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Maptia: Welcomes You to a World of Stories

by . December 3rd, 2014

As David Griffin had said in his TED Talks, photography can create real and positive connections with its viewers. Not only that, photography can be a positive agent for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing our world today. Which is why it is amazing to see such dedicated people create a new platform where people can—not only share stories—but expose them to the world; Maptia accomplishes just that.

Founded by Dorothy Sanders (CEO and designer), Dean Fischer (Lead Developer), and Jonny Miller (Head of Marketing), Maptia was an idea that sprung from the lack of ways to share and find memorable, location-based experiences. The goal of Maptia is simple: to create a community of storytellers and give them a home where they can have the creative tools to publish their stories. Some of the featured storytellers are famed photographers Steve McCurry, James Morgan, Chris Herwig, and many more.

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The diversity of stories is just something I really love about Maptia. It is as if I am travelling from one doorway to another. One moment I could be in the great savannas of Kenya with wildebeests and then be invited into the homes of grandmothers giving me a visual sampling of different delicacies.

The stories are wonderfully categorized into themes, causes, and places — but what takes the cake is the Editor’s Picks section. Unlike in other sites wherein you just see a list and click one, Maptia’s Editor’s Picks presents you a beautiful map wherein you can explore and click random spots. You can also view the Editor’s Picks in grid view for easier navigation. Aesthetically speaking, Maptia’s design and layout is simple — giving you a distraction-free page. The stark white background perfectly highlights the crisp text while that helps bolster the beauty of the images. Another plus feature of Maptia is its responsive design that makes it gorgeously viewable to a variety of devices; it’s a great companion for everyone regardless of what device they own.

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I had the pleasure of actually trying it out during in its staging phase and was deeply impressed. Maptia’s story editor is a no-frills thing. In fact, all you have to do is upload your images and write. The WYSIWYG functionality of the story editor by far is a huge draw for me because—unlike other blog platforms that complicate the publishing process—Maptia focuses on helping you create and publish your story with as little fuss as possible.

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Maptia’s mission to create a beautiful, shared record of lives and experiences from everyone holds true. As a photographer, I cannot wait to see all the stories and beautiful images that everyone would be sharing.

If you want to know more about Maptia, visit their website, Maptia.com, for more details.

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