Maptastic - Maps, Maps, Maps
Maps are the latest craze. There are hundreds of people using APIs from
Google and Yahoo to integrate mapping functionality into their applications and
websites. Some of the more popular are
CheapGas which shows the best
gas prices by zip code on a Google Map,
CraigsList's HousingMaps which
uses GoogleMaps to help users visualize where to buy houses or rent rooms around
the US and ChicagoCrime.org, a
freely browsable database of crimes reported in Chicago placed on what else but
Google Maps.
While these are all fine and dandy resources as they are, you're probably
sitting back thinking to yourself "I can think of about one thousand different
maps that would be useful to the Web community... if only I could do my own map
mashups!"
If you're a webmaster, web developer or just somebody that likes maps, then you
should know that there are resources available on the Web to help you get
started with Google or Yahoo maps. What's the benefit? So glad you asked! Maps
are content and you know how much people like original content, right? Maps
enable you to build a community and collaborate with your users.
So where do you get started?
MapBuilder.net is an Web2.0
service or rapid mashup development tool to build custom Google and Yahoo maps
without any knowledge of the Google/Yahoo Maps API and JavaScript. MapBuilder
provides a decent visual interface for the map building process with geocoding
and import features. Also MapBuilder lets users tag locations on their maps, and
then publish the map either on MapBuilder.net or their own website.
Build a map and let us know in the comment section below so that we can all
enjoy!
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