Viewing from Space: Maps, geocodes, mashups, and interactivity in online news production

Viewing from Space: Maps, geocodes, mashups, and interactivity in online news production Andy Sternberg Candidate for an M.A. in Online Journalism USC Annenberg School for Communication STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 2 Introduction The physical geography of Earth and its geospatial idiosyncrasies have been debated since long before Columbus set sail to the West and thought he landed in India. Two millennia prior, Aristotle had already proven the spherical shape of the planet to the utter disbelief of society for centuries to come.1 While a cartographic revolution of sorts took place in the mathematical and theoretical improvements in maps of the 15th and 16th centuries, debates over the physical geography of Earth would continue until the emergence of computer and satellite technology, alongside space travel in the 20th century. Soon after the launch of the Russian spacecraft Sputnik first enabled photography from Earth’s orbit in 1957, the development of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology began. The evolution of GIS in practice is not clear, according to historians, but British geographer Roger Tomlinson is generally credited with creating the specialized field by beginning development of the Canadian Geographic Information System (CGIS) in 1963.2 Six years later, Jack and Laura Dangermond founded the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), which since 1981 has produced the industry standard ArcGIS software (initially ARC/INFO).3 1 “Aristotle.” (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 8, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9108312 2 http://www.aag.org/tomlinson/ 3 http://www.esri.com/company/about/history.html STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 3 2. Two Models Current trends in map usage for online news production can be delineated into two distinct models: the “cinematic” and the “interactive.” Visual maps as cinematic devices for online storytelling and news reporting in the form of static graphics stills have grown to encompass a range of preprogrammed models often presented with the help of motion-enhanced multimedia programs such as Macromedia Flash. While cinematic content can be highly advanced, including video, 3D presentations, and other complex technologies, it is essentially created and produced by a graphics specialist. Most importantly, the cinematic model does not allow for in-depth interactivity (beyond basic start/stop navigation), ensuring that the content is delivered as a controlled and immutable production. The “interactive” model has grown rapidly alongside the emergence of widespread broadband internet access, further enabled by a growing pool of usergenerated content and a wealth of information, resources, and applications provided and shared by a strong open-source community. In interactive models, an application, often constructed by a graphics specialist, is developed for the interactive use, interpretation, and enjoyment of the audience. The user is then provided with the tools and data or information with which to draw from and to open the possibilities for creation and exploration. 3. GIS Technology – An Explanation As computers became more advanced in the 1990s and could store more digital information while processing data faster, the functionality of converting spatial data into STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 4 visual representation became a reality. In 1988, the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) was established in the United States, the first GIS Conference was held, and the U.S. Census Bureau for the first time released its TIGER (Topographically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) digital data product. The era of GIS in the newsroom had begun and GIS has since redefined public interest newspaper reporting as an extension of computer-assisted reporting. Since GIS provides the technology to extend database research and analysis into the visual sphere it has become the premier tool for computer-assisted reporting (CAR). CAR encompasses “anything that uses computers to aid in the news-gathering process.” (Garrison, 3) Before the emergence of the modern-day Web browser in 1995 (The Netscape Navigator 1.0 Beta was released in October 19944), CAR was primarily limited to database analysis using word processing spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Excel. The U.S. Census can be data-sorted in different ways in an Excel spreadsheet. It can be downloaded and saved as a database (DBF4) file, and imported into GIS software, such as ESRI’s ArcGIS. It is then possible to examine the information laid out visually on a map. The layering component in GIS software offers another dynamic to census studies by making it possible to create multiple layers of information on one map. ArcGIS uses “shapefiles” (.shp) that contain a visual image and a data table. Shapefiles are comprised of at least three required files: .shp (the visual image), .dbf (the data table), and .shx (the index file). Other file types that are commonly incorporated are: .prj (projection definition), .xml (metadata description), .iag (geocoding index), and graphic info. (Hutchinson, 6-7). 4 http://wp.