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Online Maps Give Personal View of World

User-generated custom atlases are becoming guides to everything

By Heather McPherson,  Newser User

Posted Jul 27, 2007 2:16 PM CDT

(Newser) – Taking a page from Wikipedia, Internet users are harnessing the collective knowledge of millions and applying it to maps. On the rapidly growing "GeoWeb," surfers create custom atlases using mapping technology by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. The user-generated maps can highlight anything from stores to previously unavailable maps of endurance horse races, the Times reports.

A variety of maps can be "mashed up," with each layer displaying a different element, like hotels, restaurants, crime statistics, or school rankings. One web cartographer mapped out the spread of vandalism in his town. Microsoft has created detailed visuals of 100 cities and ultimately plans to make "a digital replica of the world in true 3-D," says an exec.

Using the internet, amateur cartographers have taken up where experts left off, creating maps and charts for niche and hobbyist markets, servicing anything from neighborhood watchgroups to bicycle path guides.
Using the internet, amateur cartographers have taken up where experts left off, creating maps and charts for niche and hobbyist markets, servicing anything from neighborhood watchgroups to bicycle path...   (Wikimedia Commons)
%u201CYou can%u2019t buy these maps, because no one has made them,%u201D said April Johnson, of Nashville, who used a G.P.S. device to create dozens of customized maps for personal usage.
%u201CYou can%u2019t buy these maps, because no one has made them,%u201D said April Johnson, of Nashville, who used a G.P.S. device to create dozens of customized maps for personal usage.   (Shutterstock.com)
Popular applications of GeoWeb tools include mapping out nature trails, tracking neighborhood graffiti, or Geotagging one's location on an international messageboard.
Popular applications of "GeoWeb" tools include mapping out nature trails, tracking neighborhood graffiti, or "Geotagging" one's location on an international messageboard.   (Shutterstock.com)
Newly emerging GeoWeb tools have opened the door for a world of customizable cartography.
Newly emerging "GeoWeb" tools have opened the door for a world of customizable cartography.   (Shutterstock.com)
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