Take Yahoo maps for instance. It is one of the oldest Internet maps online. And the capabilities and features of these comprehensive internet maps only continues to grow as time passes. First, they could be zoomed in and out to see the entire lay of the land. Next, streets and roads were made visible, when available. Next, the internet maps were expanded in scope to cover not just America, but several other cities in the world. And finally, the internet maps have been embedded with smart technology to make them relate everything from traffic reports to weather conditions at any given place at any given time.
As a result of all these innovations, a whole new world of advertising possibilities has opened up. Cyber space and more specifically Internet maps have become prime real estate as far as advertisers are concerned. For websites merely providing a link to yahoo maps to show their location, internet maps have been used (some would say exploited) to become online advertising avenues that peddle several products and services to site visitors. And each time one of those visitors actually uses a producer service highlighted on your bit of the Internet map, you get paid!
One of the finest Internet maps that has emerged in recent times if Google Earth. Of course, this is more of a three dimensional globe than a map, but it broadly serves the same purpose. What makes Google Earth a really collaborative Internet map is the fact that users worldwide, come together to update and present various landmarks, information and even services from all over the globe. For instance, a feature that continues to make Google Earth a reliable internet map is the fact that real people, like you and me, have posted their travel experiences, suggestions, photographs and even web cams at various landmarks on the 3D map to inform and educate others. This collaboration gives this internet map a truly global appeal and makes it that much richer since the vast majority of the content is user defined. As opposed to the staid and structured content found on other internet maps, if at all.