Mapping, Cyberspace

Cyberspace cartographies are a significant area of creativity in contemporary mapmaking, with a considerable amount of experimentation with visual metaphors, survey methods, data sources, and novel forms of user interaction with map representations. Mapping cyberspace can be usefully categorized into three distinct cartographic modes: (1) ‘maps in cyberspace’ which provide greater access and user interactivity to traditional geographic maps by placing them online; (2) ‘maps of cyberspace’ which represent the structures and operations of cyberspace itself; and (3) ‘maps for cyberspace’ which are designed for navigation through the virtual spaces of cyberspace. All three modes of cyberspace mapping create innovative forms of representation and have expanded the frontiers of cartography in terms of what is mappable and how users interact with maps. Alongside these achievements, however, remain age-old questions of the power and the politics of maps. While cyberspace is in some ways democratizing mapmaking, it has simultaneously provided governments and corporations with new opportunities for mapping and control.