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