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease1.html STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 5 After building the basic layers of a map, by importing the TIGER files5 constituting the streets, counties, cities, and bodies of water for the state or region involved, database (DBF4) files can be “joined” as additional layers. For example, it is possible to add multiple databases to these files. In writing an article on the location of senior community centers in Los Angeles County in relation to where citizens over the age of 65 reside, first download Census data from the U.S. Census Bureau.6 Next, save the Census tract for L.A. County population sorted by age and open it in Microsoft Excel. Then delete the columns containing men and women under 65 and add a column to compute the percentages of the remaining age groups. One could also download the same information as thematic map files.7 Finally, convert the information available on the Los Angeles County Senior Citizen Center Web site8 into a database (DBF4) file using Excel and import that into ArcGIS as well. By setting four gradations (by percent of total), color code the L.A. County municipalities based on concentration of seniors. Then identify the location of the senior centers with large dots and the map would detail the story – senior community centers tend to be located far from areas with concentrated populations of seniors. 5 6 7 http://arcdata.esri.com/data/tiger2000/tiger_download.cfm http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DownloadDatasetServlet?_lang=en http://factfinder.census.gov/jsp/saff/SAFFInfo.jsp?_pageId=thematicmaps&_submenuId=maps_1&geo_id= 01000US 8 http://phps.dhs.co.la.ca.us/docs/SeniorCitizenCenters_1.doc STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 6 4. Use of GIS-based Maps in the News Flat, two-dimensional graphic maps have been integrated into television and print news for decades. Since the growth of Internet-based news Web sites in the 1990s, the use of three-dimensional satellite images and enhanced interactive maps have added value to many sites. But the cost of production and of GIS applications had often been prohibitive; the technical knowledge and time necessary to produce integrated maps required skilled professionals, time, and editors with the vision to commit resources to them. With the rich dynamic capabilities of ArcGIS and other more simplified GIS applications, journalists can now produce provocative, eye-grabbing, and effective exposés and informative pieces using public data made available by the U.S. Census and other resources. While the hand of a graphics artist is always welcome in the newsroom, much of this technology is now within the capabilities of a tech-savvy reporter and the GIS graphics become an important extension of text. For example, the rich use of color gradation and 3-D elements in the San Jose Mercury News’ 1998 coverage of housing development in landslide areas of Santa Cruz County not only educated readers to the local topography and geography, but also revealed years of controversial land use and development. (Herzog, 79-90) The Santa Cruz study, like others in David Herzog’s 2003 book, Mapping the News, would have involved a newspaper’s computer-assisted reporting editor or otherwise IT-specialized employee. But Herzog’s succession of examples of GIS projects in various newsrooms makes it clear that GIS and satellite mapping are still in their infancy. In each of Herzog’s STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 7 examples, it appears evident that the researchers and reporters involved usually learn more about GIS applications “on the fly.” GIS is a very effective tool for enhancing political stories. In Mapping the News, Herzog summarized the Washington Post’s excellent GIS work in the aftermath of the 2000 election, which confirmed that the majority of discarded votes in the decisive state of Florida were in districts containing higher populations of blacks. Following the 2004 election, Rolling Stone supplemented environmental lawyer and Air America radio host Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s four-month investigation into possible election fraud with a Web-only collection of additional resources and GIS-enriched graphics.9 The New York Times created a Google map documenting three years of its “36 Hours” columns. Clicking on a placemark in each American city leads to an archived column detailing a weekend itinerary.10 This mashup was created by Faneuil Media, founded by Rick Burnes, a New York Times journalist who recently quit writing for the paper to focus on “fusing mapping and data” technologies for online publication (Burnes). Although maps can be manipulated in many ways, they are theoretically unbiased representations of geographic reality. GIS maps depicting current events and natural disasters as produced by mapping agencies objectively could appear to project different details than maps produced by publications or organizations with editorial oversight. 9 http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10463875/was_the_2004_election_stolen_sources_and_commenta ry 10 http://www.nytimes.com/gst/travel/36hours.html STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 8 Many GIS professionals anticipate media interest; for example, they take news feeds on floods around the world, and then researchers go out and scour for images to go with those stories.11 (Lauriault) The imagery then plays an important role in molding public discourse. When Thomas Friedman published the 2005 bestseller The World is Flat, Richard Florida was quick to criticize Friedman’s analysis, using 3D maps to demonstrate that while globalization has changed the socioeconomic face of the world, it has hardly “leveled” the playing field, as Friedman argued. (Florida – see Appendix 1) 5. Interactivity, Google Maps, and Mashups During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, CNN began using Keyhole, Inc.’s 3D satellite mapping technology along with Digital Globe’s image archive to provide detailed graphics of locations in Iraq and wow viewers with the sensation that they were flying over and into, for example, Baghdad’s Green Zone. Use of keyhole’s software was costly, yet the company gained a following from the exposure it received from the “provided by