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Google Maps is a staple not only for Android users, but also for many iPhone and PC users. Its rich functionality is as useful on the go as when you're relaxing at home and want to explore another city, either through satellite imagery or Google Street View.
It's no secret that most of the information available on Google Maps has been added by the users themselves. Business owners add the location of their offices, stores, restaurants and everything else you can think of. On the other hand, customers can add their comments, notes and photos to each place visited. Recently, Google also introduced some of Waze's features into Google Maps, allowing users to mark speed traps and car accidents.
Create public events that your community can participate in
Now users have even more power to add content because Google has added the ability for users to add public events. The new feature has been noticed by SlashGear and its operation is described on the Google Maps support page. You can add an event from your Contribute tab, where you will see a new "Add Public Event" button (you may have to scroll the screen to see it) or from the tab Events. Then you have to fill in the standard set of information: type of event, location, time and description.
Once you have posted an event, it will appear in the selected location so that everyone can see it, so be careful what you post. On its website, Google has defined a set of steps to remove the public events that you have created, but at least for us, the "Delete this event" button mentioned on the support page was non-existent.
It seems that there is still work to be done on this feature, which probably explains why it is not really available for everyone at the moment. We have not been able to determine exactly who has access, but it seems to be just a few Android users at the moment. If you have the Events tab on the Your Contributions page, then you are one of the first users.
A new wave of unique events is coming
Anyway, this feature is a good way for people to promote more informal events that are not related to a specific commercial location. For example, you may need people for a basketball game or leisure enthusiasts who join your remote-controlled car race. Or maybe you are a street artist who has something new to show and you want to organize a first.
Utilities or municipal governments can also use these public events to inform people when certain streets will be closed. Google has added a category "Parade" for a reason. Another useful category is volunteering and activism. Are you planning to clean up an area as part of the #trashtag fashionable challenge? Organize a public event and gather assistants in no time.
However, we see a risk of misusing this feature and creating fake events to attract a crowd somewhere. There is a "send comments" button for the created event that allows you to report any problem. Maybe Google will use these comments to limit the rights of people who create fake events.
Hopefully this will not happen much and users will use the feature for the purpose for which it is intended. It will probably take some time before it becomes popular and we can see more interesting events around us. Once the option to add one is available to everyone, it will only be a matter of time before you start to realize it.
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