You can search for people's locations on Google Maps: What the hell were they thinking?

[CrystalShadow]

OK, disturbing concept, but... I just typed my name into google maps... (my real one)

And got...

'tokyo otaku mode Inc.' in Shibuya, Japan...

specifically...
Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc. 日本支店
3 Chome-5-30 Kitaaoyama
Minato, Tokyo
Japan

I mean, given my... Interests, that's... Hilarious, but it has pretty much nothing to do with me...
Also kind of surprising because I would't have expected my... Rather European name to show up in the middle of Japan... >_<
It's not even a common name... >_>

Let's see... Usernames... Give...

Imperial College
London SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom

Again, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.


Another username I use:

Sla Academy
19 Rue de Cléry
75002 Paris
France

Nope... Nothing at all to do with me... XD

 

[Nuuu]

If it can't find you, it's because your information is not on Google. If you CAN find yourself on the map, it's because you can find your name associated with that place in a simple google search.
This is nothing special. If you don't want to be able to find yourself on the map then you need to remove google searches related to you as well.
Search results also seem to try to be as local as possible. I never get results outside of the U.S, almost always within a state or two, and the only time I got a result on the opposite coastline was when it was the only result in the nation.
My sister lives two states away from me. She can find herself with a search, but I only end up finding a nearby sports store.

 

[MajorTomServo]

Well, I live in upstate New York. I searched my name and got University of North Texas, then I searched my gmail/youtube username and got some church in Singapore.

I have to say, not impressed.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

It put me by the beautiful blue Danube. There are worse places to be than Austria.

I am a city Councillor in a small town, apparently.

 

[Superbeast]

Turns out I have a surname the same a a street name in a different city. My partner's name gets a link rather local, but still nowhere either of us has ever been.

 

[likalaruku]

::Enters Likalaruku into Google Maps:: Apparently I live in the Melmont Ghost Town of Carbondao Washington. Quite wrong, but I'll give them cookies for knowing that I'm very fond of Urbex.

::Uses real name:: Ah, so now I live in the middle of a baseball field. No cookies; I don't like sports.

::Types in mother's name:: Wow, it actually knows where she works.

::Types in best friend from highschool:: A funeral home in Florida? That's a little disconcerting.

 

[Creator002]

Well, the website in Chrome thinks I'm in Boston when I've never left Australia and the app thinks I'm in Queensland. I'm the only person in the world with my name (it's hyphenated from my grandparents), so, I feel good.
As for my immediate family:
Dad - Sitting next to me, is in Pennsylvania.
Sister - Also in the same room, is in Toronto, Canada.
Mum - At work, which is apparently now in New South Wales.

NOTE - I did this on my (Android) phone with location settings on. Google must be stupid here down under.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Oh hey, it pinpointed my university where I just was.

Fantabulous. -.-

 

[DrOswald]

From what I can tell it googles you and populates the map with the most important address associated with you. For example, I mapped my uncle, who owns a local business employing around 100 people, he is a very public figure and all that. I was expecting it to map him to the office buildings he works in, but it instead mapped him to a local university where he worked as a researcher nearly 30 years ago. I figure this because the first google result associated with him had both the name of his business and the university, so it assumed the university is the better bet as it is bigger.

I mapped myself and it indicated a building I was at one time 7 years ago 45 miles from my home.

I mapped Joss Whedon and it is telling me he is at a local barber shop 2 miles from my current location.

I mapped my daughter and it hit the wrong continent.

This looks scary, but it really isn't. On the other hand, maybe this will look scary enough that it will convince people that posting all their private info all over the internet is a bad idea.