How to shows gas station inside GOOGLE MAPS? Obviously putting some icons on the map. But how an user can decide to show (or not) gas stations? And what about other items like hotel, restaurant, etc?

I spent 2 hours making directly on photoshop some hypothesis…

Here you will find the typical “cloud” of maps.google.com with a new voice:” local items”. In this raw-concept, we will think to have hundreds of “local items”, es:”Barnes&Nobles bookstore” could be an example of item. Gas Stations are another example of “item”.

As default, under “Show local items” I propose to have:
- Google Specials
- item list preferences

Labels on the same level of “Google Specials” are a sort of on/off button. When you click one of this, the text of the label from “normal” go to “bold” and –immediately- you can see on the map the related icons.

For example.
In the cloud showed in this page “gas stations” is in bold, and the gas station are visible on the map (see below).

If the user click –again- on the “gas stations” label, related icons on the map will turned off.
“Item list preference” works in a different way. If you click on it, the page will change in order to show a column on the left side.

In the image below, we have the typical situation: An user found the address that he was looking for, and now he have the map in full screen with the “cloud” on the right address.

In this specific case, the user already set a different list of items that I want to be “ready” to show it on the map.

Es. This user could turn on the “WholeFood” store locator just clicking the wholefood label inside his cloud (and the label will turn into bold).
At the same way, could turn off the “gas stations” just clicking on the “gas stations” label, that immediately turn into “normal size” meanwhile gas stations icons will disappear from the map.

How items come in the clouds?
Clicking on “items list preferences” a column will appear on the left side of this page.

The column will contain a list of:
- all selected item (default or selection made by the user)
- random selections of new items (1, 4 or 10 for times)
- link that will show the next “n” items, where “n” is the last value 1,4 or 10.
- link to the whole list of items (with the number about how many they are. Es. 354)

The Strategy inside this “list items preference”.
As free service, Maps.Google.com want to be the best Maps on the planet, and I think that all the general information like hotel, restaurant, point of interest, hospital, gas stations, etc have to be included for free.

Different is if a Company like WholeFood or a Hotel Chain like Comfort Inn want to be on the map with is characteristic image/logos. In this case, Google could SELL the opportunity to stay on the map with the same system of the auction of google-sense.

Es. Hotels icon are a free service for googlemaps users as well hotels itself. Comfort Inn icons on the map are available on payment (from the hotel chain) and free for the users.

Another “ideas” that I want to add to this approach is the “Google Specials” star-icon (the same of gmail).

This is a symbol that show on the map something special choused by google. An example? A skateboard place under a bridge! A very special bookstore. The place in which was took an important scene in a famous movie. Etc.

Why is important?
- branding for google
- positive social effects for google as company. Infact, I think that some blog about “google special” will probably launched from the usual early adopters.
- many user browsing at the street-level zoom just to discover the stars
- another potential way to make money for google.
- etc

Zooming on the prefs
Inside this list we have two control mechanism.
1) the opportunity to set an item as “map”, es:”all gas stations are immediately printed on the map”.
2) the easy way to discover new class of items (with the random items that is obviously easier and less boring of browsing a huge list of names).

How it works
Is very easy. If you click on “map” check button, immediately this kind of items will be searched on google and the item label “gas stations” will appear on the cloud. At the same time in which an user select an item as “map”, the “cloud” check button will be checked in also.

While away, clicking the “cloud” button, nothing happen on the “map” switch.

After this short redesign…
I have another two thoughts in my mind about maps.google.com

The first one is about usability for the features “direction from here…”
I’d love that the City defined in the first address is the “default city” for the second address. So, if for example I ask for a street in Cambridge, and after that I choose “direction from here” and input “Harvard square”, the system will show me the right place.
Obviously, if there is no-match for “Harvard square” in Cambridge, the system will help me with a request of a more detailed address. As an alternative, the system could show to me a list of matching address in the cities closest to my starting address.

The second tiny-crazy idea about maps.google.com is about hardware.
Another way to make money from the maps (in general) is the car-gps.
I’d love (and I’m ready to buy) a sort of ipod for maps, powered and branded by google.

this could be a great car-gps system, but also something that could grow in time.
…gmail, gtalk…

note (about UI strategy): maps.google.com’s and GoogleEarth’s are -probably- the most famous map-tools on the planet (most famous of any car-gps), but their UI works in a different way. Using s very similar UI (as mental model), Google could set the “archetype” for maps, and the google gps-hardware could be the ONLY one with the right interface.