State of the Art: Blogging on Maps

There are many different professional blogs about cartography and GIS on the internet. However, blogs are a time-consuming task and I have noticed that several of the professional blogs are intentionally being discontinued by the authors. http://ccablog.blogspot.com/ and http://gis-geoblog.blogspot.com/ are two of the first ones i discovered where the author has announced their intention to discontinue the blog. I don't blame them, blogs are a lot of work and, honestly, do not feel that rewarding (at least to me). There are many other more beneficial activities that could be done in the not-insignificant time it takes to create, write, and maintain a blog. Some of the reasons for stopping a blog include job commitments (making money is always nice) and spending more meaningful time with their families.

The discontinued cartography blog (http://ccablog.blogspot.com/ )included a post about mapping daily activities. The author mapped his daily vehicle route to work, noting how frequently he traveled on the roads. He mapped each road with a graduated brightness to note how frequently he traveled on them. Here's an example of the map he created

The best and most professional blogs I have read are the ones sponsored by companies, such as ESRI (http://www.esri.com/blogs/index.html). Since the company literally pays them to write the blog (or post the work they are doing for the company), the content tends to be of higher quality and the posts are more frequent. Here is an ESRI blog focusing on geoprocessing (http://blogs.esri.com/Dev/blogs/geoprocessing/default.aspx), especially relevant to this blog due to the work I conducted on the V&T railroad.

The archaeology blog is a very interesting topic and the author has a passion for the subject, posting rich discussions about his work, such as a 3d model of a mill that no longer exists from 1890. This is the next step of geoprocessing, actually modeling and placing the buildings that once existed on the old maps.

Overall, I think the purpose of blogs for GIS should be interesting topics or work that is currently being conducted by the author. Research can be done by anyone on the internet, but showing your own personal or proffessional work and including your commentary on it is unique, that is why the blogs provided by developers are so popular.

Mapping Games

Mapping games are an interesting area of interactive, dynamic maps that aid in the learning and understanding of geography. There are many sites devoted to gaming maps, such as http://www.maps.com/FunFacts.aspx and http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm. Most of these games are simply continent, state, country, and capital memorization games. The Sheppard software site also offers landscape maps specific to the regions that the game focuses on.

After more research, I discovered a comprehensive map game that covered many different areas. This game is called GeoNet, http://www.eduplace.com/geonet/ . This game includes many categories including location, physical and human characteristics, physical systems, human systems (population, etc), environment and society, and the uses of geography. However, this game is mostly trivia based and does not focus on the actual reading or understanding of maps.

Sheppard Software offers the most interesting use of map games. The Landscape games are especially interesting. I spent some time playing the United States Geographic Regions game.

This game used narration and visual cues to help the learning process, and provided interactivity on the users part obviously by playing the game. After getting the correction answer in the game, it shows additional information about the place in question. In the screenshot, it is about south central america.

Throughout this search for mapping games, it appears that most developers use several techniques of interactivity to help the learning process. Narration helps the user understand the directions and offer insight into the game. Color is used simply to help in understanding since the games audience is likely to be younger and not interested or require a great level of detail. Extra information about the area, such as the Sheppard Software games, helps understand and visualize the area. I think the most important aspects of these games is that they are intuitive, easy to read and understand, and are generally interesting to play. These aspects should also be the goal of any map project, maybe even moreso when designing a map for a specific audience, where ease of use and understanding may be even more important.

Recreation and Space Representation in New England

When Discussing New England, I feel that it is first necessary to define exactly what the boundaries are of “New England.” When asked about this, most people don't have an exact definition for New England, other than the ability to distinguish what New England is based on a description, pictures, or a “feeling.” According to Wikipedia, New England encompasses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Looking at specific recreation guides for New England, such as one guide I have that details the recreation in Western Maine, I have noticed similarities in the way that recreation and space is represented. The theme of most recreation maps for New England centers around nature and the outdoors. Many of the recreation guides include activities such as kayaking, mountain climbing, hiking, sightseeing, etc. New England has is unique in that it has some of the most beautiful and lively landscapes in the country. For example, the fall foliage, cranberry bogs, and landscapes of New England are unique and cannot be found in other parts of the country.

The wealth of history of New England, going all the way from the Pilgrims landing in 1620, attracts many tourists from all over the country as well. Many of the sightseeing and museums are devoted to experiencing the history that was written in the area, such as covered bridges, which are extremely popular and mentioned in many recreation guides.

Overall, I think the “charm of New England” is the combination of the landscapes, history, and wealth of recreational activities available in the area.

MassGIS.gov provides an interesting recreation map for Massachusetts here,

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/publications/recreation_map.pdf