For mine, the progression of Google Maps is one of the most exciting things happening on the web right now. Google Earth continues to blow me away and Google Maps is becoming an indispensable tool for me.
I specifically wanted to highlight
My Maps by Google.
Check out the Reindeer Map here.
My Maps allows you to create your own map with marks, notes, locations and lines that you create and then can use and share. This is a form of digital graffiti. You can make a note on anything, anywhere in the world. Here is where my sister lives, here is my fave restaurant when I lived in Sydney, here is where I went to primary school. Its like building up a virtual physcial diary. (for those who endured my obsessed with google earth phase.. i apologize for the relapse here)
I currently use it for 2 things:
1. Personally
Living in New York, you walk places all the time and think, “oh, I must remember that for next time I am going to dinner in this area.” However, because New York streets mostly look the same and its all numbers for streets and avenues, its near impossible to remember. So now I use My Maps as soon as I find somewhere I want to go. I go and create a placemark on the map and make a personal note on it. Done – my very own map.
2. Friends + Fam
You know when people come to town and you would like to just remove a small data chip from your head and put it in their brain so you can stop being the tourist bureau for them ? Well, now you can send them you’re My Map link. I have created a specific My Map (yes, you can create as many as you want) for friends that come into town. Placemarks on things to do and see with notes on all of them.
Here is the cooooooolest thing.. You can export all this information as a .kmz file which means they can open it in Google Earth, hit tour and sit back and watch a virtual slideshow roll on before their eyes.
So, get in and have a play. Never forget a cool place you walk by again.
