The map as metaphor. John Markoff wrote an article in the NY Times “The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives”. He calls the cellphone “the world’s most ubiquitous computer”, since the 4 billion subscriber mark has been reached recently – or even a while ago according to another research agency. Although it is a fact that most of these 4 billion people do not use smartphones able to do more advanced computing task, it is indeed an interesting thought to consider the mobile device as the actual incarnation of the ubicomp vision, as has already been argued by Bell & Dourish (pdf file: ‘Yesterdays Tomorrows’).
Markoff argues that it is no longer the desktop that is the main metaphor for organizing information but the map: With the dominance of the cellphone, a new metaphor is emerging for how we organize, find and use information. New in one sense, that is. It is also as ancient as humanity itself. The question is: Is the map indeed a universal metaphor? (story found via @Rhymo on Twitter – thanks!) == update == Worldmapper: The world as you've never seen it before. Data Visualization: Modern Approaches | Graphics | Smashing Maga. Urban EcoMap.