google maps

Why Make Maps Beautiful?

Google has done amazing stuff with making maps on the web work well. But, Google Maps has become a bit like stock photography; it's not that exciting or novel anymore.

Part of why you want a map to be customized is to match the branding of your site, but maps are also a really powerful way of presenting information to people. The first thing that you do when you look at a map is to say "where am I on this map?" and see where you fit. Maps are a powerful way of presenting information, see the Pakistan Flood Response Map.

My company does a lot of work developing web applications for different clients. A reporter contacted me asking about how using AJAX to implement a web application helps the client. It's a good question, and subtlely different from the standard end-user and developer viewpoints you find in most articles about AJAX. I think there are three main benefits for the client (the organization that is paying for the webapp) and three different benefits for the end user (the guy who ends up using the client's site.)

Benefits to Clients

If you're planning to visit San Francisco, San Jose or Silicon Valley, and you're any kind of computer nerd, you'll want to see the various hardware, software, and other computer companies in the valley. But why go through a guide book, when it's all right here on the web?