Maps are really useful on hyperlocal sites.
There are a number of tools to create your own map. Google’s My Maps is an easy one to start with and you can easily link to it, embed it and invite other people to collaborate with you.
Read Google’s introduction to My Maps here. You’ll need to sign up for a Google account to use this service. As well as creating public maps to display on your site, you can create private maps to collaborate between a group, handy for agreeing who will cover which patch in a leaflet drop, for example.
[…] Talk About Local gives a quick fire guide to creating maps using Google – and ways you might use them for storytelling here. […]