Google to Launch Embeddable Maps

Posted on August 14, 2007

APC reports that Google is going to be launching an embed feature for Google Maps that will make it as easy to embed in your blog as a YouTube video clip.

Google Australia this morning showed a new iteration of Google Maps, launching about a week from now.
First up, if you know how to embed a YouTube video in your blog, you'll be able to embed Google Maps in your website, Google promises.
It'll be as simple as cutting and pasting a bit of HTML code into your website, just like a YouTube video.
The embedded maps have the full functionality of Google Maps -- they provide satellite view, map view or hybrid view, and users can click and drag the maps around.

PC World confirmed the embeddable map story.

To embed a Google Map, you pull up the map you want to embed--it can be a location, a business, series of driving directions, or a My Map you've created--and then click "Link to this page" and copy and paste the HTML into your website or blog. The embedded map will be fully interactive--you can drag and click or zoom in on a location, and view it in map, satellite, and hybrid modes,

This sounds like it could be a great feature for blogs. If you are talking about an event such a concert or conference an embeddable map could keep the viewer on your site while they use the map. They would also be useful for current events to pinpoint the location. It would be useful to have a map to show visitors when blogging about breaking news events like the Minnesota bridge collapse or the trapped Utah coal miners story. The maps would also obviously be very useful for travel blogs.

Update 8-15-07: Google Operating System discusses a couple services that already let you embed Google Maps: Map Generator and My Maps Plus.