Dodge, Martin and Kitchin, Rob (2000) Exposing the 'Second Text' of Maps of the Net. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , 5 (4). pp. 1-21. ISSN 1083-6101

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Abstract

Maps have long been recognized as important and powerful modes of visual communication. In this paper we examine critically maps which are being produced to represent and promote information and communication technologies and the use of cyberspace. Drawing on the approach of map deconstruction we attempt to read and expose the 'second text' of maps of the Net. As such, we examine in detail a number of maps that display, with varying degrees of subtlety, the ideological agendas of cyberboosterism and techno-utopianism of their creators. A critical reading of these maps is important because they are widely reproduced and consumed on the Internet, in business and governmental reports, and in the popular press, all too often without a detailed consideration of the deliberate and intended messages being communicated. As we illustrate, many of these maps not only promote certain ideological messages but are often also poor in terms of cartographic design, with many containing serious ecological fallacies. We restrict our analyses to maps at the global scale.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The definitive and final version of this article has been published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2000) Vol.5 No.4 DOI: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2000.tb00350.x
Keywords:	maps; visual communication; cartography; cyberspace; internet;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > National Institute for Regional and Spatial analysis, NIRSA
Item ID:	3913
Depositing User:	Prof. Rob Kitchin
Date Deposited:	02 Oct 2012 15:18
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1... http://jcmc.indiana.edu/
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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