says Yick. “We’re taking
requests from business owners and also training more photographers.”
So far there are
several dozen Trusted Photographers, and several hundred businesses, not just
in the Bay Area, but also in many urban centers across the U.S., the U.K., New
Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
“It's really
part of our mission to map the world and make a mirror image of the real
world,” says Yick. “We hope it adds another viewpoint in a helpful way.”
“It's a great
marketing tool for us and for them too,” says Chris Vance. “It’s the wave of
the future.”
By David Weir on May 15, 2012 9:00 AM
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