Potential:
In working with Google Maps, I realized the power that the digital mapmaker has. Using this technology was empowering; when I first realized what I could do with the map, I was overwhelmed with ideas. After watching the few introductory videos that were provided and skimming through some blogs, I was ready to make my map. Or was I? The learning curve was not nearly as steep as I had anticipated. I knew that I had the potential to show users the geographical context for a topic of my choice. I really wanted to come up with a way to show layers of metropolitan expansion and urban encroachment by decade through the San Fernando Valley and the Antelope Valley as well as expanding commuter routes and congestion, but I realized that I would need tools far more powerful than Google Maps to create this kind of a dynamic map. I then settled on the idea of mapping out neighborhoods within L.A. and showing sites within the areas that related to the city’s history and culture with one common theme: all activities would be free. This was possible using Google Maps. I had to compile a list of places and use the map to locate them; then I grouped them according to my own impressions and assumptions about neighborhoods. I wrote descriptions and histories of the places, and defined my own boundaries, ones that I thought coincided with the activities. The most common boundary, I decided, was the freeway, which dissected neighborhoods. Once this was done, I added links to other websites, hopefully reliable, and attached video to several locations where I thought a visual image might be helpful (time-lapse excavation at the La Brea Tar Pits, for example). I tried to include a picture with each point as well. So far, my first encounter with neogeography has been successful and encouraging.
Pitfalls:
Using the Google Maps interface was so simple, yet I reached an impasse, at which, I realized that I was also limited by its simplicity. It is useful to convey simple ideas and to show concepts such as proximity or routes, but the idea of creating layers like in GIS was difficult to imagine. In a way, linking photos and websites to my places was like creating layers, but in a completely different sense. Rather than layers of data, I was compiling layers of other peoples’ perceptions, including my own. What I created was very subjective. What if the information that I gathered was inaccurate? Because I made a map of free things to do in Los Angeles, what if I had misinterpreted my sources and misguided my users? Also, in connecting websites, such as the link to Amoeba Records, was I advertising for the company? All I was trying to do was create a map for inexpensive fun, but in doing so, was I bringing together elements that would never otherwise be linked? And did I have the authority and expertise to do this?
Consequences:
What I learned from this experience was how to create a map that I would consider sharing with my friends and family for personal use. I experimented by posting my URL on Facebook and waiting to see the reactions come in. All of my feedback so far has been positive. People seem to be impressed with the resource and a lot of my friends have said that they would consider using my map; college students love inexpensive fun! But I do not believe that it should serve as more than this. It is only a general concept, even a point of reference, that I hope could encourage other people to think of free fun. I can imagine this kind of information spreading by word of mouth and becoming convoluted and confusing as it is passed around. However, I would undoubtedly be curious if I saw a similar map for a new area that I had never explored. I would like to learn how to improve my map, since it could be a good tool in the current economy.
