Making Google Maps

Short Description
What are mashups?
Like all maps, mashups display locations chosen by the map’s creator, but unlike most maps, anybody with access to the internet can create a personalized mashup. Mashups live on the website on which they are created, can be edited by those with the correct login information, and are accessible to the public. You can also chose to display a mashup on your website. Mashups use Google Map technology to display specific locations that you pick. They can be created to include a variety of information, such as the location’s address and even a photograph. Depending on the type of location, you may also chose to include a phone number, hours of operation, or any other type of useful information.

Website: prog.trincoll.edu | Filesize: 686kb
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Content
Why would I make a mashup?
A mashup visually graphs information in ways that charts, tables and spreadsheets cannot. By placing points in their actual geographic locations, data makes more sense and becomes more legible. They are useful for any number of purposes, from displaying the locations of dry cleaners in Hartford to mapping the frequency and location of criminal offences in a particular area. They can be useful for people who do not know an area well or to those who do know it well but need more information to be more readily available. They are relatively easy to make and to maintain, and can be made widely available through the Internet. They are flexible enough, too, as they can be used to create solutions for almost any organization.
As a project, some students worked to map resources available to single parent families in the Hartford area. Using the ZeeMaps website, they uploaded over 30 locations onto the map, including the name of the organization, its address, phone number, hours of operation, website address, contact information, and a brief description of the location. To make this online map useful, the students also created an informational pamphlet, which included instructions for using the map and locations for individuals to use the internet to access the map. The goal they wished to reach was to create a network among the included organizations and to help single parents in Hartford gain access to helpful resources.
Before creating a mashup, you should ask yourself if it would be helpful to your organization or to your patrons. Would it be valuable to display your information visually on a map? For example, mapping the food banks in the area to see where the available food is would indeed be helpful for examining food resources in a particular region, while mapping every store in a neighborhood might become cluttered and lose its usefulness.
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