keyhole.com” attribution stamped on each TV or Internet graphic. In 2005, when Google purchased Keyhole and incorporated Keyhole’s satellite database into Google Maps, a phenomenon was born and satellite mapping technologies, once referred to simply as GIS became user-friendly and affordable and took on a new, popularizing role for an eager and growing audience. Since the 2005 public rollout of Google Maps and then Google Earth desktop geo-viewer, or virtual globe,12 dramatic changes have occurred in GIS. It is now as easy 11 http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/archiveatlas/index.htm STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 9 to create a custom map online as it is to open an online bank account. This is due to a confluence of developments, such as the rapid mass-marketization of Google’s brand and the adoption of similar technologies by Microsoft and Yahoo. These advances occurred in concert with prolific innovation by hobbyists and news professionals utilizing Application Programming Interfaces (API). An API is the interface that a computer, data library, or application provides in order to enable the sharing or exchange of data with other computer programs.13 This, in turn, fits well with the open-source spirit of sharing in the Internet community. Both “interactive” and “cinematic” map presentations are valuable tools in online news gathering analysis and reporting. But the implementation of interactivity in online content signals the news media’s acknowledgment of a fast-developing “hands on” approach to the future of digital media. The BBC and other British media outlets have led the charge in adapting to and encouraging increased user interactivity, online comments, and rich multimedia content development on Internet news sites. The U.S. media is fast catching up, however. CNN, for example, after exposing many viewers to the Keyhole satellite imagery that would become integral to Google Earth, has since relied on citizengenerated photos and video of the July 2005 London Underground bombings and the 2006 conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel. In August, 2006, CNN launched Exchange, to showcase user-generated news footage and commentary. Furthermore, growing communities of Internet users are encouraging geocoding -- the process of assigning 12 13 SPACE definition: http://www.csiss.org/SPACE/resources/virtual-globes.php TechWeb Encyclopedia: http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=api STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 10 14 geographic identifiers such as latitude and longitude or zip codes -- of data, text, and media, to enable the aggregation and visualization of localized online content. The “mashup” -- a term originally used to describe the phenomenon in popular music of combining aspects of two different songs to create a dance floor hit – is a Webbased combination of data or content from different sources to create a new service or application. (The June 2006 Oxford English Dictionary defines it as: “a mixture or fusion of disparate elements”).15 The expanding pool of -- at first, geocoded data and resources and applications to implement into Google Maps -- and more recently, Google Earth Network Links made available at the Google Earth Community bulletin board16 (geocoded enhancements, placemarks, and plug-ins, generally marked with the extension .kml or .kmz) has led to the creation and development of abundant mashups. More recently, Internet developer Adrian Holovaty, who became an overnight legend with his mashup of Chicago crime histories in a Google Maps17 and is now the director of editorial innovations for Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, has generated comprehensive and highly sortable databases of Congressional voting patterns18. 14 15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocoding http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50291914 16 http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php/Cat/0 17 http://chicagocrime.org 18 http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/ STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 11 \6. Google Earth, Geotagging, 3D, and Movement Of the 3D mapping and virtual globe applications released in recent years, Google Earth is the most advanced and most popular. (As of June 2006, at least 30,000 developers use the API and there have been over 100 million downloads of the Google Earth desktop application, according to John Hanke, Google Earth and Maps product director.19) While the common users download Google Earth for the entertainment of being able to zoom in to birds-eye satellite views of their house and neighborhood from mere meters above, this often entices viewers to investigate new perspectives. Many casual users become engaged with a technology that enables different angles and views of 3D cityscapes and landscapes and the ability to “fly around” the virtual world. As the Internet thrives as an archive, it also offers many Google Earth users an advantage by bookmarking -- or placemarking -- events, sites, and photos with geospatial encoding for others to access and utilize on their computers. In fact, over 500 customized datasets and applications have been spawned and launched into the public domain, as aggregated by ProgrammableWeb.20 More applications are launching that enable the simple geo-coding of data, including text, images, and video using the industry standard Geographic Markup Language (GML),21 often seen as ‘KML’ or Keyhole Markup Language, referring to the Keyhole, Inc. application that became Google Earth. This application is readable by Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Yahoo Maps, and other Web client mapping applications. GeoRSS converts standard location coordinates into code for maps in the 19 20 http://news.com.com/Google+Earth+zooms+in/2100-1032_3-6082960.html http://programmableweb.com/tag/mapping 21 http://www.opengeospatial.org/groups/?iid=31 12 news, and this code is archived at Web sites like MetaCarta. MetaCarta’s geo-text search and geotagging products have led to projects, including GutenKarte, which analyze words in books made available by Project Gutenberg to map out the places in a story -for example, Tolstoy’s War of the Worlds.22 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” Information written in GML or KML, including Google Maps itself, can also be easily imported into GPS navigation systems, cell phones, and PDAs enabled with useraccessible GPS and wifi geolocation capability. Web sites such as platial.com and http://mapbuilder.net are aggregating GIS-enabled software’s users’ mashups of geocoded notes, media objects, and other specialized mapping databases for localized information. Immersive animation and 3D rendering are becoming increasingly popular online. While massively-multiplayer online games (MMOGs) often encourage not only 3D character interaction and manipulation, but also movement, as well, Second Life is one open-ended, 3D virtual world that has become both its own global micro-economy and an online conglomerate of islands between which users can “fly.” The BBC purchased an island in Second Life in May, 2006, to offer hundreds of people a chance to experience a virtual simulcast of the One Big Weekend event (see screenshots). Also in May 2006, the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy hosted hundreds on a multimedia-rich island in Second Life for its Public Diplomacy in Virtual Worlds Awards presentation (see screenshots). Online photo storage sites Zoomr and Flickr encourage 22 http://gutenkarte.org/map/2600 13 users to geotag photos, and several applications are available to “fly over” photos based on their geocoded information in Google Earth. STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 7. Privacy and Accessibility As GIS becomes a mainstream tool of news publications, including broadcast and online news sites, and by extension, the mass audiences, considerable issues of efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility arise – as well as privacy and ethical issues regarding visual integrity. Not unlike humans, computers have their flaws. Since GIS began rapidly expanding into the mainstream following the 2005 release of new, free virtual globe applications such as Google Earth, the sensitivity of information made available -- along with the ability of maps to “lie” -- has become a growing concern. For national security reasons, no government allows public use of real-time high definition satellite imagery. But even use of archived images, such as those now available for free on Google Earth, spark controversy as they can expose secret military installations or residences of public officials and arguably impinge upon the right to privacy. The Cryptome Web site, at http://cryptome.org is home to an archive of controversial and banned documents and images. Since 1996, Cryptome has collected 35,000 files, including http://www.eyeball-series.org/, a large index of detailed birds-eye satellite maps and images of international military installations, missile launch sites, and residences of world leaders. Cryptome welcomes documents for publication that are prohibited by governments worldwide, in particular material on freedom of expression, privacy, cryptology, dual-use technologies, national STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 14 security, intelligence, and secret governance -- open, secret and classified documents -- but not limited to those.23 These detailed satellite maps reveal the private residences of, for example, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch property, as well as international sites of significance such as North Korea’s July 2006 missile test launch site and Guantanamo Bay. Governments worldwide have expressed concern about Google Earth regarding privacy and national security issues. In the immediate aftermath of the August 2005 landfall of Hurricane Katrina, a collaboration of scientists teamed with Google to form Global Connection and pooled resources to provide near real-time aerial and satellite images of New Orleans that could be incorporated into Google Earth and Maps.24 But that October, after a devastating earthquake struck Kashmir, relief organizations were denied access to high-resolution satellite images in the name of national security. (Butler, 2005) In 2005, after Taiwan complained about being referred to as a province of China in Google Earth, the Chinese media responded with rumors of a possible boycott of Google’s China service.25 Since 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Working Group of the U.S. Federal Data Graphic Committee has proposed and repeatedly revised guidelines for the distribution and identification of geospatial data sets containing potentially sensitive information. (Lesk) The committee’s most recent “DHS Geospatial Data Model,” published in May 2006, is over 400 pages in length.26 23 24 http://cryptome.org. Retrieved August 8, 2006. http://earth.google.com/katrina.html 25 http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2005/10/04/2003274363 26 http://www.fgdc.gov/participation/working-groups-subcommittees/hswg/subgroups/info-contentsg/documents/DHS-GDM-v1.1.pdf STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 15 About 80% of all government-collected data has a spatial component that benefits the development and growth of location-based services and GIS research. This tends to benefit map accuracy. While the U.S. government makes most of this information publicly available, European national mapping agencies have historically prohibited or highly regulated access