In this regular newsletter series, Map Map Methods (MMM), we’ve dedicated each article to a particular feature of our exciting new online mapping platform, Map Mavin. So far we’ve covered the many tools and features available to users working independently, from uploading and viewing data to creating an unlimited number of web maps. But what if you want to collaborate with other users on a team project with a mapping component?

One of standout features of our online web-mapping application Map Mavin is the ability to work with other users on the same map regardless of where they are in the world. With our Screen Share feature, users can simultaneously view the same data and watch edits take place in real-time on their screens. Additionally, users have the ability to live chat with all members of a project and hold a discussion while viewing the same map!

Using Map Mavin’s Screen Share Feature – Video Overview

In our last lesson we reviewed the process of visualizing data that’s been uploaded into Map Mavin as well as how to navigate around one’s web maps. In this edition of MMM, we’ll first watch a brief video where two actual Map Mavin users make a collaborative map over Turlock, California to coordinate on directions through town. Next, a more complex example of how Map Mavin could be used in the field is detailed below in a fictional case involving fire management teams.

Wildfire Management Team Uses Map Mavin to Plan Controlled Burns

While the number and variety of scenarios in which Screen Share could be used are endless, let’s imagine a scenario in which the potential of Map Mavin could be applied on the job. In this example we will look at how Map Mavin could be quickly and easily used by firefighters to plan their controlled burns of underbrush in a rural setting. In much of the rural United States controlled burns are a vital component of any fire management plan. Firefighters carefully select areas in which to burn the undergrowth below larger trees in order to prevent larger, more destructive fires down the road. Given the remoteness of these sites, firefighters are generally going off trail in order to perform such tasks. This means a reliance on simple trail maps is often not enough. Using Map Mavin, a firefighting team is able to create polygons highlighting the areas in which controlled burning will take place, use points to designate where to ignite the fires, and plot routes to and from the sites with lines, all within our easy-to-use redlining toolbox.

While one group of firefighters is logged into Map Mavin and outlining the areas that need burning, another team, also online, can be chatting with the others to decide the best route on foot to the sites. A consensus is reached and the routes are plotted on the map in real-time, with all parties able to see the changes being made and comment on the final plan to be implemented. The best part? At no point in the process is any high-level understanding of geographic information systems or mapping applications needed. Thus the firefighters are instead able to quickly make the maps they need to address their plan, giving them time to focus on their jobs instead of complicated software or personnel management across multiple teams.

Of course, this is only one example of the wide-ranging potential of Map Mavin’s Screen Share feature. If you know how to turn on a computer and log onto the Internet, you’ve already got the skills necessary to take advantage of our simple yet powerful collaborating mapping platform!

For any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to:

Fletcher Berryman
Cloud Tamer
(970) 710-0909
fletcher@apollomapping.com