Lab 2a: Music Venues in the Greater LA Region

View Music Venues in a larger map


I spend most of my money going to music shows and concerts. Therefore, creating a map of my favorite music venues provides an example of neogeography. I personalized the map by integrating personal photos and geotagging them using Google Maps to create an informative mashup. As mentioned in lecture, map mashups exist because of Web 2.0 and the interactive web environment that occurs in Web 2.0. The interactive interface of Google Maps allowed me to input previous information, such a reviews, about the concert venues on my map. It also allowed me to write a description for each point of interest; so, I provided commentary about the different venues. In my commentary, I discussed where people should park if they are going to a particular venue. The map becomes a source to find concert venues and read other people’s experiences at the venues.

Because “neogeography is about people using and creating their own maps” (Turner 2006), data created in our Web 2.0 world is highly personalized and user centric. User-centric production is a potential negative consequence of neogeography. My map provides an example of a narrow view that arises from neogeography. I personalized my map by only locating and pinpointing my favorite venues. People who see my map may believe that those are the only music venues in the area. However, that is not the case. There are many venues on Sunset Blvd (the Sunset Strip area) that I did not map out because I do not like those venues. Furthermore, I decided not to include venues for which I did not have any pictures of personal concert experiences at. The map provides my narrow view of concert venues in the LA region. Due to its narrowness, the map is intended only for a specific audience. It can be used by friends who want to know where I have seen concerts at but it cannot be used someone for who wants to know where all the music venues in Los Angeles are located. Moreover, two of my venues are not located in Los Angeles but in Anaheim, which is located in Orange County.

Another downfall about neogeography is the accuracy of information found on maps. For instance, the information I give about parking may not be completely accurate. The information is based on the knowledge I gained from my experience going to these venues. Unfortunately, I do not go to each venue everyday so the parking situation and information of parking lots may change. People who view my map must look at other websites for information to check the reliability of the information I provide. This is true for all other maps found on in our Web 2.0 universe. Maps found through the Internet are subject to inaccuracy because the information is true at the time the user creates it. Information can change and a venue indicated on a map mashup made in 2010 may not be open in 2011.

Despite the narrow view of maps created by user-centric production and the possibility of inaccurate information, neogeography is useful because it allows people to tailor space to their specific needs. For instance, toolkits like Google Maps allow users to tag a location and include a photo in the description. Therefore, a person can geotag and map out photos from a trip. Users are able to create dynamic maps where they can share photos with friends and family and pinpoint the location of where that photo was taken. Another example of a neogeography’s positive consequence is store locator applications. Store locator applications tailor space to fit a specific need: to help a person quickly find the location of the nearest store. When a person inputs a geographic location on a store locator application, the nearest stores are quickly found and presented to the user on a map. This helps people find the location of company’s store more easily than before. Moreover, such applications often include an option to receive directions to the place which helps the map user even more. Overall, neogeography has both pros and cons. Personalized maps are helpful, but as with everything else on user generated on the Internet, people must question the authority and accuracy of user-generated content.