and licensing of geodata.27 Where Americans have open access to a glut of government-provided geospatial data and satellite imagery, GIS and information professionals in the European Union are battling for public access and open-sourcing of such crucial elements to the development and proliferation of the information infrastructure. “The potential for open source GIS is amazing,” according to Open Source Geospatial Foundation Director Jo Walsh, “but there’s a gaping disparity in different countries regarding geodata in the public domain.” (Walsh) To this end, Walsh and others have proposed a “Spatial Data Infrastructure” that calls for open sharing of governmentcollected geodata in a “standard, common format.”28 8. Emerging Concepts in Interactive Online Maps In recent years, newspapers have accounted for a loss of revenue from classified advertising to online listing services such as craigslist.org, eBay, and online realtors. But it is becoming clear to some newspapers that the tools are in place – provided the necessary data are in place – to retain their position at the top of the classified industry. Several newspaper Web sites have begun implementing Google Maps technology into both their classified functions and elsewhere. While special edition, topic-specific 27 28 http://okfn.org/geo/manifesto.php http://space.frot.org/docs/why_sdi.html 16 interactive maps are the most successful and consistent, too many online news maps are one-off Adobe Flash productions in which the hi-tech aesthetics outweigh the quality and accuracy of the information presented. (Lauriault) STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” As dynamic HTML has become standard and speed of computer processors and broadband connections allows for the quick downloading of information, many newspaper sites are incorporating roll-over content -- which displays after the usercontrolled mouse’s arrow or cursor rolls over an area of content -- into map placemarks, images, and even text. In April 2006, The Washington Post launched an online version of its free Express tabloid with a focus on classified ads and hyper-local search. ReadExpress.com features a "MetroLinks" guide, encouraging the user to search for hotels, events, news, and restaurants by clicking on a Metro stop and also highlights blog postings from the area. Bowling Green’s Kentucky Daily News uses a mashup of Google Maps and Yahoo’s geo-coding to provide an enhanced, interactive map of yard sales, updated every Thursday. The Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Daily News Journal uses a search engine powered by homefinder.com to allow its users to map out their search of area homes for sale by location, price, and number of bathrooms.29 After selecting from a detailed list of available houses, users can even prioritize their selections to produce customized directions. Satellite imagery and interactive maps are redefining how the housing and real estate market is perceived and presented. Zillow.com, launched in February 2006 and 29 http://www.homefinder.com/dnj/index_map.jhtml STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 17 powered by Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping technology, offers a free model enabling users to not only visually plot real estate of differing valuations on a map, but also to take 3D interactive tours of different properties.30 The beta site is approaching its goal of enabling buyers, sellers, and owners to access free valuations of nearly every property in the United States and offers color-coded “heat maps” of neighborhood values in 17 cities. In response to popular interest and in the spirit of open-source and “the long tail,”31 in late July, 2006, Zillow promised to allow for the broad incorporation of its data on other Web applications through the use of an Open API.32 Similar mapping technology, combined with location-based advertising has a promising future in the online news medium. As long as the data exists, it can be mashed up in Google Maps, just as HousingMaps produces a visualization of listings on Craigslist. With the help of the multitude of APIs and Web-based applications powered by advanced Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth technology, the GIS map of L.A. County Senior Community Centers could be easily replicated without requiring ArcGIS or other professional-grade GIS software. An Excel or text file of Community Centers can be imported, or manually entered and instantly geocoded using free programs such as Batch Geocode.33 The saved geocoded data can then be mapped, or plotted out and designed using free online make-your-own mashup applications such as Platial or Mapbuilder. 30 31 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/266480_zillow13.html http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2005/11/index.html 32 http://www.zillowblog.com/zillow_blog/2006/07/zillows_open_ap.html 33 http://www.batchgeocode.com/ STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 18 9. GIS, Maps and Interactivity in the Future At this point in its development, GIS and mapping technology gets a mixed reception from media analysts. Mike Liebhold, a Senior Researcher at the Institute for the Future sees the general public as lukewarm or still reluctant to embrace interactive multimedia maps in online news. “We are just on the cusp of developing some great new mapping tools that hold great promise for geo news blogging and geo journalism.” (Liebhold) Investigation into GIS technology supports this view. However, considering today’s youth’s growing comfort with emerging technology, it is possible that many of the finest educational tools in the future, for kindergartners through adults, will be rendered with the help of GIS research. For example, imagine learning about climate change using a three-dimensional globe