Maps

"Maps can take us to places we have never been before, in reality or in our head." On this page, you find a collection of opinions I wrote on maps. Hope you enjoy it.

Monday, 27 June 2016

Tell the map story!

The world is in drastic change. The global system in which we are functioning is in crisis. Our economy, our financial system, the world’s ecosystem and our society are all having hard times. We do not live in a period of changes, but in a change of time periods. Although this transition causes inevitable problems, it is also a unique period of possibilities; an exciting time for new ideas! And it is here, that maps can play their vital role, as powerful communicating tool and as thé story teller this transition needs.

Only few ideas make it to the real world. Why is that? This is mostly caused by 2 reasons. First of all, people tend to get stuck in the idea phase. Ideas are kept inside or communicated badly. The way we communicate them is crucial. Some modest ideas, give big success, while some brilliant ideas, result in nothing. The main difference is: effective communication. It is exactly here that maps can play their role. One of the most appealing features of maps is that all journeys are feasible. Maps make your idea possible and “invite you” to start with it. Maps can concretise the “unknown” of your idea and sketch an image that your audience is willing to support. But there is more. For an idea to turn into a success, we need passion. And what fascinates more than maps? Show us a map and we get excited. If it is a world map or a treasure map or just the map in our navigation system, it will take us to places we have never been before, in reality or in our head.

The second reason why only few ideas are successfully implemented, is embedded in the complexity of the idea. Many of the new and potential world changing ideas are so complex and long-term that it frightens people. In these complex problems (e.g. climate change), we lack the ability to imagine how things could be. Often it is not the technology or rules that prevent us from moving ahead, but this disability to see the future! We need top-class storytelling to paint a vivid picture of what could be. Storytelling is what captivates people and drives them to take action. It is here again that maps come in play again. Besides being concrete and credible, maps have the power to simulate future scenarios and hence can function as thé story teller we need to mobilize people in the transition process towards a new society.

The last decade, map applications already became hot and ubiquitous. But as effective communication tool and first-class storyteller, maps, from being a cute thing to have, can become something that really actually matters!

Friday, 7 February 2014

The power of maps

Maps fascinate. Show us a map and we get excited; If it is a world map or a treasure map or just the map in our navigation system, it will take us to places we have never been before, in reality or in our head.

Maps are everywhere. Nowadays, we use maps day-in day-out, directly or indirectly. Look at the news or read the newspaper and we are likely to see at least 10 different maps. Take our car and we are navigated over a detailed road map. Did you know that 80% of all data has a geographical link? Moreover, we use the language of maps integral in our lives (e.g. we have achieved something if we put ourselves on the map).

Maps provide overview. If we are lost, we need a map to show us where we are. If there is a flood, aerial or satellite imagery show us a complete overview of the damage. In the more recent map applications, we even each stand, individually, at the centre of our own map!

Maps spotlight. Maps are ideal to set certain issues under attention. Satellite maps showing the rapid melting of the arctic ice put the global warming issue central. Besides indicating the quality of your roof insulation, thermographic heath maps spotlight the importance of energy savings.

Maps answer. Maps give concrete answers to complex and often urgent problems. How many people live in this new refugee camp? What is the financial or environmental cost if this dike would break? Did you know that a considerable contribution to the peace agreements in 95 making an end to the Bosnia-war came from geo-data? Only clear maps and a height model were able to convince all parties to accept the proposed new borders.

Maps monitor. Looking at differences between imagery over time, changes in tropical forests or urban sprawl can be detected and monitored.

Maps predict. Not only can maps look at how it was a century ago, they are also powerful to look at the future. Famine can be predicted through satellite monitoring of agricultural crops. The outbreak of vector borne diseases can be anticipated based on weather forecasts and land cover maps.

Maps tell a story. In many complex problems (e.g. climate change), we lack the ability to imagine how things could be. Often it is not the technology or rules that prevent us from moving ahead, but this disability to see the future! Maps concretise our ideas and paint a vivid picture of what could be. They have the power to simulate future scenarios and hence can function as thé story teller we need to mobilize people in this transition process towards a more respectful and sustainable society.

Maps call for action. One of the most appealing features of maps is that all journeys are feasible. Maps make our idea possible and “invite us” to start with it. Through easy-to-use map applications, we can e.g. indicate geo-located problems to the responsible authorities or suggest other citizen what nice, kids-friendly bar we just discovered.

Maps are powerful! It is not by coincidence that the true opposite of the word “SPAM” is “MAPS”!!

Monday, 7 October 2013

Maps in revolution

The great explorers of the 15th and 16th century like Christopher Columbus and Vasco Da Gama based their search for land never mapped before on maps like the ancient ones of Ptolemy. John Snow’s map of London’s Soho in 1854, pointed the water wells as the source of cholera outbreaks. There are many more examples of how maps played a fundamental role in history. But the potential impact and scope that maps can have today is from another order! Map geeks of today are truly blessed, as we have the honour to work in these revolutionary times for maps! But are we and our organisations really ready for it?

The last years, the foundations of our small and calm geo-community trembled. As I do not have the ambition here to list all major changes and trends concerning geo-information, I limit myself to 3 of these to make my point. First of all, data collection is no longer a pure high-cost high-tech job. With the arrival of low-cost low-tech sensors, we all became individual sensors and created this unique sensor network just by holding our mobile or other devices. We do no longer only receive information, but we provide passively or actively tons of (geo-)information. A special example of this are the data actively collected through “Volunteered Geographical Information” (VGI). In a few years, we evolved from a data-poor to a data-rich environment and the challenge shifted from data collection to data handling. A second shift took place on the internet. Maps got on the waves of the web and virtual earths, web mapping and now the semantic web pushes the geographical world into the open. At last, the geo-world is shifting towards “openness”. Free and Open Sources software, VGI and Open Data, all considerably gain terrain. Free and open access to geographical data will become the norm and maps will increasingly be seen as an essential public good.

Although these are all giant leaps for the mapping world, the real revolution that I am talking about in my introduction is in its effective user’s uptake. Maps and their applications became ubiquitous in almost every aspect of government and of citizens’ lives. Different mainstream trends like the rise of computing power, the speed of internet and the exponential use of mobile devices make that everybody has in the palm of his hand the whole world, mapped in every detail. We all became the center of our own map: permanently positioned, real-time linked to all types of (geo-)information and interconnected with the whole world. The potential of maps exploded, also for the big mass. What previously was a niche technology, now became mainstream. Although some fail completely, most geo-companies and public organisations do their best to implement and keep track with all these new trends and technologies. But in this hectic and rapid changing environment most fail completely in two basic aspects: adjusting the own internal organisation according to this new environment and effectively communicating to the new “outside” world.

As mentioned in the second paragraph, an important shift lay in this emphasis on “openness” and “networks”. But what do we see too often in our own geo-organisations: a closed, hierarchical structure, lacking completely the true open spirit of this geo revolution. If we want to keep track, we need to incorporate these values in our own organisation. A lot of the young talents, write creativity, openness, values, digital content creation and co-production in a network environment large. By nature, this young group of professionals can be thé engine to push the map revolution to a higher level. Lacking to incorporate these talents fully in our organisation would be a big failure. These horizontal and open networks (so sharing instead of protecting) are really strong as the power of the crowd is stronger than the idea and work of a few individuals. Time of isolated production on our island is gone. We have to embrace cooperation both inside as outside our organization again and give back the true meaning to the word “company“ (derived from the Latin “cum” and “pane” which means “breaking bread together.”). So let’s open up our organisations. Throw this hierarchy, internal competition and piles of rules out of the window. Take away all barriers in order to connect and network within our organisation and to the outside. Go for complete openness, honesty and true communication and (why not …) democracy. Put the “Why” again on top of the agenda! What is your social role in society?

Communication is the second cumbersome aspect many of us face. And that is even quite logic. Because in all these years that we studied Geography, Engineering and IT, how many courses on communication did we get? Probably none. There is a complete distortion between the amount of theory we obtain and how to spread this knowledge to the outside world. For centuries we were sitting relaxed in our niche market, talking our niche language full of slang. But today, the geo-market became mainstream. What does “geospatial” mean for your neighbour? What does even “geo” mean? We have to learn to communicate simple and concrete, with easier terminology. What about “maps”? It will be a little bit peculiar at the start, but we will be rewarded to level down our abstract level of talking. We shouldn’t forget that for many people geo-information is complicated. If we want that the message sticks, we have to step in their world by keeping things clear.

Although more simple, I would like to end by a passionate speech for a less modest communication. In my opinion, we do not stress enough the real power of maps. Maps and their applications are still too often seen as a nice-to-have, handy tool. But maps can mean a lot more for this world in drastic change. The global system (incl. the economic, financial, social & eco sub-systems) in which we are functioning is in crisis and people are scared and paralyzed of what will come. Maps can concretise new ideas and possible solutions and paint a vivid picture of what could be. They have the power to simulate future scenarios and hence can function as thé story teller we need to mobilize people in the transition process towards a new society. Maps can really invoke an explosion of how we see the earth. Maps bring better knowledge and better understanding and this should hopefully bring better judgment. That is what we need to communicate, so we can really turn maps, from being a cute thing to have, into something that really actually matters!