I’ve recently switched from using my brain to store places of interest to a digital solution.
I did a bit of research to try and find what could work well. Initially I looked at trying to use non-Google solutions. Apple Maps doesn’t fit the bill because it lacks collaboration. I’d love to use an OpenStreetMap based app, but the data breadth just isn’t there.
Google Maps is my only choice.
Now, the issues I have with Google Maps Saved Places. I like two of the default lists: “Want to go” and “Favourites”. But I cannot filter within these lists! If I’m looking for things to do on a Saturday morning in my “Want to go” list, I don’t want to see a restaurant that only opens from 6pm. It’s no help to me. And vice-versa, if I’m across the other side of Melbourne and starving, I don’t want to filter though parks that have great hikes.
I can solve part of the problem by dividing the default lists into eating and non-eating lists, but this scales poorly if I want to add more dimensions. Google Maps already has all the other metadata such as category, open hours, reviews, and most popular times, which would be wonderful to filter by.
So there’s my proposal. Now to hope a Google Maps Product Manager reads this.