I've always been fascinated by maps, perhaps because of my complete lack of any sense of direction. (Should you ever travel somewhere with me, and I assure you we should turn left at the next corner, go right. GO RIGHT to be right.)
All sorts of sites are demonstrating ways to use maps on web sites, teaching geography and space in the process.
Peter Zicari got me started on this topic by sending a very cool Google map quiz. After exploring some topics on the host Mindpicnic site (which I plan to get back to at some point) and then a games site Peter also sent, I went poking around some more and found Geospatial Training. And the blog Google Maps Mania shows us good examples of how the maps can be used well.
As newspapers turn more and more to putting stories on the web, knowing more about how to use good, information-loaded graphics would seem to be a smart move. I'm not talking about graphics used as decoration, or replacing facts, but rather enhancing them. As the Boston Globe points out, online mapping services can't always keep up with reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment