Another good pointer from the Canadian Cartographic Assoc.

A TechNews (and a number of other news sites) story talks about the directions some of the larger online map providers are heading. With the release of Google Maps, Google Earth, Microsoft’s Live Local and upgrades to other online mapping sites such as Yahoo! Maps
all in the past year, the online mapping industry has become very
competitive. With many such sites offering a similar product, the key
is to differentiate oneself from one’s competitors by offer new
information or presenting existing information in a unique manner.
States the article: “Microsoft Corp. is working on a mechanism that
would have avid mountain bikers, for example, collectively plot good
trails. Yahoo Inc. is appealing to its users to add information on
local businesses and places of interest. Yahoo even recently bought Upcoming.org, a collaborative calendar of events.”

Interestingly, Mapquest
“estimates that driving directions cost [the] company a penny apiece
and a static map much less — expenses recouped through sales of ads
displayed at the site.” The article goes on to discuss the online map
sites’ different approaches to the problem of determining the right
driving directions.”