,Sooooo, the next time I opened the map all the photos were gone. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to get a URL that would work and stay working and it was in the Google Maps Help Forum that I got an answer that gave a link to a site that would convert the temporary URL into a stable one. I also searched for YouTube videos on how to load photos into Google Maps and found one that had an error message attached to it that gave an updated version of how to get a permanent URL in Picasa and it turns out that the same action works for photos in Flickr. I’m giving up there! This is the first time I have found anything useful on a help forum so I thought I contribute back, but it seems I need to be a member to do that so I’ll just share what I found with you.

How to get a URL for your photo
Picasa: Choose your photo, open it up in the largest size, control + click (Apple) or right click (pc) the image and select “Copy image address”. Back in the map site, in the feature box, click the camera icon, click on “Image URL” and paste the image address here. The photo should appear in the box.
Flickr: In “Camera roll” mode, click to enlarge the image then right click on it and select “Copy link address”. Back in the map site, in the feature box, click the camera icon, click on “Image URL”, paste the image address in to the. The photo should appear in the box.
Google Photos: Right click the image, chose “Get shareable link” from the dialogue box, decide which level of sharing you to place on your image here. Copy the URL. This link works only temporarily so paste it into this site which will convert it to a more permanent link. Copy and paste this URL in to the photo box of the map. The photo should appear in the box.

My last task was to screencast an invitation to viewers to contribute to the community map and here is the Baynes Sound Community Map Invitation. The screencast video is shown below but it has been truncated on the right so you may prefer to follow the link to see the full-scale version. I find these so difficult to do without the audience response to carry me along.  I need to make another set of edits, find a smile,  and use the clearer webcam before I go public with the invitation. For now I’m anxious to see what responses I’ll get from the friends and colleagues I’ve sent it to.