Take Your Geo-Mashups Beyond Google Maps
When most people think of online maps they think of Google, Yahoo, MapQuest and other big name geo services, but those aren’t the only options for developers working with geodata on the web. Andrew Turner, CTO of GeoCommons, recently gave a talk at the Future of Web Apps Conference in London entitled “Beyond Google Maps.”
Turner’s main point isn’t that Google Maps is somehow bad (and while Turner focuses on Google the comments apply to the other two big map providers as well), but rather that there are a plethora of options out there for developers to explore.
In a post on his blog, Turner writes, “my goal with the talk was to inspire developers and designers to play with new tools, and for managers to realize what is possible and appropriate and spur their teams into creating compelling applications with geospatial capabilities.”
In other words, just because plotting data on Google Maps is pretty easy, doesn’t mean it’s the best answer for every site.
I haven’t been able to find a video of Turner’s talk, but slides embedded below highlight numerous geodata services and mapping options, many of which I’d never heard of but look quite useful (mapstraction in particular looks awesome). If you’re developing an application that uses a lot of geodata Turner’s slides are definitely worth exploring.
While I still think Google, Yahoo and Mapquest all make for fine mapping mashups, I’ve noticed a trend where some of the more interesting geodata-related sites are moving away from the big three in favor of more customized maps.
For instance, local news site EveryBlock uses its own custom maps which fit very nicely with the site’s design and are tailored more to EveryBlock’s needs (the maps split into neighborhoods, something that Google Maps aren’t very good at). The result is that EveryBlock doesn’t seem like just another mapping mashup.
Of course not every project will have the resources to use custom mapping and geo service tools, but if yours does have a look Turner’s talk and check out some of the other mapping tools on the web.
[via Simon Willison, photo from Flickr]
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