[magdadc]

Hi everyone! Less than happy to read this news, as my husband and I have been working on a similar solution for some time now. We've created an app https://maplog.it/ which allows you to create different lists, share them with others and give you better recommendations for places to go out. We are currently working on an iOS and Android apps. Do you think it makes any sense to continue or should we just drop the idea? Would love to hear what you think!

[lukeqsee]

Hey magdadc,

I founded a company competing with Google Maps on another level (map tiles & other geoservices), and I think it's super important to have competition in the mapping space (just look at how much it costs if you want to use Google's data anywhere!).

Your site looks super polished. Keep up the good work!

One thing I don't particularly like is having to sign in to see a map of things nearby. I'd love a main view that shows me just the map with interesting places marked as pins. (E.g., "Places Near Me" takes me to a signup page, which immediately turns me off.)

Best of luck!

[magdadc]

Thanks so much for the feedback and encouragement! Good point on 'nearby' being locked. All the best luck to you as well!

[mseebach]

Actually making good, meaningful recommendations isn't a solved problem. Google has mass, and anything with more than ~4 stars generally isn't going to be awful, but it's a blunt instrument. Searching just slightly more specifically than that and the wheels come off.

I don't immediately see how your app solves the problem, it seems there are some lists of things, but it's an unqualified jumble. I am looking at the best bars in London list, and pretty much all my favourites are on there, but Gordon's, Duke's, Termini and Calooh Callay are very different places for different occasions (and, especially in the case of Duke's, different budgets), and there is nothing to help me decide.

Finding a bar, even a relatively good one, in London isn't a valuable problem, IMO, and certainly not one Google isn't going to beat you at -- finding a bar like Duke's in, say, Zürich is (for the particular subjective value of 'like' that I have in mind). A list of "that kind of bars" with a few options in every city might be a good answer, but I don't envy you the challenge of curating that sort of thing at scale.

[magdadc]

Thanks for the feedback! Agreed - for us using Google stars or tripadvisor ratings was useless in finding new places, as it's an average of thousands of people's opinions, who have different tastes and priorities.

Our stab at making finding places easier is to let people share their favourite places with friends (via lists) - you might not trust Google's bar recommendations, but you would trust your friend who goes out a lot and has a similar taste.