Today I sat down in hopes of creating a helpful map of some biologically significant areas, either from a endangered species viewpoint or from a conservation viewpoint. I have done a little fiddling around in the past with ArcGIS Online and was curious to see how MyMaps compared.
For starters, MyMaps is easier to use if you have never used any sort of GIS program before because you have probably used Google products. Most people at this point use Google Maps on their phones and computers, so this is just an extension of what they are already familiar with. I think usage might increase among new users faster with MyMaps than with ArcGIS because there is less of an intimidation factor.
Drawbacks included less accessible layers. ArcGis has a catalog of easy to access and try out layers for both basemaps and additional layering. The amount of maps a user has access to is based upon the libraries associated with the associated account organization, but even the public accounts - those not linked to specific organization accounts, have access to a wider variety of base maps and layers than I could find on MyMaps. This makes it harder to, in my case, find a layer that has all of the public lands and conservation area boundaries and layer it over the map that still has roads and topo data. Another drawback was that I was unable to import shape files or any of the other commonly used file types. The list of possible file types you can integrate is very small. I wanted to import some data from the IUCN RedList of Endangered Species, but instead I had to freehand a polygon to show a certain species' range. That's fine for an approximation but not great if you want precise data. Also, there are some significant places that still aren't on Google Maps including some special management areas that no one drives to often. If I was using this for driving directions in cities this would be a great tool but for conservation data, maybe not so much.
I think there are benefits for a super user friendly map. I was able to get in and start using it immediately, where as ArcGIS takes some learning on the front end to use at all.
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