Google's Tour Builder Is a Great Way to Make Your Friends Hate You

Google has an improved way for you to show your friends exactly where you've been or where you want to go. On Tuesday, the company made new Google Earth tools public so that users can create custom guided tours, superimposed over a map. The web-based tool is called Earth Tour Builder and it may be the best way to dole out travel advice. Eat it, maps.

Google technically released the Earth Tour Builder in 2013, but the company has released new tools that basically put it on steroids. Earth Tour Builder lets users drill down to the street view to mark specific spots they've been or want to go. Google Earth previously made guided tours available through its Voyager tab, but these were all professionally made. The big difference here is that anyone can make a project.

Interestingly, the project first began as a way for veterans to record their globetrotting as a result of their service, but has morphed into a storytelling tool that allows users to show their friends and family some of their favorite places and how to replicate the same journey. The improved tool is currently in beta and billed as "a Google Earth experiment" on the build page, but anyone can access it.

We'll walk you through the basics of how to create your first Google Earth Tour, with a focus on the bridges in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Google also has additional instructions here. To check out our final tour creation, click here.