Quick AAG review
by BRITTA RICKER PETERS on April 28, 2010 • game geoweb google earth review web2.0 • 1 COMMENTI was fortunate enough to attend and present at the AAG conference (and meet Kumiko’s new iPad) in Washington DC earlier this month. The AAG is always a great time to be introduced to new ideas, reconnect with old friends and put faces with names. The problem with the AAG is that it is sooooooo BIG! I never feel like I have been to enough talks. I am only going to blog about a few here.
In no particular order, I will first report on the session titled: Geovisualization, Geovisual Analytics, Cognition, Behavior and Representation I: Navigation and Spatial Cognition organized by Kirk Goldsberry and Sara Fabrikant (note: I got here late, it started at 8am). I was really interested in Sandra Metoyer’s talk. In short, she did a study testing interactions among geovisualization tools to measure spatial thinking and student learning. She found that interactive web based maps really helped students learn about complex spatial issues. Horray!
Another session that I found very stimulating was: Global Dialogues for Emerging Science & Technology Africa: Results of two years of collaboration between US Department of State, AAG, and EIS-AFRICA
This panel was chaired by Lee R. Schwartz – who holds the title THE GEOGRAPHER OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! What a title! He is the head geographer for the U.S. Department of State. I was interested in attending this talk because it seems that Mr. Schwatz has his finger on the pulse of Neogeography and Web 2.0 and is trying to think of new ways that these tools can be used to help in the developing world. At the AAG last year I was fortunate enough to talk to him about his interests in incorporating new geospatial tools and software for a more inclusive process with state department work. Therefore when I saw this panel I was very excited to see what Mr. Schwartz has been doing! It seems like he is teaming with key players and they were all there to present their initiatives.
Panelists included:
Nathan Heard – U.S. Department of State
Charles Sebukeera – United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
Rebecca Moore – Google Earth Outreach (my personal hero! Read more about her and Google Earth Outreach to see why)
Carrie Stokes – USAID
Carmelle J. Terborgh – Federal/Global Affairs Team Lead, ESRI
Discussant(s):
Robert Swap – University of Virginia
I understand that panelists had a very limited time to present, but it seemed each shared a laundry list of projects that they were working on without actually explaining any of them in detail. They made it clear that they were “training the trainers” and not simply putting expats in Africa to do the job. Each speaker announced the need for a working organized Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) but they did not address how they were developing one and if Africans were involved in this the process. I did ask at the end and I was told they were going to discuss that in the next panel and made reference to the UN. This to me sounds like a top down approach to SDI development and participatory GIS. No one used the term public participatory GIS. There were very few academics in the room (I know this because they passed around a sign in sheet). Despite these minor let downs it was still great to see ESRI, Google Earth and the government working together to use their expertise and valuable tools to help Africa with issues such as public health, sustainable development, water resources management and a host of other vital challenges facing the African content.
Finally, my session was titled: Participatory Governance via Web 2.0 II and was organized by Dr. Renee Sieber of McGill University. There were several exciting panelist sharing their work harnessing the Geoweb for community engagement. All of the presenters were associated with the Participatory Geoweb research group funded by GEOIDE and the Canadian Government. My talk was titled: The potential for location-based services and serious gaming to enhance participatory governance and education. See my slides here.
TED talks worth Watching
by BRITTA RICKER PETERS on March 30, 2010 • game geoweb visualization web2.0: mashups • COMMENTThere were a few TED talks over the past few weeks that were really interesting and informative. Really, what TED talks are not interesting and informative?
First…Tim Berners-Lee talks Mashups. Tim Berners-Lee gets excited about open data and resulting mashups. He shows us amazing visualizations of Volunteered Geographic Content popping up all over the digital globe. He also talks about the role of this resource for disaster management. You can see in our portfolio some of the cool mashups Kumiko has made with open data.
Second… Jane McGonigal tells us about the potential for collective online gaming to save the world…not just the world of war craft.
Third…Bing Maps using augmented reality and photo synth, oh my! Although we do not use Bing Maps here at Mapkist, that may change in the near future. Check out this video to see why.
Enjoy!!
Interactive Atlas Goodness
by BRITTA RICKER PETERS on March 8, 2010 • geoweb map visualization • 1 COMMENTThe Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an organization that focuses on environmental issues across North America. This secretariat was formed as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to ensure that environmental degradation was being monitored fairly and carefully across the continent. 
One of the many noteworthy CEC initiatives is its new interactive atlas. The CEC works with the environmental ministries from Canada, the United States and Mexico to aggregate environmental data from across North America. They have developed an online atlas to show how environmental phenomenon does not stop at political boundaries. On this atlas you can view conservation areas, species habitats, pollution and waste depositories and other intriguing data sets for the entire continent. Check it out here. http://www.cec.org/atlas/
The CEC also has a featured video. You can see the back of my head around 2:05! Enjoy!
