mapping mashups and community organizing

Amanda's got a question about interesting use of Google Maps by community organizing groups.

I started to respond over there, but think elevating the conversation out of a comment thread is probably worthwhile since I think there are some folks reading here that aren't reading over there, and I'd really like them (if you're not sure if you're included in that them, you are) to weigh in on this.

So this is what little I know on the subject: mapping mashups just haven't reached into the organizations we know doing anything with GIS.

I think there are a few reasons for that.

1. online mapping tools have only very recently reached a point where you can do interesting things with them.
2. Organizations that do mapping a lot already have a great deal invested in their present toolset and workflow.
3. The advantages of online mapping "mashups" are unclear versus more traditional GIS mapping software.

I'll expand a bit on each of these points:

Online mapping tools have only very recently reached a point where you can do interesting things with them. Putting aside the question of exactly what interesting is, I've really only seen things that make me go "hmmmm" over the last year. That makes this a pretty new technology in my eyes, as well as the eyes of most of the techies I talk to in community organizations. Just to be clear, new isn't necessarily viewed as "bad," but many of us have an ingrained suspicion of "new" technologies that are being touted as the greatest thing since sliced bread because all too often, they're just not. It boils down a fairly conservative approach to software adoption. Other groups with more resources, more time, and more capacity can do the experimenting and prove that tools are worthwhile - let someone else be the guinea pig so to speak, especially when there are perfectly good, proven solutions at hand. Which leads to point two.

Organizations that do mapping a lot already have a great deal invested in their present toolset and workflow. How many of you reading this have ever sat down in front of any of ESRI's GIS tools to create a map? I haven't, but from what I understand of it, the process is a fairly detail oriented, somewhat complex one. That makes sense, I mean we're talking about taking data from multiple sources and merging that with various shape files to produce something that communicates information about an issue in a way that words can't. Organizations that do a fair amount of mapping work have invested heavily in the hardware, software, and training and have built internal systems and workflow for getting their maps produced. As most of you know, changing a system like this is not a decision that's made lightly. The idea of changing is complicated by the fact that:

The advantages of online mapping "mashups" are unclear versus more traditional GIS mapping software. Let me give you an unrelated example. Say you're cooking and your recipe calls for boiled, peeled, and cut up potatoes. I'd be willing to bet that some number of you peel the potatoes first, then boil them, then cut them up. Another percentage of you peel them, cut them, then boil them. The last group - and this is the group that I'm in - boils, then peels, then cuts. Arguably, the end result is the same. Just know that if you have that argument with me, you will never convince me that your peeled, cut, and boiled potatoes are as good as my boiled, peeled and cut potatoes.

When it comes right down to it, the question of Google maps vs. ESRI or GRASS or whatever software is actually pretty similar. If the goal is a map that shows X factor overlaid with Y factor, and shaded in such a way as to make a particular point, you're going to be really hard pressed to explain to anyone how the "new" technology is appreciably better than the "old" technology. If you've got a tool and it works, why go in for an upgrade when the actual "new" features aren't terribly clear.

Up to this point, I haven't really seen a clear advantage to using the new tools - Google maps, yahoo maps, Google earth, etc. Sure, there are some nifty things you can do pretty easily with add-ons like this Yahoo Maps Excel macro that takes a formatted data sheet in Excel and plots the data in a Yahoo map. Even so, that's a pretty limited application, and one that doesn't have a lot of clear utility for the actual on-the-ground organizing work that folks are engaged in.

None of that is to suggest that I'm set against any of these tools. I continue to follow developments in all of these toolsets, and am very excited by the work that seems to be happening around making tools like Google Earth, Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and even Microsoft's Windows Live Maps easier to use for non-technical folks. At present though, I remain unimpressed with the existing solutions as they compare to more traditional approaches to GIS. I expect that to change, but until it does, I don't think we're likely to see groups like Southern Echo, Environmental Health Coalition, or Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition replace their existing mapping systems.

Resources: check out these examples of maps from community organizing groups:

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition's Toxic Hot Spots map

Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice Perchlorate Levels Map

Southern Echo - link coming soon!