Google just released “My Maps,” a Google Maps feature that lets you mark and annotate routes and save them as public maps. As an example of My Map’s potential, check out this oral history map of Route 66. (via World Hum) There’s clearly some social bookmarking potential here, for sharing maps and sharing local histories. It looks like a nifty way for hikers, Jeepers, Geocachers, and other explorers to share notes.
The Guardian writes about the dark side of Google’s release–it’s a knock on the head to people trying to make a livelihood from Google’s API.
As an example of what the Guardian is talking about, the very nifty Google Pedometer site now finds itself in direct competition with…Google itself. For hikers the Google Pedometer still holds a slight edge because it measures distances. But Google My Maps lets you annotate waypoints and keeps all your maps together on a handy page.