Abstract
Cartoblography: scope, function and design of social-network web mapping
Track: Teaching with GIS in Higher Education
Author
Desktop, online and mobile mapping landscapes have never been as rich or diverse yet this challenges cartography to adapt and remain relevant in the modern mapping world. Blogs, micro-blogs and online forums underpin a more interconnected world. People communicate ever more and are increasingly keen to explain and illustrate their lives; showing where they are and what they are doing.
We explore the spatial expression of micro-blogging and twitter as a social networking tool. Examples of ‘twitter maps’ are reviewed that leverage the twitter API and online map services, such as the ArcGIS Flex API, to locate some component on the ‘tweet’. Scope, function and design are illustrated through development of mashups, collaborative real-time mapping and the organisation and display of information for mass user events. Use and user experimentation informs design guidelines that demonstrate the value of ‘cartoblography’ – a framework for mapping the spatial context of micro-blogging.
Kenneth Field
Kingston University
Centre for GIS
Penrhyn Road
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE
United Kingdom
Phone: +44(0)2085477541
E-mail: ken.field@kingston.ac.uk
James O'Brien
Kingston University London
Centre for GIS
Penrhyn Road
Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE
United Kingdom
Phone: +44(0)85472000
E-mail: j.obrien@kingston.ac.uk