Online Mapping Tools
It seems the world has caught on to the power of interactive online maps...and what a great thing it is! Interactive maps provide a platform for displaying complicated data in a simple format. It used to be that mapping required the purchase of expensive software AND hours of your time training yourself to use it. Even then, the software created static maps that lost a lot of the functionality and usability provided by interactive maps today. Now there are all kinds of programs that bring mapping to even the most untalented of users at little to no cost. I decided to compare some of the free programs available. For each one, I imported Boulder Residential Sales data which I already had formatted for my time series mapping program. I also note the map provider for each one because many include special requirements. Google maps for example requires that you provide the map for free and do not charge or require a paid membership to access it.
Scribble maps allows you to create your own maps on a google map. It is in Beta right now and a pro account is free. You must sign up for the pro account if you want to import data. This program is different from other mapping tools because it allows you to draw on the map, not just add points and areas. This allows you to take a less structured approach to mapping. Below is an embedded map created in scribble maps. I only imported the Boulder Sales data, but the program provides options to add shape files, notes, pictures etc. Overall, I found it easy to use and was able to create the map below in about 5 minutes (I took a little time to explore the program).
Geocomons has both a geographic data finder and a map maker. You can explore other data and maps users have created, upload your own data and create your own maps. They require you to create an account which gives you the ability to save and access your maps. Data you upload and maps you create are made available to the universe of users. They provide an option to geocode the data, or to join it with another layer when you import it. The map below was created with Geocommons (I right clicked on the map and chose "view map details" to get the embed code). One downside is that clicking on the data points does not show the fields associated with it. There may be an option for this that I did not see. Geocommons uses open street map for their map provider, which are created using javascript.
UMapper creates flash maps that are embeddable in your website. You are given the option to choose which map provider you want to use (ie Google, Yahoo, OpenStreetMap, Cloudmade etc.). I chose Bing for the example below. They do not accept .csv formatted data so I converted my sales info to xml to upload it. (I already had it uploaded in Geocommons and they provide a xml download option). They make it easy to manually add points, shapes, videos etc. As with Geocommons, however, clicking on the data point does not display additional data fields.
ZeeMaps also allows you to create custom maps. You can upload your own .csv file with your data however it takes up to an hour for them to process your upload and email you the map (it only took 5 minutes for me). You can also add markers manually and create shapefiles. ZeeMaps uses google maps for their provider. A wordpress plug in is available to make adding maps to your blog easy. More options are provided, such as bulk actions, when you upgrade to a paid account.
These are just a few of the free tools available.
Happy mapping!
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