Mapping Cyberspace

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Why should we consider mapping structures in cyberspace?• Using images from the Atlas of Cyberspace, we will

explore the various motives for mapping cyberspace and its infrastructure.

Dodge, Martin, and Rob Kitchin. Atlas of Cyberspace. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2002.

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What are MAPS actually?• “Maps are the world reduced to points, lines, and areas, using

a variety of visual resources: size, shape, value, texture or pattern, color, orientation, and shape. A thin line may mean something different from a thick one, and similarly, red lines from blue ones.” (Lanius 2003)

• How do maps represent “reality”? “A photograph shows all objects in its view; a map is an

abstraction of reality. The cartographer selects only the information that is essential to fulfill the purpose of the map, and that is suitable for its scale. Maps use symbols such as points, lines, area patterns and colors to convey information.” (Lanius 2003)

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• “Cartography provides a means by which to classify, represent and communicate information about areas that are too large or too complex to be seen directly.”

• Maps, if well made, are relatively easy to interpret and can help to understand problems quickly and easily.

• Maps can help to reveal relationships that may otherwise not have been noticed.

(Dodge & Kitchin 2002:2)

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But can we map CYPERSPACE?• We can map the flows and infrastructure of cyberspace

which helps us understand how cyberspace might look like.

• To apply a spatial, map-like structure to data where no inherent or obvious one exists, is called spatialization.

(Dodge & Kitchin 2002:2)

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Ok, let‘s look at some interesting, unique, creative and diverse maps of cyberspace…

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History: Back in time… telegraphing

1) Telegraph stations in the United States and Canada (1856)Aim: To map the location of telegraph stations and their connections. The table provides telegraph tariffs from Pittsburgh to all other stations.

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The birth of the internet

#1-University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) #2- Stanford Research Institute (SRI); #3- University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); #4-University of Utah (UTAH)

2) Sketch maps of ARPANET in September and December 1969Aim: To record the initial topological structure of ARPANET.

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The birth of the internet continued

3) ARPANET geographic map (June 1977)Aim: To display the geographic topology of ARPANET in the summer of 1977.

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Mapping where the wires, fiber-optic cables and satellites really are.

4) International submarine cable infrastructure (1999)Aim: To show the detailed geography of undersea cables for a technical audience.

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4) Schematic diagram of a building’s network facilities (2000)Aim: To provide a detailed layout of the network infrastructure through a building for

use by network maintenance engineers.

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5) Frame from a SaVi animation of the Teledesic satellite Constellation (1997)Aim: To show the changing pattern of satellite constellations around the Earth.

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6a) International Connectivity series of maps no. 1 (September 1991)

Mapping flows & connectivity on a global scale (macroscale mapping)

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6b) International Connectivity series of maps no. 2 (June 1997)Aim: To chart the global spread of network connectivity at the level of nation-states.

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7a) Matrix.Net Internet world maps no. 1 (January 1997)

Showing volume of networked computers

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7b) Matrix.Net Internet world maps no. 2 (January 2000)Aim: To chart the geographic extent of the Internet as a function of the volume of

networked computers at the city level. The first map charted four different networks, while the later one shows only Internet-connected computers.

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UUNET’s backbone marketing maps at four different scales (2000)Aim: To provide marketing maps to promote the company’s Internet network to potential customers by demonstrating the geographic extent and capacity of the infrastructure.

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10) Large graph of the MBone network topology (Aug. 1996)

Aim: To visualize the topological structure of the Mbone and to provide a sense of the shape and interweaving structure of that part of the Internet infrastructure.

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11) TeleGeography’s telecommunications flow maps (1999)Aim: To map the volume of telecommunication traffic between countries.

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12) Visualizations of traffic flows over NSFNET

1991

1994

Aim: To visualize the growth in traffic flows on the NSFNET backbone network in the United States in the early 1990s.

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13) Geographic visualization of traffic on the NCSA website (Aug. 1995)Aim: To show geographic origin of traffic, in real-time, of a popular website.

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Let‘s zoom in - Microscale mapping

Paul C. Adams (University of Texas, Austin)

Adams has sought to model people’s connections through time and space during the course of an ordinary day using 3D time–space models.

Adams, Paul. "Application of a CAD-Based Accessibility Model." In Information, Place, and Cyberspace, ed. Janelle, Donald and David Hodge. Heidelberg : Springer Verlag, 2000. 217-239.

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One day in the life of 5 interconnected people

Horizontal (yellow+green) bars:•length of the bar = distance•width of the bar = duration

Vertical (magenta) bars:time of the day starting with midnight

14) Models of human extensibility (1999)Aim: To model the communications between people.

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15) The Tube map as a metaphorical site map (1997)Aim: To provide an attractive overview map on the Yell Guide website (BritishTelecommunications plc.) showing major content areas on a single screen.

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The images here show sculptured, structured tendrils of text representing, in an abstract manner, the content of a website.

16) Tendril: topographic sculptures from Web content (2000)

Aim: To construct sculptures from Web content.

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And you can also do it the other way around: creating maps with the help of the internet

Google maps image (2009)

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Summary: So why do we map cyberspace now?• To be able to follow the development of an ever changing technology (history).

• To show the rapid growth of flows and usage of ICTs around the world.

• To attract potential customers in what is a highly competitive and lucrative global business (companies).

• To show the available cyberspace infrastructure to help customers pick a provider.

• For the people maintaining and installing the infrastructure to help them locate it.

• To improve an existing infrastructure and to locate holes in cyberspace.

• To help discover links between physical and virtual worlds.

• To visualize the character of networks.

• To identify patterns in cyberspace.

• To show complex information.

• To reveal correlations.

• …

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• Copyright: Susann Meyer, 2009• Sources:

Dodge, Martin, and Rob Kitchin. Atlas of Cyberspace. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2002.

Lanius, Cynthia. What are Maps? 2003. Rice University Houston, TX. 17 November 2009 <http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/pres/map/ mapdef.html>.

• All maps and images are taken from the Atlas of CyberspaceYou can download the book here: http://www.kitchin.org/atlas/index.html

• This presentation is to be used for educational and private uses only!