Social Networking using Google Maps mashups

The Google Maps API has ushered in a wave of sites that facilitate "social networking". By adding mapping to the online social mix now friends, buddies and individuals have geographic significance on a map. This helps to build a virtual as well as a real-world community. Here are a few new examples in this post of how this is unfolding in various website concepts:

BayRelay maps you and your friends in real-time - BayRelay.com is a service based on Google maps that lets you see your location, and the locations of your friends, in real-time. You can do this from your mobile phone (Java (J2ME) or mobile browser, PC, or laptop. You control who can see your location and when. Check out more information here: here or here.

Facebook Friend Mapper Tool - A tool to help you Google Map your Facebook friends [Via ProgrammableWeb.com]
Ning - A plethura of social networking applications can be found here, many powered by Google Maps. If you like one, clone it or make your own!
Frappr - The friend mapper
BuddyMap - Map your website visitors

For more social networking examples check out the "Blogs and Websites" category and scroll down to the "Blogging/Net Community" sub heading.

Google Mapped Individuals:

GPS enabled mobile phones - Tim Hibbard of Engraph GPS Solutions built a great little Google Maps enabled person tracker using software for a GPS enabled mobile phone. I blogged about this back in June while visiting San Francisco. Check here and run a date search (see left sidebar) for June 10, 11, 12 2006 and you'll see my track for those days using the phone. My time in SF apparently inspired "Where's INSERT YOUR NAME HERE On Demand". Engraph will send you the phone and provide the website for $10/day. This could help in cross country trips, family vactions or other special events where real time location tracking could be incorporated into a website.

Google mapping Eric's Lunch - From the site: "Eric is a software engineer and works at 19th/L. He likes to eat lunch, and, as there are tons of places in the 19th/L area, he wrote a google maps application to track his progress. He is not a food critic. He is just a nerd who likes to document these things for other people to use."

Google Mapping your Resume - Two people that I've seen have added Google Maps to their online resume/CV showing the personal locations of where they have been employed in the past: Vianney Lecroart (Argentina) Jeroen Baidenmann (The Netherlands)

Let's not forget Shakin Dave - An awesome personal mashup concept (although Dave hasn't broadcasted for quite a while).