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Map of Press Freedom in Google Earth

posted by Satri on Monday October 30, @10:13AM        Permalink  Trackback URI  Slashdotthis  Diggthis  Del.icio.us
from the in-the-blogging-world-most-can-say-mostly-anything dept.

Declan Butler allows us to view Reporters Without Borders's data on press freedom in Google Earth. From the Reporters Without Borders blog: "“Unfortunately nothing has changed in the countries that are the worst predators of press freedom,” the organisation said, “and journalists in North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Burma and China are still risking their life or imprisonment for trying to keep us informed. [...]" Update: 10/30 20:28 GMT by S : Story promoted to main page.

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• Grrr OR eltisit curmdgeon?

  (Score:3, Insightful)

  by belg4mit (226) on Monday October 30, @03:00PM (#1060)
  ( http://pthbb.org/ )

  Am I the only one frustrated by calling crude themes applied to a virtual (proprietary) globe interface a "map"? Sure it might be a map in the crudest sense of the term, but it does not allow for easy comparison amongst all portrayed features, or between maps.

  --
  In Bob we trust, all others bring data.
  • Re:Grrr OR eltisit curmdgeon?

    (Score:3)

    by Satri (3) on Monday October 30, @03:23PM (#1061)
    ( http://alexandreleroux.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday March 17, @05:07PM )

    Humm... interesting :-) I think having that kind of data on a flat 2D map could have been as efficient. On the other hand, a mashup or a virtual globe allows you to zoom in/out at will, which is a useful feature. Same for adding/removing pertinent layers, which a classic map won't allow.
    
    Another reason is probably the easiness with which we can now create mashups or include data in a virtual globe. It's sometimes easier than to generate a good 2D static map! :-)

    [ Parent ]
    • Re:Grrr OR eltisit curmdgeon?

      (Score:3, Insightful)

      by belg4mit (226) on Monday October 30, @03:53PM (#1062)
      ( http://pthbb.org/ )

      None of these advantages are globe specific, but rather a virtue of being electronic; although adding/removing layers is available view transparencies in some specialty maps. Consider anything from a full-fledged map server to a Flash app or SVG. It's even possible with PDF, and ArcMap 9.2 now exports such things, n'est-ce pas? For an older example see the Cornell campus map PDF. But easier than generating a good map, sure. Of course it really just defers the work to the (potential) readers :-P A google *maps* "mash-up" with color-coded pins (unfortunately no good polygon support here that I know of) at national centroids wouldn't have been about as easy? What about accessible to a wider audience, and easier to read?

      --
      In Bob we trust, all others bring data.

      [ Parent ]
      • Accessibility

        (Score:3)

        by Satri (3) on Monday October 30, @04:27PM (#1063)
        ( http://alexandreleroux.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday March 17, @05:07PM )

        "[...] it really just defers the work to the (potential) readers :-P [...] What about accessible to a wider audience, and easier to read?"
        
        I can only agree with what you're saying. Your comment should reach the publisher itself, in that case, Declan Butler!

        [ Parent ]
        • Re:Accessibility

          (Score:4, Informative)

          by DeclanB (809) on Monday October 30, @06:48PM (#1064)

          It reached me ;-> Accepted that 3D doesn't add a great deal here. This simple map just uses a table created and then linked via the country field in a database query to merge the data with country polygon data, with a colour ramp chosen to resolve best the differences between countries.
          
          But it seems like these are decent new data on an important topic, and rather than ploughing through a table, as the data are originally presented, mapping them in GE makes them more accessible to people. It's also a way of encouraging organizations who have data with a geospatial element to think about presenting it in more accessible formats such as virtual globes.
          
          Sure, I could have made a drab 2D pdf, but so what if it's a 3D globe instead? Also, although there isn't a great deal of extra metadata with this particular dataset, if you zoom on a country polygon in Google Earth, and click your mouse while holding down the Ctrl key, you will get what metadata it has in the GE description panel for that country. And as I mentioned in the post, it wouldn't be difficult to use the GE time function to plot changes over time, using earlier versions of the data.
          
          So in answer to belg4mit's initial subject line query, "Grrr or elitist curmudgeon" -- now spelt correctly, btw -- I'd go for '(nitpicking?) elitist curmudgeon' ;->>
          
          Declan
          
          PS I'm not a publisher of any sort -- maps or otherwise ;-> -- but a journalist, which might also explain why I took personal pleasure in mapping this particular dataset.

          [ Parent ]
          • Re:Accessibility

            (Score:3, Insightful)

            by belg4mit (226) on Monday October 30, @10:52PM (#1065)
            ( http://pthbb.org/ )

            Nitpicking indeed. Not only is the addition superfluous, but ironic as the "spelling mistake" you had to point out was a typo. In any event, I was interested in checking out the map, but frustrated to find out it was done in GE for no apparent reason; no technical requirements or benefits. In addition to being averse to GE as non-libre, my machine is not powerful enough to run it and I therefore was unable to examine the map.

            What of it (a globe)? Umm, the original points I made? Mind you, this is nothing personal. As was implied in the original message, many people have been dashing off such things.

            As a journalist with any interest in maps you might want appreciate "Mapping it out: Expository cartography for the humanities and social scientists" by Monmonier. It's an excellent read. Some of it might be a bit too dry, technical, or far afield, but he does discuss effective design of maps for journalism as well. i.e; producing maps that work well within the limits imposed by the medium. He also addresses related matters in a more playful manner in "How to Lie with Maps."

            --
            In Bob we trust, all others bring data.

            [ Parent ]