Another useful mapping tool is UMapper.

UMapper is an application for making embeddable maps in Flash that you can use on a website or blog. You can add points and shapes to your map and even make it interactive.

I did a test map using a story I did after the Moscow subway bombings in March. The story was a timeline of sorts, outlining some of the most notable militant attacks in Russia in the past decade or so. The map I created highlights the locations of the attacks.

Militant Attacks in Russia

See the map on the UMapper site  here.

For another example, check out how The Palm Beach Post used UMapper to create an interactive map showcasing holiday lights displays:  See it here.

For personal use, UMapper is free, but for commercial use, you have to buy the Premium version. The good thing is that it only charges you based on the number of views your map gets.  For example, if you get 50,000 views in a month, you pay $12.50 that month.  For 500,000 views, you’re out $105.

You can check out UMapper’s Terms of Use here, for more on what constitutes as personal or commercial use:  Terms of Use.

Another free tool for visualizing data is Many Eyes.

Many Eyes allows you to create graphs, charts and maps using data sets you upload to the site. You can then “share” the image on your website.

The problem with Many Eyes is that it’s very keen on advertising itself, and its name features prominently in any chart you make.

So another option for creating charts is Swivel.

Swivel is free if your data is public. You are free to copy any charts you make using Swivel onto your organization’s website as long as you cite a link to the original graph or data set.

Several news sites are already using Swivel, including U.S. News and World Report and the Baltimore Sun.

Here’s a little test I did using data already collected in Swivel. You can also do bar graphs, pie charts, scatter plots and more. Pretty nifty.

Here’s an idea to make your website more interactive and to bring that added value to a story that’s widely reported.  Add a map!

The Ushahidi Platform is a free, open source tool that allows you to gather data from people anywhere in the world and visualize it on a map or timeline. It is designed especially to report incidents during crisis or emergency situations. For example, the Washington Post used it to map out DMV residents’ needs during “Snowmageddon” this year. Check it out here.

The site was originally developed to map reports of post-election violence in Kenya in 2008.

From Ushahidi's website

The Ushahidi platform must be installed to a server.  People can submit their reports to administrators via SMS, web and email.

Ushahidi is a Swahili word meaning “testimony” or “witness.” As we encourage our audiences to engage more with us through blogging and social media sites, imagine the potential for a tool like this.