Kumiko is also building a beautiful open source interactive atlas that will be released soon. This atlas will be an exciting way to communicate and visualize a variety of information. The users will be able to navigate through the data at their own pace and hopefully gain new knowledge through this fun geospatial application!
Apps for America
by KUMIKO YAMAZAKI on August 27, 2009 • geoweb • COMMENTFinalists for the Apps for America 2 contest were announced yesterday. I didn’t make the cut……. umm, not that I participated or anything anyway.
Check them out, they are definitely worth a look.
GovPulse.us – GovPulse is a Federal Register browser. The Federal Register is the official journal of the federal government of the United States. In it, you find any kind of notice, notification and solicitation that a federal agency puts out. GovPulse parses it and gives you a way to browse the tens-of-thousands-of-pages-log register by agency, category or date. What’s also compelling about it is the visualizations and analysis the software does on top of the register. For instance, check out the agency page to see sparklines of the notices from each agency, or the map of places mentioned by an agency.
ThisWeKnow.org – This we know is probably best described as the EveryBlock for federal data. Type in your zip code or city and state, and ThisWeKnow will provide you with details that the federal government has about your community. The depth of information in the site is incredible. You can see the mass exodus occurring in Bellevue, NE or the breakdown of people diagnosed with cancer in Los Angeles.
DataMasher – Datamasher allows you to take two different public data sources and mash them up with an operator (+ – * /). Then you can share them with your friends and comment on the mashups of others. A few of my favorite mashups include: High School Graduation vs. Guns in Household, % Total Population in Prison, and my favorite: People per US Representative.
[via nextgov]
I particularly enjoyed ThisWeKnow and DataMasher – they’re EXACTLY what the geospatial web is about. Both sites are packed with location-based data and allows the user to create and aggregate their own data and map. Give them your vote! (registration required)
Maker! And my Reaction!
by KUMIKO YAMAZAKI on October 2, 2008 • apps geoweb: maker! • 1 COMMENTHere’s my first creation on Maker!. It’s displaying obesity in the U.S. along with the top bike commuting cities.
Visually they look great, and Maker! did an excellent job with its ease of use. If you know what you’re looking for and can find it on Finder!, it literally only takes minutes to create a map similar to what’s seen below.
I specifically sought out datasets that weren’t yet available on Finder! so I can upload them myself and contribute to what’s potentially becoming the source for GIS data. This isn’t just for personal use, I believe Finder! can also be used as a resource for businesses and people who are constantly in need of various data (like myself).
However, a downside – perhaps more of a compliment – is that it almost feels like a web based GIS application. You almost expect it to have more robust functionalities and tools like ESRI’s ArcGIS which can cost thousands of dollars. What if I only wanted to show the top 10 bike commuting cities? Would I need to re-upload another .csv file onto Finder! showing just the top 10? And why can’t I zoom in/out with my mouse scroll? I’m being spoiled here, I want more! If only I can code such things..
All kidding aside, I really enjoy what GeoCommons has put together between Finder! and Maker!. The professional cartography behind all of this has made it difficult for anyone to create an ‘ugly’ map. And for that alone, I thank them. This is definitely a step in the right direction for web mapping.. I only wish I had the idea and the skills to come up with it myself!
Maker! It’s Coming!
by KUMIKO YAMAZAKI on September 30, 2008 • apps geoweb: maker! • COMMENTIt’s the GeoWeb application I’ve been waiting for — Maker! GISuser has teased us with screenshots of his first test drive with it. They look great – Google Terrain always helps – but I’m looking forward to some experimentation of my own.
Does it support Macs?? How well does it handle large amounts of data? Can I embed the map on my own webpage? In the pop-up info/attribute window, is it possible to only show certain fields or do I need to upload a ‘cleaner’ data set?? Are there any mouseover effects included with Maker!? How much longer do I have to wait?? I need answers : )
Like Blogs
by KUMIKO YAMAZAKI on September 15, 2008 • geoweb • 1 COMMENTThis is the post where I admit my cartographic knowledge is being influenced by what is generally defined as neogeography.
Neogeographers may or may not be experts in geography or cartography but they are fast. New data comes along and they (we?) race to produce the first map. Competition is good but unfortunately many of these maps are ugly as sin.
The web is filled with such awful maps. They can range anywhere from having the absolute wrong color scheme to a mashup that serves zero purpose. This constant exposure lowers people’s standards for web mapping but I also understand that writers and editors felt similar outrage when the blogging world took off. Suddenly everyone had a blog whether they had any writing skills or TypEd LiKe THis. But blogs now are being embraced by people all over.
I suppose the lesson here is to embrace the GeoWeb and appreciate the efforts of neogeographers, but like any other field, just ignore what you don’t like.
