There’s quite a few in Plugins > Maps or Member Maps.
I haven’t examined each – as tonight is my first date with BP.
Creating a Google Map from user’s address info (I wouldn’t get more specific than post code, unless it is a store front business) is fairly common. I wrote my first Google Map, of my customers, 1 1/2 years ago, and it wasn’t new then.
I know the first thing I will need to do is modify the user’s profile page to include post code for individuals, street address for store fronts. For what I want to do in BP, I will:
* Get the user’s post code
* Then use Google’s free API script to “geocode” the address (convert address to LAT/LNG coordinates) and store in SQL table.
* Display the Map (in a CSS .div) with a handful of user’s.
Maps don’t make a lot of sense if they are too big or too over-populated with “Pins”. A “MapLoco” hit counter map is fun to look at with 100s of little dots, but not at all useful in a social networking scenario.
What I’m going to do with Maps, is use it in a Jobs scenario, for small bands wanting gigs, and venues needing small bands, to find each other, schedule performances or gigs (I hate to use the more accurate word “dates”), book, then have the map for driving directions.
After all, it is a Google Map, so use the built-in driving directions, with satellite and street view to see the location before going there.