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Google Hotpot: The new recommendation engine for places

by Tug Agency | 16.11.2010
The recommendations will be visible when you use Google’s Place Search and when they will appear in Google Maps. The application for Android’s Google maps has received the 4.7 update  to accommodate this new recommendation service. The ratings submitted by users will be used to customize the Google searches, avoiding the worst rated places.

While Google’s battle against Facebook is at the center of attention, Hotpot may pose a bigger threat to Yelp, Google currently has more than 50 million locations linked to maps and reviews (some from Yelp).

Hotpot has both a web-based and an Android app (an iPhone app will be coming soon). It allows you rate places and invite friends to share those ratings with. As you rate sites via Hotpot, the service will recommend other similar places that you might also like. And as you can share your recommendations with others, you can also see which spots your friends prefer.

Hotpot surely will be a headache for referral services and reviews sites like Yelp, because in its favor is the integration with mobile technologies, Google Maps, and the very powerful Google search engine.