Lab #3: Neogeography

View Scenic Hiking in Los Angeles in a larger map

Neogeography is highly effective at allowing people with no prior background in map making to communicate information in the form of a map. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to create, design, and share my information in a program with a simple interface, while still having the ability to be creative. It is a very useful tool not only in map-making, but in how we are able to communicate with others.

The pitfalls I encountered pertained mostly to the simplicity of the program. There were quite a few things I wanted to do on the map, but couldn't because "My Places" did not offer enough creative options. For example, I would have liked for the lines showing driving directions to not overlap, or at least appear only when clicked. Instead it becomes hard to tell where the lines are heading when placed on a road shared by multiple routes. I could have drawn out the lines individually, parallel to each other, but I would have been sacrificing the display of directions in word form. Such simplicity of a program is great for conveying basic ideas, but as you try to show more complex matters it becomes limited.

Pitfalls that can be encountered with neogeography in a broader sense can be assumed when taking into account the idea that anyone can display information at their own discretion. This means that a person can create a map portraying misleading or inaccurate information. This makes some forms of neogeography less valid, which ultimately reduces their ability to provide confidence in the information suggested. I see the flaws with neogeography as being relatively harmless because there are still professional map makers that can be relied upon if accuracy is imperative for the particular situation. I  consider neogeography to be a new form of communication between people, not the necessarily the future of GIS. There will always be a need for maps that are highly specific which,  due to complexity, inherently require prior knowledge to create.