When we build community we don’t necessarily need more conversations. Sometimes we need answers quickly. The answers we need will vary, but one such angle to fill is the need to find what is in a specific location or within a specific category.
Maps and directories can be great for this.
This is not just about a member profile, directories have limitless potential.
A directory could be used for:
venues
services
organizations
other communities
blogs / websites / resources
jobs
and of course, people 🙂
Whilst these maps and directories can be very useful, the biggest challenge is how to keep it up to date and relevant. It quickly becomes irrelevant as soon as the information becomes stale.
The Self-Directed Alliance Example
I leave you with an example from The Self-Directed Alliance that inspired this post. They use Mapbox as some of the tech behind it.
What the map looks like visually:
The categories it uses for the map listings:
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