I think we can all agree that Google is pretty awesome.  The signature Search product continues to improve, Android is now good enough, the stock price is a hockey stick, and there’s a justified hullabaloo over all the great innovations to help us connect in the future.

One of the Big G’s recent successes is Google Maps. The mapping project known for its data collection vehicles that push our privacy mores as they traverse the planet and even announced this year that they’d be mapping the Great Indoors. The whole project irks our sense of privacy, but it’s a fair trade when you consider the improvements in navigation we gain along with the great shots those cars collect.

In fact, Google Maps is so useful that over 100 million people have the App on their smart phone, and Google has hastened the pace of Tom Tom and Garmin along the path of the Betamax.  Here’s what happened:

The Unfortunate Souls in Milwaukee

Picture this: you’re in Milwaukee and you get a hankering for stale donuts and good coffee. You type in ‘Dunkin Donuts’ on your Google Maps App, and follow it to your sugary reward. Upon arrival, you realize that Dunkin Donuts is long gone and replaced with a boarded-up storefront, Dunkin shaped. If you take the time to drive to the others, you’ll eventually learn that only the downtown DD location actually exists:

This is the problem with Google Maps: outdated information.

A thing of the past. Google fixed this common problem, when last month it filed a patent for a user-generated system to update incorrect data from the App.  Long (and great) story from SEO By the Sea, short: You can now tell Google on your phone the fate of the Dunkin’ Donuts and they’ll update the map.