Google My Maps Mania!

After the launch of "My Maps" on Google Maps (A Google tool which lets ANYONE create a Google Maps mashup in minutes) the web and blogosphere is abuzz with video, news, posts, and best of all new maps created by people using My Maps! :)

First, My Maps.. (Not mine - Yours!) ;)

Here is a list of My Maps created by Googlers (Google employees) from all over the world when the new feature was released internally before the public launch. Google Maps product manager Jess Lee cites these examples in her post announcing My Maps on the Official Google Blog:

• The Googleplex: A photo essay on life at the Google headquarters in Mountain View

• America's Highway: Oral Histories of Route 66: A glimpse into life on the legendary (and now-decommissioned) highway, and what drivers will find there today
• Around Japan in 28 Days: Catalogs a trip across Japan that can be done in 3 weeks
• 2004 Presidential Election: Red states, blue states, and election stats for each
• The World of Hello World: A map of programming languages and rough locations in the world where they were created
• Olympic Host Cities: Cities that have hosted the Olympic Games with links to related Wikipedia information
• Monster Sightings: Locations of monster sightings across the globe
Singaporean Google Maps Blogger SinGeo has created a great My Map for Singapore Marina district to show future developments there. His map really shows all features that are available in My Maps:

Singapore Future Marina Bay:

..I'll post more interesting My Maps as they appear but in the meantime if you think you have a killer My Map you'd like to share with others reading Google Maps Mania - POST A COMMENT with a link and details about your map!

Google My Maps are easy (DEAD EASY) to use allowing you to make Google Maps mashups of your own. C|Net's Elinor Mills takes you on a tour of My Maps in way a detailed blog post just can't do.. My advice - If you want to see what all the fuss is about, BEFORE trying My Maps, watch this video. After you're done, you will have the mapping itch. :)

For more of C|Net's coverage check out their story here:
Google makes mashups easy, even for me (with an image gallery)

For more assistance, check out the The Google My Maps User Guide

More News and Blog coverage:

Google Earth Blog: My Maps and Google Earth (plus some very insightful commentary on the addition of My Maps)

Washington Post: Google Turns to Users for Online Maps

GigaOm Blog: Google MyMaps Smashes Mash-ups