Welcome to cartoblography

Every blog needs a reason, and every blog has a lifespan. When I first began writing and publishing through a blog at cartonerd.com it was because a map had piqued my interest, and the blog became a mechanism for teaching. Its focus was on identifying the good, and not-so-good, in map design and discussing the maps. It was born of a time when web mapping was in its infancy and there was plenty to discuss.

Other than identifying my end of year favourite maps I haven’t blogged for nearly 2 years. Life moves on, and there simply isn’t the need for that blog any more. So I decided to mothball it, and breathe life into this new effort I’m calling cartoblography. Why cartoblography?

Back in 2009 my colleague at Kingston University, James O’Brien, and I began experimenting with the use of blogs and micro-blogging to develop collaborative environments in support of GIS fieldwork. Twitter, in particular, provided us with a fantastic way of building collaborative environments for students doing coincident work in disparate locations. We eventually published a paper on it called Cartoblography: Experiments in Using and Organising the Spatial Context of Micro-blogging. In it, we discuss what ended up being award-winning pedagogy, and also how maps of the backchannels and social media discussions of mass events might be designed.

I always liked the moniker ‘cartoblography’ and always felt there was more mileage in it but in 2011 both James and I left Kingston University for new challenges. Fast forward ten years, and I’ve decided old is new again, and am repurposing cartoblography for the name of this blog.

In cartoblography I intend to share musings on matters of mapping, share my own work, and focus a spotlight on maps that interest me as a ‘map of the week’ feature. I hope you’ll find something of interest.