I picked this tool because it reminded me of a project I worked on during my summer internship at a non-profit. I used Google maps to create an interactive map that highlighted queer histories in India. I remember considering using StoryMapsJS, but because we wanted the map to be crowd-sourced we decided Google Maps would work better for our purposes.
I decided to try recreating some of the map using StoryMapsJS because it is much more visually appealing than Google Maps. It was fairly intuitive to use- you input text, images or other media and tag it to a specific location on a map. As you keep adding more locations you create a journey of sorts and you can see where you’ve ‘traveled’ on the map. I really liked this feature of StoryMapsJS as it highlighted the interconnectedness of the stories featured.
Some of the limitations I encountered were that the free version only supports 20 locations (I think), and there are very limited options for basemaps because one of the sites that had a large database of free basemaps recently made them paywall protected. Despite this it is still a pretty cool tool if you have a smaller project or a specific narrative you’re trying to showcase.
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