Computer Tricks and Secrets

Short answer: Export your Google Contacts to a CSV file, then import that file into Google My Maps. My Maps geocodes the postal addresses automatically and drops a pin for every contact, so you get an interactive map of where everyone lives or works in a few minutes. I keep hundreds of contacts in Google, and for years they were just a flat list of names. The moment I plotted them on a map, planning trips and meetups got dramatically easier. I could suddenly see which friends were clustered in one city and which addresses were worth a detour. Here is exactly how I do it, using only official Google tools that are free. Why map your contacts at all? A visual map answers questions a contact list never can. Who is near the conference I am flying to next month? Which clients are within a 30 minute drive of each other so I can batch visits? Where should I look for a place to stay when I visit a new region? Seeing addresses as pins instead of text turns your address book into a planning ...