Boston-based ZoomAtlas just announced that it has logged 22,000 user notes since its launch Nov. 16, 2009. The free geo-social networking site combines social networking with advanced mapping technology to reconnect users with friends and family by posting notes at important places in their past or present.

The ZoomAtlas social map is a detailed, lifelike wiki-map of the U.S., with satellite imagery, as well as computer-generated and user-drawn properties. Registered users now total 16,500; unique visitors total 320,000. 

Baby boomers are the most prevalent users of ZoomAtlas, and the average year reference in notes on the site is 1975.   Through ZoomAtlas, many baby boomers are reconnecting with long-lost friends and family from their past, and are sharing memories at important places in their collective lives.

“ZoomAtlas owns and controls our map layer, giving us complete flexibility, which can in part be attributed to our success,” said Mark Sherman, CEO and founder of ZoomAtlas, in the announcement.  “Geo-social networking start-ups that rely on mashups with Google Maps or Microsoft’s Bing Maps are challenged by a business model that is based on incremental improvements of another company’s base maps.  As these Internet powerhouses add new features for users to interact with their maps, users have little reason to visit those smaller mapping sites. Furthermore, since we own the base layer, users are free to edit every feature on the map, to correct errors or add exquisite detail, using our unique map editor or prebuilt objects like houses and sports fields.”

The ZoomAtlas database currently contains 140 million places in the U.S. Users can search for business or residential properties by address or business name. They can search for a street, block, neighborhood, city, town, zip code, county, state, airport, park, mall, sports complex, cemetery, church, school, hospital, military installation, or geographic feature.

Anyone can search, edit articles, or upload photos anonymously. Registration on the site or through Facebook Connect is required to post notes.