Why Google Maps gets Africa wrong(theguardian.com)
theguardian.com
Why Google Maps gets Africa wrong
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/02/google-maps-gets-africa-wrong
6 comments
I read this as a spin attempt of multiculturalism. Try to feel good because he’s the only one that doesn’t see the word with the “western” cultural glasses.
All maps have bias. These maps have a “city” bias. Some information is more useful for some kind of people.
It’s possible to use the same paragraph with examples of Americans farmers from the states with more rural areas. If you only have a small subsistence farm, and almost never go to the nearest city that is 200 miles away, then you probably don’t care about the localization of the Starbucks. (Or perhaps you like Starbucks, and you already know the stores in the two nearest cities and don’t need the map.)
All maps have bias. These maps have a “city” bias. Some information is more useful for some kind of people.
It’s possible to use the same paragraph with examples of Americans farmers from the states with more rural areas. If you only have a small subsistence farm, and almost never go to the nearest city that is 200 miles away, then you probably don’t care about the localization of the Starbucks. (Or perhaps you like Starbucks, and you already know the stores in the two nearest cities and don’t need the map.)
The cultural glasses thing was much of what I found strange. It's extremely ironic to write from that perspective and then blatantly state something doesn't exist just because you don't know about it.
The author also doesn't seem to be aware that Google gets a lot of data from people working more locally (by purchasing it or whatever).
The author also doesn't seem to be aware that Google gets a lot of data from people working more locally (by purchasing it or whatever).
Wow, Google Maps compared to iconography, that's new. It made me start thinking on how the information that we get online shapes our outlook. Yeah, we don't really search for wells or natural water reservoirs (what if some disaster happens), but mainly for Malls, Starbucks and ATMs, lol. Some countries have to rewrite books on History to let their people see the world as they want them to see, and Google Maps make so for the whole world and we take it for granted. Can Google cartographers pay some attention to water and mineral supplies for example? So we can select which type of online map to see.
Surprised not to see any mention of OpenStreetMap, which is currently doing almost exactly what the author is looking for.
...for some values of 'wrong'
It is hard to envisage Google Maps' particularity because there are no real alternatives. But imagine if all of Google's data and programming ability was suddenly in the hands of a Namibian agriculturalist, a Sahelian nomad or a Senegalese fisherwoman – the maps they would conjure up would be completely different. They might well prioritise soil types over Starbucks, wells over Walmarts and the state of land degradation over panoramic street views of American towns. But we can only imagine. As was the case a century ago, it is still just a small group of western individuals with specific views of the world who have the resources to map it.
is sort of strange. It misses the fact that various countries in Africa have active digital mapping projects. Here's Namibia more or less doing what he suggests:
http://www.nsa.org.na/33/10/Mapping/
Of course it isn't at the same scale as Google Maps, but then, it doesn't need to be.