with color-coded, historically accurate data projected onto it. Global climate change may be a cyclical phenomenon, but the dispute at the highest levels of government over its existence is an impediment to socio-political and educational discourse. In the near future, elementary schools may have large interactive globes, or even flat plasma maps, that translate historical data and geological evolution theories into visual representations. Plot the known existence of Homo sapiens 5,000 years ago on a map of the world consistent with the geography of the era. Watch carbon content in the atmosphere rise at the start of agriculture, the Industrial Revolution, the growth of the economies of China and India. Mash that up with historical temperature records. STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 19 Most importantly, the technology gives students control of future scenarios. Assume Antarctica melts in the future. Assume it doesn’t. What does the world look like according to each scenario? What should it look like? Even watch the world’s weather over the course of the past 30 days on a spinning globe over the course of 60 seconds. Then, use the interactive model to manipulate world climate patterns and see how they affect today’s weather or the weather 20 years from now. During the breakthrough era of the early 1980s, the Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 computers were left to rot and suddenly, the brilliant map/geography-based game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,” became the coolest game to play in updated Apple IIe-filled elementary school computer labs. As kids and young adults continue to spend more and more time on a variety of “connected” media, as opposed to in front of the TV, the prospect for visual and interactive reporting, teaching, and learning is blossoming. Healthy competition between free virtual globes such as Google Earth and complete GIS desktop applications such as ESRI (which retails for $1,400) is accelerating the capabilities and accessibility of geospatial map production for news as well as the possibilities in GIS research and education. The concept of a “digital Earth” announced in 1998 by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore envisioned the virtual use of “the Earth itself as an organizing metaphor for digital information.” Twenty-five years ago, the personal computer democratized computing and ten years ago the Web browser liberated the Internet. “So systems like Google Earth will democratize GIS,” suggested Michael Goodchild, GIS expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara. (Butler, 2006) STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 20 Conclusion With the widespread penetration of broadband technology -- and free mainstream software such as the Adobe Flash player -- the public is not interested in simply a graphical rendering of an Excel (or Google) spreadsheet on a map. The public wants to see it in motion. Better yet, the audience wants to control its possibilities. Furthermore, as broadband, high-speed Internet access grows worldwide and broadband speeds multiply, the audience reach for interactive, highly dynamic multimedia presentations increases exponentially. No fewer than 42 percent of Americans have high-speed internet access at home and nearly 50 million Americans have created their own content on the Internet, according to the most recent Technology and Media Use Study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.34 As the public grows to trust the media and the government less and less, news organizations can build links to their audiences by making it easier for anyone to mash up their own GIS projects given the tools and information. Therefore, the role of online journalists may be not so much to provide answers as to offer the news audience the tools and direction towards multiple conclusions. The infusion of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) into many mobile phones and automobile dashboards caters to an increasing dependence on automated real-time maps. For some occupations, such as taxi drivers, these devices have become essential to their work and at increasingly reasonable prices. New applications such as Mapbuilder and Platial make it simple for users of handheld or portable devices to plug in data or upload databases and create an enhanced map using available geospatial data and mapping 34 http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Broadband_trends2006.pdf STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 21 applications and technology. In August 2006, Sony released a small GPS device that attaches to a digital camera and records the exact geo-location of every photo, allowing them to be immediately mapped upon uploading. (SONY) Photo-sharing and storage Web sites, such as Flickr and Zoomr, are influencing the popularity of photo-geotagging and visualization on a virtual globe interface such as Google Earth by tapping into the open source Yahoo Maps developer kit, Google Maps’ API tools, or using mashup Web sites such as Mappr. “Technology is now making it easier to do this with searchable databases, interactive maps, news games or exercises, vlogs, podcasts, photo galleries, and easy to use content management systems,” said Jan Schaffer, executive director of J-lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism at the University of Maryland. (Schaffer) As citizen journalism continues to advance considerably in terms of both mainstream acceptance and production, especially with regards to multimedia content, the increase in interactivity involving mapping is sure to follow. The Internet is best designed as a “pull” network, one which should enable the viewing public to eventually feel relieved from the apparent “pushing” it feels from mass media. However, as consumers snap up new technologies, it is crucial that journalists and media industry leaders allow audience usage to drive the technology and not vice versa. It’s only a matter of time until the news can be navigated interactively in 3D, complete with motion, but the success and future of new media will depend on some element of strategy, if not patience and restraint. After all, there have been rides in moving, shaking cars at theme parks that have taken kids of all ages through 3D virtual stories for years. 