We’ve been diving into the world of mapping in recent months, and are getting favorable response from readers.

Our Pothole Map has drawn lots of activity locally as well as interest from far away (check out the post from Germany); it's even helped to prompt several potholes to get repaired.  And I’m a big fan of our Restaurant Picks map, which I use – along with Inside Guide – to find good places to eat.

Our latest map is a fun one. It’s called Bakersfield’s Quirks, and it’s a place for our readers to plot offbeat things that make Bakersfield, well, Bakersfield. Some are just plain goofy, like the stone picnic table that sits inside a parking garage. Others, like the famous shoe building, have gained global attention over the years.

We know you’ve seen quirky places around town. How about sharing some of them with the rest of us?

This morning we launched an overhaul to our Classfied section. A lot of the improvements are technical and will lay the foundation for even more cool stuff to come soon. But for now, the changes feature:

• Easier-to-use design
• Larger photos
• A list of the most popular ads
• Improved search, including by ZIP code for those ads that contain that information
• Links to bakersfield.com blogs and Your Words stories on subjects related to the ads in question
• Links to bakersfield.com readers whose profiles indicate they're "into" the items being sold

As always, these improvements are works  in progress, and we love to get constructive feedback, as well as suggestions for features you'd love to see.