Maps have come very long way haven’t they. The digital world has forever changed how location and directions are viewed. What I want to focus on here, about digital maps and distortions, is that of Iphone navigation applications. There are many navigation applications that are available in the Apple store that focus on different aspects of directions and location. The common theme I found with these applications is how the information is portrayed. You can tell that there are certain sponsors that promote their physical location. The Where application has sponsored ads that will come up when you are looking for a place to eat. These sponsored links will show you exactly how to get to their restaurant. Another common aspect that is incorporated into many of the navigation applications are social network tools.
The article explains how Google Earth “…uniquely engages its users, not as disembodied voyeurs, but as participants in global dialog, represented spatially on the digital map.” Google Earth allows users to pin locations with dialog that lets users communicate with each other about that location. There are many Iphone applications that have the same type of function. The Where application allows people to write reviews on the certain locations that are in the program. Writing these reviews can change the outcome of somebody’s day. A personal experience of this happened last weekend. My parents were in town and I was looking for a place to eat. I searched for restaurants in Pullman and people recommended Swilleys. We ended up going, but the wait was 45 minutes. It did look like a nice place though. Facebook also has a function that allows users to post where they are. They can “tag” themselves at these locations to let their friends know where they are.
Physical maps can be changed/made in many different ways. The main reason why map would look different from another map would be the person who makes the map. In the article it “… Details are commonly eliminated, falsified, or distorted so as to improve a map’s efficacy toward a particular end, resulting in the misrepresentation or exclusion of information which may serve other ends or reveal inconsistencies’.” Historically empires would alter maps to fit the needs of their empire. This change effects territorial borders and how society and cultures thought of them.
All in all, maps and navigation have come a long way with the help of the digital world. The difference between physical maps of old and digital maps is that of social networks effect and empirical distortions effect.
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ReplyDeleteGreat discussion on how maps are portrayed through the iPhone's applications. I think that in some ways the sponsors have an unfair advantage of reaching consumers since their businesses will "pop up" when you get close while smaller companies will remain hidden on these maps. Furthermore, the "Where" feature seems to create a real-time map that's always changing depending on where your friends are located.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Iphone applications for maps get distorted from time to time. This happens more often than not to me when I am trying to find directions to businesses.
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