22 The history of 3D and panoramic displays in the physical world goes back to at least the 18th century technically, if not to cave paintings literally. STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” For a decade now there has been a blossoming wealth of news and information available on the Internet but very little of it, until now has been especially of and for the Internet. With the widespread proliferation of hi-speed broadband connectivity, the news audience is not only more involved in selecting from a variety of online news sources but is becoming more and more involved in shaping, disseminating, and enhancing the news. Geographic imaging plays a key role in this trend and in the future of the Internet. STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 23 Bibliography / References BOOKS Boczkowski, Pablo J. Digitizing the News: Innovation in Online Newspapers. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 2004. Erle, Schuyler, Rich Gibson and Jo Walsh. Mapping Hacks: Tips & Tools for Electronic Cartography. O’Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA, 2005. Garrison, B. (1998). Computer-assisted reporting, (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Herzog, David. Mapping the News, ESRI Press, Redlands, CA 2003. Hutchinson, Scott. Inside ArcView 8.3. Delmark Learning / Thomson, Clifton Park, NY, 2004. Monmonier, Mark. How to Lie With Maps, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1996. Wise, Stephen. GIS Basics. Taylor & Francis, New York, 2002. ONLINE NEWS and MAGAZINE ARTICLES “Aristotle.” (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 8, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9108312 Butler, Declan. “Quake aid hampered by ban on web shots,” Nature. vol. 437, pp. 10723, 20 October 2005. Accessed August 2006 via http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7062/pdf/4371072a.pdf Butler, Declan. “Virtual globes: The web-wide world.” Nature. vol. 439, pp. 776-778, 16 February 2006. Accessed August 2006 via http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v439/n7078/pdf/439776a.pdf David, Marc, et al. Using Context and Similarity for Face and Location Identification” School of Information Management and Systems, U.C. Berkeley, CA 2006. Accessed August 6 via http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~abamidel/SPIE06.pdf Florida, Richard. “THE WORLD IN NUMBERS -- The World Is Spiky,” The Atlantic. October 2005, pp. 48-52. Garrison, Bruce. “Computer-assisted reporting near complete adoption.” Newspaper Research Journal, Winter 2001. accessed August 2, 2006 via http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3677/is_200101/ai_n8938719 24 Glick, Jeff. “When, How to Tell Stories With Text, Multimedia. Poynter Eyetrack 2004. Accessed August 2006 via http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/jeffglick.htm Globescan. “BBC Poll: Trust in Media – Countries.” Accessed August 6, 2006 via http://www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbcreut_country.html Horrigan, John. “Reports: Media & Technology Use – Home Broadband Adoption 2006,” Pew Internet & American Life Project May 28, 2006. Accessed June 2, 2006 via http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Broadband_trends2006.pdf Kaye, Katie, “New Washington Post Local Classifieds Site to Launch Today,” Clickz, April 24, 2006. Accessed July 31 via http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3601196 Lasica, J.D. “Tribune Interactive.” Online Journalism Review. April 11, 2002. Accessed August 1 via http://www.ojr.org/ojr/lasica/1018588213.php Lesk, Michael, et al. “Acting Responsibly With Geospatial Data.” IEEE Security and Privacy, November/December 2005, pp. 77-80. Accessed August 2006 via http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/8013/33104/01556542.pdf Lindh, Mat and Gunnar Misund. “Annotating Mobile Multimedia Messages With Spaciotemporal Information,” (Faculty of Computer Science, Østfold University College, Halden Norway 2005). The Media Center @ American Press Institute (press release). “Trust in Media.” Accessed August 6, 2006 via http://www.mediacenter.org/pages/mc/trust_in_media/ Newspaper Association of America (press release). “Online Viewership Up Nearly 30 Percent in Second Quarter” August 2, 2006. Accessed August 6, 2006 via http://www.naa.org/Global/PressCenter/2006/ONLINE-NEWSPAPER-VIEWERSHIPUP-NEARLY-30-PERCENT-IN-SECOND-QUARTER.aspx?lg=naaorg O’Reilly, Tim. “What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software.” 9/30/2005. accessed 7/15/2006 via http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html Outing, Steve and Lauren Ruel. “Observations on Multimedia Features,” Eyetrack III: Online News Consumer Behavior in the Age of Multimedia. 