Integrating maps onto the site

With the advent of Google maps where you can display location information not just as a list but on a map, we're interested in seeing if we can take advantage of this for some of AVM's networking goals.

One obvious application of maps would be to include a view of the map alongside the database of venues for volunteering events that we're developing. It would be really practical to be able to see where venues are on a map right on the screen, rather than having to do this separately.

Another application could possibly be allowing members to pin their own location on a map so that members can see where there fellow AVM groupies are based. This would be particularly interesting to combine with the skill sharing register we'd like to develop. For example, who in your area has the skills you'd be interested in getting support on? This would obviously be something each member would have to input themselves. We would not want to share a member's location information who didn't want to.

One other possible application may be using maps to define the local areas that certain peer groups decide to operate in. Here an example of how this could work from San Francisco Parenting Groups.

It would be interesting to hear others' thoughts and views on this.