Storymaps - geography enhances journalism

It’s all about the navigation.

There are several good mapping tools out there which identify addresses and get you from A > B, my favourites are Google, and MSN.

You’ve probably also seen mash-ups like Housing Maps (Craiglist + Google) or Chicago Crime (Police data + Google).

There’s the BBC News map which locates the geographic source of stories around the UK (a product of BBC Backstage, and produced by a software student, not directly by the BBC).

The Muti News Map does it the other way round, you choose the region, then see the stories. It’s a Yahoo News mash-up.

There are some unusual ones, like being able to map the route of email traffic.

But I’m starting to see some creative ways of using maps to tell stories. This is really inventive and a great way of enhancing journalism.

Here’s a Google Maps + Video mash-up about a race through Paris (although the video isn’t sync’d to the map unfortunately).

Canada’s CBC used a map in this story about high mercury levels in tuna and where they were.

Wayfaring.com has taken map creation to a new level and allows anyone to create a journey and share it with others. This is perfect experimentation ground.

The tools are new, so they’re still a little crude, and I’m having trouble understanding the navigation and features of this site, but look at the map of Great Lake shipwrecks for a glimpse of the potential.

Clicking on a wreck marker gives you some more details, a forward link and a map closeup.

Imagine the story of the Great Train Robbery with a truly interactive map as part of the mix.

If you’re interested in the variety of map mash-ups that are out there, there’s an entire blog devoted to the subject.