IDES 322: Mapping
April 9th, 2009 by Alex 8 CommentsFrom the Google Lat Long Blog:
As the news began to spread of the Red River’s record-setting crest level, the first order of the day was to help get the word out to as many as possible. This was especially true in Fargo, North Dakota’s most populous city, with 92,000 residents living in the vicinity of the Red River.
View can view that as a larger map if you want. Go ahead and add Google Maps to your list of game changing technologies. Civic, artistic, environmental, social. Location based platforms open up a whole new world to what you can do on the web.
Thankfully, these platforms are relatively easy to use, and becoming familiar with them is like adding a bazooka to your already powerful arsenal of tools. The maps and mashups you create with them become tips of a massive, contextual, data iceberg. Naturally, we want you to become familiar with these tools. You will be working to create a map that can be used as part of the Farm Philly project.
Today, Rick will also be working with you to continue the customization of the Farm Philly site. The design and templates should be up to snuff by next week.
COMMENT
- With the Google Lat Long Blog as a starting point, go find a mapping project that really inspires you. Write a short post about it on your personal blog.
CREATE
- Use Google Maps to create a map that demonstrates a part of the food production and distribution system. Show us how something is broken and inefficient or demonstrate a sustainable system. Consider how you use lines and icons to visualize your data. Embed your map on your personal blog. In class next week we will choose a map or a group of maps to be featured on the Farm Philly site.
- Continue to post in your sections on the Farm Philly site. You should have documented all of your groups’ progress to date by the next class.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Interestingly enough, just after I posted this I ran across a few great posts on some of the more metaphysical features of Google Maps. One is from several years ago and packed with great links and references. The other is more recent and is about the future of Street View. If you’re feeling tempted or ambitious give them a read and post some thoughts of your own.
April 9th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
More from me. Here are some how-to’s you’ll probably find useful for this week:
How to add custom icons to your map.
How to share your map with others for collaborative editing.
How to embed your map in a WordPress.com blog.
How to embed your map on a Blogger blog.
Map Channels is a service that add another layer of customization for embedding maps into blogs and website. Take a look if you’ve got the basics down already.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
You guys might be interested in this article by Kazys Varnelis and Leah Meisterlin (both of Columbia University’s Netlab): The invisible city: Design in the age of intelligent maps. Varnelis is an astute critic of networked cultures and this essay provides a wider conceptual framework for thinking about the prevalence of dynamic mapping in the era of the Google.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
I’ll be using this post for reference on a small side project I’m working on. Thanks for the information.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Here’s a great map about imported oil:
http://jhgnotes.blogspot.com/2009/04/where-is-our-oil-coming-from.html
and here’s my post about food near UArts:
http://jhgnotes.blogspot.com/2009/04/were-to-eat-at-uarts.html
April 16th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Here’s a map of the places our group did research at for our container project.
April 16th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Sorry! I forgot to add the link, here is the link…
http://elissameyers.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/container-research-map/
April 26th, 2009 at 10:48 am
here’s a map of near by hardware stores. http://arusiski.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/hardware-stores/