Lab 3: Santa Barbara hikes and the consequences of neogeography

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Potential, pitfalls and consequences of neogeography:
With tools available today, anybody can create decent looking map “mashups” that display user generated content on top of already existing maps. The ease of use of these tools allows anybody to convey geospatial information easily. For example, a college student going on a trip could map out his route and tag photos and videos at different locations he visits. This type of mapping by non-professionals (who know very little about cartography) is known as “neogeography.” Neogeography has the potential to make everyone a geographer.

The greatest thing about neogeography is that anyone can create a map. The largest pitfall with neogeography is, also, that anyone can create a map. Maps made by non-professionals aren’t necessarily going to be accurate, and probably aren’t a reliable source of information. These maps are also very subject to the biases of the person making the map. Since maps are some of the most trusted sources of information, people might be more willing to believe the inaccuracies and biases of these user-generated maps.