Google Maps has come a long way from being something you use to get around. Over the past year, it has received a slew of updates and today, the company has rolled out a new feature aimed at helping users discover places others have recommended. It now supports hashtags in reviews. For example, if you’re reviewing a restaurant that would make an excellent #datenight spot, you can simply add the appropriate hashtag. Or if the business is #familyfriendly or #wheelchairaccessible, you can note those sorts of things, too. Users are recommended to add up to five hashtags per review and place them at the end of the review to make the text easier to read.
The company confirmed to TechCrunch that support for hashtags rolled out globally just over a week ago on Android devices. So far, it had only been announced to members of Google Maps’ Local Guides program. Unlike on Instagram and other social apps, the hashtags in reviews need to be specific to be useful. Google says that general terms like #love or #food won’t be helpful. With the addition of hashtags in reviews, Google Maps could become a better discovery platform for businesses and other places, and possibly even a social recommendations platform.
To use the new hashtags feature, one needs to tap the blue link when you see one listed in a review to be taken to a list of the other nearby places that have the same tag, Google says. For now, it is only limited to the Android version of Maps, but we can expect it to be rolled out to web and iOS shortly.
News Source: engadget