2004. Accessed July 2006 via http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/multimediafreeforall.htm Project for Excellence in Journalism. “The State of the News Media 2006: An Annual Report on American Journalism.” Originally published March 13, 2006, accessed July 9, 2006 via http://stateofthemedia.org/2006/. Singh, Raj. “GeoBlogging: Collaborative, Peer-to-Peer Geographic Information Sharing,” URISA Public Participation in GIS 3rd Annual Conference , July 2004. STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 25 Scott, Ben. “A Contemporary History of Digital Journalism,” Television & New Media v. 6 no. 1, pp. 89-122. February 2005.. Sony Electronics News and Information. “Organize Photos by ‘Where’ not ‘When’ With Global Positioning System for Sony Digital Cameras,” August 1, 2006. Urban Simulation Team, UCLA. “Virtual Los Angeles, Downtown.” Accessed August 7, 2006 via http://www.ust.ucla.edu/ustweb/PDFs/USTprojects.PDF Walsh, Jo. “Open Geodata, Free Software and Civic Information.” http://space.frot.org/talks/soc_cartog_accomp.html Sept-Oct 2005 Weber, Jeremy. “Online maps: New technology helps papers better serve their readers,” Inland Press, May 22, 2006. http://www.inlandpress.org/Main.asp?SectionID=60&SubSectionID=232&ArticleID=11 28 Wisconsin State Cartographer’s Office. “GIS History.” May 2001, accessed August 2, 2006 via http://www.geography.wisc.edu/sco/gis/history.html STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” INTERVIEWS / CORRESPONDENCE: Burns, Rick, journalist and founder, Faneuil Media online publishing company. via email, August 2006 rmburnes@gmail.com Gillmor, Dan, founder and director, Center for Citizen Media, via e-mail, July-August 2006. dan.gillmor@citmedia.org Lauriault, Tracey L.Interview exchange via e-mail. Project manager, Cybercartography and the New Economy Project Carleton U., Canada. Via e-mail, August 4, 2006 tlauriau@magma.ca Liebhold, Mike. Senior Researcher Institute for the Future. Via e-mail, August 5, 2006, mnl@well.com Schaffer, Jan, Executive Director, J-lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, via email, August 7, 2006, jans@j-lab.org Szymanski, Charlie. Interview exchange via e-mail, August 3, 2006.. (co-producer of Sarasota Herald-Tribune multimedia). Charlie.Szymanski@heraldtribune.com Tamman, Maurice. Phone interview, August 3, 2006. (director of Sarasota HeraldTribune multimedia). maurice.tamman@heraldtribune.com Walsh, Jo., author, Mapping Hacks , via e-mail, July-August 2006, jo@frot.org STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 26 Williams, Carol J. LA Times Correspondent. via e-mail, July 11, 2006. Carol.Williams@latimes.com STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 27 APPENDIX 1 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 28 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 29 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 30 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 32 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 33 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 34 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 35 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 36 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 37 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 38 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 39 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 40 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 41 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 42 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 43 STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 44 APPENDIX II. GIS Resources for Journalists DATA Libre Maps – Free Maps and GIS Data repository: http://libre.redjar.org/maps/ U.S. Census Bureau – Cartographic Boundary Files: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/bdy_files.html Open Source GIS -- Detailed collection of and guide to GIS resources: http://opensourcegis.org/ Digital Globe Image Archive: http://www.digitalglobe.com/index.php Geography Network: http://www.geographynetwork.com GeoData – Geography data and embedded GIS software from government agency records: http://geodata.gov MapDex – Search Geographic Data: http://www.mapdex.org/search/ California Spatial Information Library (CASIL): http://gis.ca.gov/BrowseCatalog.epl Southern California GIS-Local Government Users Group: http://www.socalgis.org 2004 Home Mortgage Discovery Act: http://www.ffiec.gov/hmda/hmdaproducts.htm Public Use MicroSample Data: http://www.census.gov/mp/www/Tempcat/PUMS.html GIS PROGRAMS ESRI: Industry leader in desktop GIS, maker of ArcGIS MapInfo: Second in Market Caliper: Makes Maptitude – a low cost GIS GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System): Free open-source GIS. GEO-VIEWERS STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 45 Google Earth: http://earth.google.com NASA WorldWind: http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/ SINTEF Virtual Globe: http://globe.sintef.no/ Virtual Globes Directory: http://www.virtualglobes.org/ MAP-BUILDING / MASHUP APPS ShowMeWhere – Easily create Google Maps: http://showmewhere.net/gmap/index.php Platial.com – mashups made easy: http://www.platial.com/splash Mapbuilder.net – custom maps made easy: http://mapbuilder.net GIS RESOURCES / DIRECTORIES Directions Mag – The Worldwide Source for Geospatial Technology: http://www.directionsmag.com/ Programmable Web – Mashup and API repository, database: http://www.programmableweb.com/ The Map Room Open Source GIS Guide: http://www.mcwetboy.net/maproom/2005/09/open_source_gis_guide.phtml OgleEarth Links List – for conversion, geotracking, google earth: http://www.ogleearth.com/links.html FREEGIS.org -- http://freegis.org TOOLS / HACKS / HOW TO Google Earth Hacks: http://www.googleearthhacks.com/ View Flickr Photos in Google Earth: http://kmlphotos.metaltoad.com/ Geocode data in large batches: http://batchgeocode.com Geotagthings – for easy geotagging of data: http://www.geotagthings.com/beta How to Geotag photos: http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/07/how_to_gps_tag.html STERNBERG – “VIEWING FROM SPACE” 46 MetaCarta – Text to geocode conversion: http://www.metacarta.com/ Virtual Terrain Project – “foster the creation of tools for easily constructing any part of the real world in interactive, 3D digital form.” http://vterrain.org/