{"id":2051,"date":"2009-02-28T06:28:44","date_gmt":"2009-02-28T11:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=2051"},"modified":"2009-02-28T06:28:44","modified_gmt":"2009-02-28T11:28:44","slug":"why-are-mapquest-google-directions-so-out-of-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/why-are-mapquest-google-directions-so-out-of-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are Mapquest & Google directions so out of the way?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday, February 28, 2009<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 Did you ever do a Mapquest <\/em>or Google<\/em> for directions to somewhere you already know how to get to?\u00a0 And you wonder why they are taking you way out of the way along side streets, and not the fastest or most direct route?\u00a0\u00a0 Ok, that’s a rhetorical question.\u00a0 A friend just told me that everyone <\/em>knows they do that because they are making sure you pass their advertisers’ businesses.\u00a0 Well, I didn’t know that and have no idea if it’s true, but it would certainly explain it.<\/p>\n

I went to Ocala this morning and had not been there in a couple of years.\u00a0 I knew I just took I-95 straight north and then took Highway 40 straight west into Ocala.\u00a0 I was going to Cassadaga afterward, so I did a Google search to make sure I still knew the way.\u00a0\u00a0 It gave me a route taking me across 528 into Orlando and through a maze of tollroads, which saved me 3 miles but might take an extra hour simply because of Orlando traffic.<\/p>\n

So then I did a MapQuest and they initially gave me the same directions, but Mapquest gives you the option to “Avoid” a particular route and gives you another choice.\u00a0 When I clicked on Avoid for the 528 west exit, it took me straight north on I-95 to Hwy 40, which was the fastest, most direct and easiest.<\/p>\n

Wouldn’t it be nice if every choice\u00a0 we didn’t like had an “Avoid” button?<\/p>\n

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