Mapping

Maps may be the most important part of the visual mediums. With the strategy of design, it is possible to govern the onlooker’s decisions. Maps are the method humans have found to organize data, time, locations, etc. The best maps enable average users to understand complex networks of unfamiliar information. Behind these often beautiful illustrations are vast databases of coordinates, data points or items, which adhere to a certain hierarchy. It is most difficult to produce a map, which everyone can understand. Each person is more at ease with different reference systems. For some, cardinal points are the preferred system of reference. For others, landmarks are a simpler reference.

Following the readings of Italo Calvino’s "Invisible Cities" and Guy Debord and the Situationist’s "Theory of the Dérive“, I notice the physical influences of the world built around us. The shape of a building for instance, influences the type of work and efficiency of the employees. These limitations are the instigators of Dérive. The artists allow the external influences to take charge. I am struck by the degree at which the design of spaces where I live affect my habits and routines. Calvino’s writing evokes many vibrant images. These are but extreme examples of the effect of the living space on its inhabitants. This is comparable to the panopticon: where an all-seeing eye looms over all sections of the space.

For my mapping assignment, I have decided to extract xml data from an RSS feed. I chose the alexa.com top 25 sites feed because the online community directly affects this list. I use the Processing programming language to achieve interactivity in the time allotted for this project. The application extracts 25 links from the latest version of the xml document. This randomly places 25 people on a schoolyard map. This creates cluster areas and sparser areas. The application’s user now has the ability to manipulate the map to their liking. When a person is dragged by the user, zones appear on the map. Group of people (or websites) are created: "Favourites”,"Junk" and "Active". This is reminiscent of a web browser. Any userà is able to create a map of their own, based on world wide popular websites. This map draws a comparison between the popularity contest that is elementary school and that of the web. My map illustrates impossibility for new sites to climb to the top 25. This is because only these select websites are available.

For this project, I was technically limited by the availability of statistical information regarding web traffic. This field is secretive because of the value attached to such information. Google trends store attractive information but does not make is easily accessible via xml feeds. Alexa offers professional services, which could provide a more complete feed of web popularity. For this project I used only freely available technologies. The xmlpro Processing library is unfortunately not able to run online as an applet when parsing a remote xml file. That is why the download is available here (source) and screenshots in this post.