One of the biggest challenges in developing our miPlaces application was dealing with the quality of the location data from the different providers. We tried several of them. Each of the providers had their advantages but none of them were a clear leader in the quality area. As we jumped from Google to Facebook to CityGrid and back to Facebook, the quality of the location data was a constant struggle. One solution we considered was using multiple location providers. We wrote a clever algorithm that used a combination of fuzzy matching logic on the name, phone number, address and geo-coordinates that had a greater than 95% accuracy match even when major variables were wrong or missing. Unfortunately, almost all of the providers stated that this use of their data was against their terms of service. In the end, we settled on Facebook as our primary location provider as they were the driver for the rest of the application.
The challenge for location data stems from the fact that many times the majority of these places are user entered. We noticed that the more user input a site would accept, the more issues we observed with accuracy of the location data. Looking at the state of user-entered location data, it re-enforces how amazing it is that Wikipedia has stayed dependable as an internet resource. CityGrid has one of the more restrictive collecting methods but we found their location data to be pretty reliable. Unfortunately, the restrictions they place on their data usage really limited what we were able to do. FourSquare is pushing their Venues location project which, if kept open as promised, could solve this problem for many of us.
The other trend with these location data services that amazes us is how many users desire to enter their home as a location. The ability to checkin to one’s own home overrides the common sense about posting a map to your front door for all to see. While testing miPlaces around town, it’s not just once or twice that we encounter this situation. The place called Home is all over and might even challenge Subway for the most franchises worldwide. Everytime one pops up in miPlaces, we have to resist the urge to hit the navigate button and checkin to their location. Sounds like a unique and interesting pilgrimage to be mayor of every Home.
