Update 10:03 a.m. The map is both to showing "Frank Ogawa Plaza." No word yet from Google, but it's fair to speculate that some Occupy-sympathetic coder may be in trouble of losing his or her subsidized massages.
Update 10:20 a.m. Joshua Johnson just heard from a Google spokesperson via email:
The location previously labeled as "Oscar Grant Plaza" in Google Maps has now been re-labeled with its official name "Frank Ogawa Plaza,” but can continue to be found via searches for both names.
We're committed to providing our users with the richest, most up-to-date maps possible, and as part of that effort we continuously explore ways to integrate new information. We’ve built our map from a wide range of authoritative sources, ranging from the public and commercial data providers, imagery references, and user contributions. Overall, this provides a very comprehensive and up-to-date map, but maps are constantly changing along with the real world, so we’ll continue to review data and make changes as new information becomes available.
In this case, a user-submitted edit to the official name of the plaza went live in Google Maps, when it should only have been made a search reference.
10:50 a.m. The map appears to have reverted back to saying "Oscar Grant Plaza." Zoom in all the way below:
Update 12:40 p.m. Joshua Johnson heard from Google again. A spokesperson says the change to "Oscar Grant Plaze" was made late yesterday evening. And...
Uses are able to make contributions or edits to the map via our participatory mapping tool, Google Map Maker. Users must be signed into their Google account to make a contribution on Map Maker, and changes must be approved before they're reflected in Google Maps. Most contributions are reviewed by fellow mapping volunteers in the Map Maker community, but we also have a small team of Google reviewers across the globe that may review and moderate updates in Map Maker as well. And of course, we take a look at all abuse reports and edits that are brought to our attention for further review. Overall, we believe that the knowledge of participatory mappers in the U.S. expands the depth and breadth of coverage in Google Maps, and dramatically speeds up the time it takes for online maps to reflect the often-changing physical world.
As you've noted in your most recent story update, this area is generating a lot of interest. Google reviewers will work to ensure that the name of the plaza is an accurate representation of reality -- reflecting its official, government name, but remaining searchable via the name adopted by people on the ground.
