Editor, revised

Here’s another great contribution from Erica Smith, the talent behind the indispensable Paper Cuts map of newspaper layoffs.

When I posted about that site, Erica chimed in and steered me toward a tutorial she wrote about creating Google maps from a database without having to know code. I finally took the time to run through it, exporting the data from my earlier effort on Community Walk.

The tutorial is concise and easy to follow. Unfortunately, the instructions for incorporating javascript into a Wordpress post are not, so you must click the image or HERE to see my map.

This is a must-visit for anybody getting their feet wet in the world of mashups. Thanks, Erica.

This via cyberjournalist: An interactive map of newspaper layoffs and buyouts this year at graphicdesignr.net. The listed total is more than 4,880. You can also find one for 2007, which includes the cuts at my newspaper, The Spokesman-Review.

Two points: First, this map is more affecting than the daily reports on Romanesko or a simple number. Which is another example of why multimedia just makes information crackle.

Second, take a look at Erica Smith’s site while you’re there. She’s an accomplished news designer at a major metro who also has chops in flash design and mashing up data.

My news design background is scantier, limited to the B section and wire pages at the S-R and a few A1 design shifts at the Missourian. But I would love to develop skills and a portfolio like Smith’s. It’s one big way I can help avoid becoming part of her next map.

At right, one of my better page one efforts.

On Monday we ran a story about the Old City Drive in Spokane, an excursion mapped out by the visitors center folks to highlight points of interest and charm in the Lilac City.

The city editor sent me a page of typed directions and asked me to post them with the story. I said OK but thought I’d go one up and replicate the drive in Google Maps. It was quick and the result, below, is embarrassingly plain. But I thought it might add something useful for a few readers.

On Monday morning, I was linking up content and read in the story that there was an online map of the new, longer city drive. When I found it at the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau website, I had to laugh: the folks there had also used Google Maps, and it looks like this.

View Larger Map

I’ve recently been drooling over Google maps mashups. I’m coming into the game late, and I lack the programming skills to produce anything like these maps of homicides in New York City, Spokane residents’ stories about a big snowfall* and happy hours in Washington, D.C.)

But the rise of mashups has inspired some easy-to-use, free tools on the Web for neophytes like me. For instance, I used Community Walk to create this map of places I’ve lived. While I wouldn’t use this site for my job, it’s a functional resource for personal projects.

Community Walk offers its own tutorials, so I won’t bother with that here. But here are a couple things I like about the service.

• Bulk editing: Once you’ve placed a couple markers, you can download the data as a csv (comma separated values) file and continue editing in a spreadsheet. I found this to be a lot faster than using the online interface, and it gave me access to features I didn’t find online, such as ordering my markers.
• Multimedia: You can add audio to your markers. Although I didn’t do this with my project, I like the idea. Might be a good way to add ambiance to a map of neighborhood watering holes or hikes.
• Clean interface: I never take this characteristic for granted. I found it exceptionally easy to navigate the mapmaking functions. That said, I found the presentation of the finished map to be a little clunky. For a few bucks you can remove the ads from your map, which takes care of some of the clutter. But the navigation sidebar feels too wide.

The verdict: Until I build my chops to the point that I can make this kind of map using API tools, Community Walk is a good stepping stone.

*Disclosures: A friend of mine was involved in creating the homicide map; my boss created the Spokane map; and another friend was the sole force behind the happy hours map.