At this year’s Social Loco Conference Google’s VP Marissa Mayer took to the stage to talk about the hottest topics in the geo-social tech landscape. Best known for her work on the search products’ team, Mayer moved to a new role overseeing location services in mid October. Since then she’s offered plans for expansion at March’s SXSW including merging Google Latitude and HotPot into basic Maps and Places offerings.

The key phrase in March was “contextual discovery” - the idea that layers of social, place and preference data provide users with a more relevant experience. True to form Mayer unveiled Google Business Photos - an interior photo panorama of businesses to be added to Google Place pages.

HOLD UP: CAN TOO MUCH DATA HURT THE EXPERIENCE?
I’ve had too many experiences tainted by overzealous Yelpers and amateur foodies that I’m beginning to believe that I don’t want search-generated relevance in real-world restaurant experiences. The best experiences I’ve had are full of meandering.

Great dining experiences for me include discovering Beatles themed robata bars, spotting Lawrence Ferlinghetti at a coffee shop and meeting a restauranteur’s chef/grandma. Yelp and now possibly Google Business Photos ruin places for me because:
a) I walk in with a set of false expectations;
b) Great places become too popular to frequent or to get good service; and,
c) I like surprise.

I know I’m not the ideal user here, but I like finding places accidentally. While Google Business Photos might be useful for people who are planning a date or party, I doubt it’ll be something I use regularly for dining decisions. For me, food and service beat decor any day. If anything, panoramic photo and map mashups are most useful to me if they feature public toilet stalls.