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social geography, computing, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) |
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work as a computer technician and researcher in
Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) |
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part-time phd in cybergeography in UCL Geography |
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currently on secondment with Peacock Maps |
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geography of the Net, cybergeography |
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net measurement and mapping |
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cataloguing of diverse range of maps |
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critical appraisal of maps and visualisation |
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there are many ways to describe and understand
cyberspace (economics, legal, mathematics, art, …) |
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I’m a geographer, so I believe maps enjoy a
privileged position |
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maps have been powerful visual tools for
understanding the world for 1000s of years |
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maps have been key in framing our understanding
places, their size, shape and the relations between them |
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maps have been vital for navigation |
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can be summed up by the questions: |
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Can we make maps? - Yes |
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Can we make useful maps? - Maybe, not yet |
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from feedback received so far, it seems like a
question many people asking |
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need in education and training |
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revealing what is hidden. Making the invisible
visible. Enhancing our understanding |
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no grand theories; eclectic research, drawing
together disparate examples |
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interesting in themselves. Maps as art? |
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I take a very broad view of the term ‘map’ |
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following from a long ‘honourable’ cartographic
tradition |
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critical appraisal about what they show, do they
work, why where they made |
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all maps distort, all deceive - some are
deliberate and some are unintentional |
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privacy issues. Maps to monitor, track &
control |
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many maps funded by military and marketing |
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no such thing as a true map of cyberspace |
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Development of critical cartography in the last
10 years or so |
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the 2nd text of maps |
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social and political contexts of maps and the
map makers |
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JB Harley, The New Nature of Maps (2001) |
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Denis Wood, The Power of Maps (1992) |
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Jeremy Black, Maps and History (1997) |
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Most obvious being through |
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data selection/omission |
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projections |
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how are maps of cyberspace |
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deceiving? |
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many ways to project cyberspace |
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onto a map |
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information maps – cyberspace navigation |
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wide variety of ‘experiments’ / products |
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visual metaphors |
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dimension (2D, 2.5D, 3D) |
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static - dynamic |
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levels of user interactivity |
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scales of maps |
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individual site maps |
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dynamic surf maps / trail maps / history viz |
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large chunks of information space |
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focus on interactive 2d space-filling
information maps |
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the missing ‘up button’ on the browser |
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intelligent summarisation and generalisation |
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3 key advantages: |
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a sense of the whole (the birds eye view / big
picture) |
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revealing hidden connections |
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support interactive, unstructured browsing. |
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Much information seeking for haphazard,
ill-defined. May not know exactly what you are looking for. Iterative and
fluid. Exploration. |
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Spatialisation – turning data into maps |
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Key spatial properties: |
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area |
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position |
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proximity |
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Scale |
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+ graphic properties of colour, shape, label,
etc |
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how helpful are the current maps in navigating
cyberspace? |
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are the maps just eye candy? |
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major usability issues, need evaluation |
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effectiveness. Misleading more than informing |
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killer map is yet to be drawn |
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I want the Tube map for the Web |
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potential developments |
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surf maps integrated into the browser |
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search engine result maps |
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developing a critical reading of information
maps? |
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Questions ?? I would welcome feedback to
m.dodge@ucl.ac.uk |
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The slides of this presentation are available at
http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/martin/wiretap/ |
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keep in touch, join the cybergeography news
bulletin http://www.cybergeography.org/register.html |
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Notes