The days of having to plan for trips by spreading large maps across the kitchen counter and pulling out pencils and highlighters are, thankfully, gone. And to say a little bit about what’s replaced this process – along with what’s still on the way – MapQuest’s David Cole spoke to WebProNews at SXSW.

As Cole, who holds the title “Director of Sales, Platform Services,” noted, MapQuest recently launched version 6.0 of the MapQuest Actionscript / Flex SDK. As a result, developers have all sorts of nifty stuff at their disposal, including new controls and the option to let users drag routes.

MapQuest also introduced a “Share to Facebook” feature not too long ago, which is nice for lots of reasons. If a number of friends are taking separate cars to one place, for example, this will help them decide if and when they should meet up along the way. Or solo travelers’ friends can look at their route and suggest the best spots to eat and stay.

Then here’s one other important detail Cole shared: “We’re one of the most downloaded applications on the iPhone, despite the fact that other options are built in.”

Developer involvement, social media, and the mobile market all seem poised to play important roles in the future of mapping, then.