| "Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination | | | | come in all shapes and modes: flow charts, |
| experienced daily by billions of legitimate | | | | quasi-geographical maps, 3-d simulator-like |
| operators, in every nation, by children being | | | | terrains and many others. The "web Stalker" |
| taught mathematical concepts...A graphical | | | | is an experimental web browser which is |
| representation of data abstracted from the | | | | equipped with mapping functions. The range of |
| banks of every computer in the human system. | | | | applicability is mind boggling.A (very) |
| Unthinkablecomplexity. Lines of light ranged | | | | partial list:The Internet Genome Project - |
| in the non-space of the mind, clusters and | | | | "open-source map of the major conceptual |
| constellations of data. Like city lights, | | | | components of the Internet and how they |
| receding..." (WilliamGibson, "Neuromancer", | | | | relate to each other"Anatomy of a Linux |
| 1984, page 51) first sight, it appears to be | | | | System - Aimed to "...give viewers a concise |
| a static, cluttered diagram with | | | | and comprehensive look at the Linux universe' |
| multicoloured, overlapping squares. Really, | | | | and at the heart of the poster is a gravity |
| it is an extremely powerfulway of presenting | | | | well graphic showing the core software |
| the dynamics of the emerging e-publishing | | | | components,surrounded by explanatory |
| industry. R2 Consulting has constructed these | | | | text"NewMedia 500 - The financial, strategic, |
| eBook Industry Maps to "reflect the evolving | | | | and other inter-relationshipsand interactions |
| business models among publishers, conversion | | | | between the leading 500 new (web) media |
| houses, digital distribution companies, eBook | | | | firmsInternet Industry Map - Ownership and |
| vendors, online retailers, libraries, library | | | | alliances determine status, control, and |
| vendors, authors, and many others. These maps | | | | access in the Internet industry. A revealing |
| are 3-dimensionaloffering viewers both a | | | | organizational chart.The Internet Weather |
| high-level orientation to the eBook landscape | | | | Report measures Internet performance, latency |
| and an in-depth look at multiple eBook models | | | | periods and downtime based on a sample of |
| and the partnerships thathave formed within | | | | 4000 domains.Real Time Geographic |
| each one." Pass your mouse over any of the | | | | Visualization of WWW Traffic - a stunning, |
| squaresand a virtual floodgate opens - a | | | | 3-d representation of web usage and traffic |
| universe of interconnected and hyperlinked | | | | statistics the world over.WebBrain and |
| names, a detailed atlas of who does what to | | | | Map.net provide a graphic rendition of the |
| whom.eBookMap.net is one example of a | | | | Open Directory Project. The thematic |
| relatively novel approach to databases and | | | | structure of the ODP is instantly |
| web indexing. The metaphor of cyber-space | | | | discernible.The WebMap is a visual, |
| comes alive in spatial, two and three | | | | multi-category directory which contains |
| dimensional map-like representations of the | | | | 2,000,000 web sites. The user can zoom in and |
| world of knowledge in Cybergeography's online | | | | out of sub-categories and "unlock" their |
| "Atlas". Instead of endless, static and | | | | contents.Maps help write fiction, trace a |
| bi-chromatic lists of links - Cybergeography | | | | user's clickpath (replete with clickable web |
| catalogues visual,recombinant vistas with a | | | | sites), capture Usenet and chat interactions |
| stunning palette, internal dynamics and an | | | | (threads), plot search results (though Alta |
| intuitively conveyed sense of | | | | Vista discontinued its mapping service and |
| inter-relatedness. Hyperlinks are | | | | Yahoo!3D is no more), bookmark web |
| incorporated in the topography and topology | | | | destinations, and navigate through complex |
| of these almost-neural maps."These maps of | | | | sites.Different metaphors are used as |
| Cyberspaces - cybermaps - help us visualise | | | | interface. Web sites are represented as plots |
| and comprehend the new digital landscapes | | | | of land, stars (whose brightness corresponds |
| beyond our computer screen, in the wires of | | | | to the web site's popularity ranking), |
| the global communications networks and vast | | | | amino-acids in DNA-like |
| online information resources. The cybermaps, | | | | constellations,topographical maps of the |
| like maps of the real-world, help us navigate | | | | ocean depths, buildings in an urban |
| the new information landscapes, as well being | | | | landscape, or other objects in a pastoral |
| objects of aesthetic interest. They have been | | | | setting. Virtual Reality (VR) maps allow |
| created by 'cyber-explorers' of many | | | | information to be simultaneously browsed by |
| different disciplines, and from all corners | | | | teams of collaborators, sometimes represented |
| of the world. Some of the maps ... in the | | | | as avatars in a fully immersive environment. |
| Atlas of Cyberspaces ... appear familiar, | | | | In many applications, the user is expected to |
| using the cartographicconventions of | | | | fly amongst the data items invirtual |
| real-world maps, however, many of the maps | | | | landscapes. With the advent of sophisticated |
| are much more abstract representations of | | | | GUI's (Graphic UserInterfaces) and VRML |
| electronic spaces, using new metrics and | | | | (Virtual Reality Markup Language) - these |
| grids."Navigating these maps is like | | | | maps may well show us the way to a more |
| navigating an inner, familiar, territory.They | | | | colourful and user-friendly future. |