What is Google Places?

With Google Places and Hotpot, Google is offering a very familiar, standard user interface for finding and rating “places”.  I am not sure if you have used it, but I like it.  I like the clean white sparse interface as Google and every time I see that Google Places link I know what to expect.  If Google continues to direct users to their Places pages or their ratings engine, then this means they “sit on top” of everyone else.  It could change the landscape for restaurant or travel-specific sites.  If you are a restaurant owner, and you don’t have a (free) Places page, you should get one!  This video will get you excited:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOFVQUwaPoM