This is the talk I gave at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting last week in Las Vegas. It introduces web-services as a replacement for desktop applications and discusses what that trend has meant for spatial data. I talk briefly about our work on Geocommons Maker and then give a full preview of Indiemapper.

I’m really glad I got a chance to bring this to AAG’s this year. I got to talk with and hear from lots of professional cartographers who are going to be our end users. It’s great to hear that people are just as dissatisfied with their current tools as we are and see the benefits to moving towards a web-based system for producing maps. We’ve still got a long way to go and I hope we keep hearing from you. Thanks to everyone who attended the talk and I hope to see you all again next time for a full Indiemapper demo.

Abstract:

The proliferation of cloud-computing and web-based services has resulted in a massive increase in the amount of data available to be mapped and the number of people making and sharing maps. However, two issues remain: how to find useable data and how to make the best possible maps quickly, even if users have no formal training. While data are plentiful, they are often hard to import. Worse, while free mapping tools exist, they offer no guidance on how (and why) to map those data well and provide only “push-pin” cartography.

Axis Maps and FortiousOne have partnered to create Maker, an online map-making service that allows the public to easily create thematic and reference maps, drawing from the vast, user-created GeoCommons data repository, and to share and publish those maps anywhere on the web. Our motto was ‘great looking maps, fast.’ Building on the Map Brewer concept of guided mapping systems, Maker brings powerful mapping tools to a wide audience, sets higher design standards for web-based maps, and improves cartographic education and literacy.

IndieMapper builds on the strengths and accessibility of Maker but adds the flexibility of a commercial GIS package. Where Maker hides key cartographic decisions (i.e. projections) to create a “no-fail” approach to mapmaking, IndieMapper allows for control over the entire map production process. Previously cartographers have gone to great lengths to integrate their workflow into GIS software. IndieMapper streamlines this process, allowing users to go from data to data-rich map faster and easier than ever before.

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