Reviving the Cartography Blog Network: A Nostalgic Journey
Mapping out the Cyber-world with Oliver Roick's Lat x Long Blog
Cartographer Daniel Huffman dropped by the site to share a kind and, it turns out, inspiring word after Huffman’s map appeared on The Pin Drop last week:
Seeing a discussion of my post on another blog reminds me of an earlier era, when cartography blogs all were engaged in discussion and sharing with each other, until attention spans moved to shorter forms such as Twitter. As that channel slowly fades, perhaps we'll return to the cartography blog network of the early 2010s.
In an attempt to revive such a network, or perhaps only to bask in the nostalgic glow for another week, today’s post taps back into that network. It comes from the Lat x Long blog, which describes itself as “a weblog exploring and documenting geospatial technology, data and standards on the Web.”
Lat x Long is maintained by Melbourne, Australia, based geographer Oliver Roick and, continuing the theme of the week, hearkens back to the aforementioned blog era alluded to by Huffman on its About page:
The Lat x Long blog is a wonderful throwback to that not-that-long-ago version of the internet that often seems so distant now. In a nod to the time when blogs ruled the web, the design is simple, clean, and minimal. The posts mirror the design as succinct snippets nonetheless operating as valuable resources for keeping up with interesting things happening on the web in the geospatial arena.
One recent example of that is from last Thursday, when the site shared an interactive NYC Subwaysheds map designed by digital cartographer Chris Whong.
Whong’s map is an immersive experience that invites the user to explore the extensive subway system of New York City. The map accomplishes both functionality — how long will it take to get from here to there? — and escapism — what would it feel like to be there? — which is an incredibly difficult feat. Uniquely executed, the map feels like traveling, at least in the mind’s eye.
It comes to us this week via the Lat x Long blog. The network persists.