• The New York Times, Tuesday, September 6, 2011 11:52 AM

When operating correctly, Google Maps can be a boon to local businesses. As The New York Times reports, however, the dynamic mapping service doesn't always operate correctly. In some documented instances, for example, Google Maps has indicated that thriving businesses have actually closed down. "In recent months, plenty of perfectly healthy businesses across the country have expired -- sometimes for hours, other times for weeks -- though only in the online realm cataloged and curated by Google," NYT writes.

How is this possible? "It is surprisingly easy to report a business as closed in Google Places, the search giant's version of the local Yellow Pages." On Google Places, a section titled "Report a problem" lets anyone make the claim that "this place is permanently closed." As NYT explains, if enough users click it, the business is labeled "reportedly closed" and later, pending a review by Google, "permanently closed."

Along with rankled business owners, some experts don't think Google is putting sufficient energy into policing Maps and Places. To make the point, a search consultant and blogger named Mike Blumenthal recently "closed" Google's offices in Mountain View, Calif. For a brief period, NYT reports, Google itself was "reportedly closed," according to Places.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »