Photo Courtesy of Richard Liloc
College students, government representatives, and professionals from tourism and hospitality businesses in Pampanga joined Google Business Group (GBG) Angeles City in its first MapUp series this year 2016 at Systems Plus College Foundation – Balibago on March 11, 2016. Around 60 participants attended the event.
The event, which took place from 9am to 5pm, was hosted by GBG Angeles City, and sponsored by Systems Plus College Foundation, Angeles City Government Office, Greater Clark Visitors Bureau, EmergeLocal and All Things Pampanga.
Richard Liloc, Google Local Guide and Map Maker Regional Lead volunteer headed the first session, which was well-attended by college students. Leading the afternoon session was Joshua Pabustan, a former MapUp event attendee and now a Google Maps expert and volunteer reviewer.
What is a Map Up?
A MapUp is one of the many Google’s many initiatives that aims to gather a group of people, often from a specific town or city, to help map their community and make places of importance like business establishments, educational and government institutions, landmarks, and tourist and leisure spots visible in the web.
Google Maps for business
Google Maps, is a web-based service that provides detailed information about geographical regions and sites around the world. Aside from conventional roadmaps, Google Maps users can toggle aerial and satellite views of different places. In some cities, the widely-used Google service offers street views through horizontal and vertical panoramic angles, accompanied by user-generated and Google-owned photographs.
For businesses, putting their location and business details on Google Maps allows them to take advantage of the many benefits the service offer, and some of which are:
- Route planner – Offers directions for drivers, bikers, walkers, and users of public transportation.
- Google Maps API – Makes it possible for website administrators to embed Google Maps into a propriety site (e.g company website).
- Google Maps for Mobile – Offers a location service for motorists that utilizes the Global Positioning System (GPS) location of the mobile device (if available) along with data from wireless and cellular networks.
- Google Street Views – Allows business owners to give their customers a sneak peek of their establishment and navigate through horizontal and vertical panoramic street level images.
