{"id":3862,"date":"2014-11-21T07:32:32","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T15:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/?p=3862"},"modified":"2014-11-21T07:32:32","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T15:32:32","slug":"the-story-maps-life-cycle","status":"publish","type":"insider","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/the-story-maps-life-cycle","title":{"rendered":"The Story Maps Life Cycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

From custom beginnings to templatization: The evolution of a Story Map template<\/em><\/strong>
\nStory Maps<\/a> can inform and inspire your audience. They combine interactive maps and multimedia content into elegant user experiences. One of the latest Story Maps\u2014Geography Bee: A Global Gallery of Pollinators<\/a>\u2014uses the context of geography to present a spectacular collection of bee portraits by USGS scientist Sam Droege.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You can find many more of his compelling photos on his Flickr site USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab<\/a>.
\nThe story map also showcases a prototype of a variation on the Story Map Tour, currently the most popular story map template. This prototype is a precursor to what will become a future layout option for the Story Map Tour.
\nCustom beginnings<\/strong><\/span>
\nSo what is the evolution of a Story Map template? Not all story maps start off the same way, but often a Story Map template starts off as a custom project. These projects can support a specific event, be the result of partnering with another organization, or simply support an interesting story idea.
\nFor example, a Story Map precipitated by an event is Decisive Moments in the Battle of Gettysburg<\/a>, published to mark the sesquicentennial of the battle<\/a>. Another example of a custom Story Map covers NASA Mars rovers<\/a>. And yet another appeared in The Atlantic<\/em>, used by James Fallows to chronicle his journeys across America<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In some cases the source for these custom story maps may be available on request, but unless it’s a candidate for the next step, the end of the story (map) could be the custom app it was intended for.
\nFrom custom to template<\/strong>
\nIf a custom Story Map style seems to be of universal appeal, and not too dependent upon specific data, then it becomes a candidate for evolving to the next step\u2014becoming a Story Map app template. An example is the journal app which first appeared in The Atlantic<\/em>. Realizing the application had universal appeal, it was subsequently evolved into a hosted template that anyone could use, including downloadable source on GitHub, a configuration or builder experience for authoring, documentation, and responsive design to fit all form factors.
\nYet another example is the very first story map<\/a>, one comparing the geography of Fort Sumter during Civil War times to today. This first story map used Flash to animate the comparison of the two maps using a slider. Since then, the slider concept has been institutionalized as the Story Map Swipe template<\/a>.
\nContinued evolution<\/strong>
\nStory Maps don’t stop evolving, rather many continue to evolve like the Story Map Tour mentioned at the top of this post. The Story Map Swipe is also a great example of an evolving template. The original vertical swipe was extended by using the same template (and a new builder authoring experience) to add a Story Map Spyglass<\/a> configuration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Start your own Story Map (r)evolution<\/strong>
\nSource code for Story Maps are found on GitHub. Click Learn More under the Story Map apps listed on the Story Maps website<\/a> to find links to the respective GitHub repositories, where complete source code and documentation can be found for each. You can also be inspired by viewing a gallery of custom Story Maps<\/a>. Some of the apps, and many of the customization ideas, will be incorporated into the future Story Map evolution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[276562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3862","insider","type-insider","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-storytelling-maps"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Story Maps Life Cycle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/the-story-maps-life-cycle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Story Maps Life Cycle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From custom beginnings to templatization: The evolution of a Story Map template Story Maps can inform and inspire your audience. 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