'My Maps': Make Your Own Map with This New Google Tool

Google has just released another free fun tool for its users, a do-it-yourself map called 'My Maps'

This nifty new Google tool is integrated with another extremely popular Google tool, 'Google Maps'. The new 'My Maps' tool will allow users to set up their own maps by using virtual tacks to identify information such as locations important to the user or photos and videos the user may have relating to that location. Users may want to indicate their favourite restaurants, bar or park. They may want to mark the stadium of their favourite sports team or places they have travelled to. What gets marked its really up to the user.

The customised maps are not just for personal use, they can be shared with the world over the Internet. This provides a great way to tell friends and family living in other parts of the world about the user's local area.

'My Maps' is another tool that is sure to take off and fits perfectly into current trends of user created content on the Internet. The model used is similar to other popular user created content tools such as, YouTube and Flickr.

One of Google's senior product managers, Carl Sjorgreen, who is based in Sydney Australia, said, "In the past you had to be a developer to make customised maps." But now 'My Maps' would "democratise map-making in a profound way."

To go along with this new tool, Google is creating a new search algorithm that will search the maps and return the results that best match the search query. This search feature will search all of the maps that users have decided to make public. However, the new map search is not yet ready for the public, so map users will have to make do with creating their own maps for a few weeks before looking at other maps online.

'My Maps' is not aimed at technical Internet users, it is aimed at the everyday user in hopes that many people will find it accessible and enjoyable.

Besides being able to indicant locations 'My Maps' allows users a number of other great features including the adding of links, text and marking out routes. This could provide an excellent way to give people detailed directions to your house, wedding or other event

There is some competition already in place for 'My Maps' that already makes used of the 'Google Maps' service. These other services similar to 'My Maps' include 'QuikMaps' and 'Faneuil Media Atlas'. One good feature the competition has that 'My Maps' currently does not have is the ability to embed personalised maps into websites and blogs. However, knowing Google this is a feature that is probably in the works for 'My Maps'

Sources
http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/unleash-your-inner-cartographer/2007/04/05/1175366387361.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0436837620070405
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Google-lets-users-personalise-own-maps/2007/04/05/1175366392747.html