SubscribeMapmaking Update: ZeeMaps allows Google CSVs
August 3, 2009 at 5:30 p.m.
My post last week on simple ways for journalists to make maps seems to have done some good.
Pankaj K Garg, of ZeeMaps left a comment noting that after reading my post, he decided to add a long-desired feature to the application: direct CSV import from Google Docs:
Now, you can select Additions -> Upload CSV file and just click on "Use Google Spreadsheet" to upload your data from a Google Spreadsheet.
The requirements are: (1) the spreadsheet must be named ZeeMap-map-number, where map-number is the number for your map, and (2) you must allow zeemaps at gmail dot com view ...
How to make a map
July 25, 2009 at 2:57 p.m.
Note: I wrote this up to help out a few colleagues a few months ago, and I thought it might be useful to more people. It's aimed at regular, non-programmer journalists who may at some point need to throw a quick map alongside a story (or by itself, that's cool, too). Obviously, this is in no way comprehensive.
Also, this is a snapshot version of a document being maintained in Google Docs. Check here for the latest.
In all cases, start with a spreadsheet (preferably using Google Docs ). This will ultimately make your life easier, even if you ...
Product, not Process
June 1, 2008 at 1:41 a.m.
Journalism, like so many crafts, is often about the process more than the product. A good story will show the trail of reporting and let the reader in on the oblique conventions of policy or public happenings.
Online, too, there is a need for engagement, for openness, not just by those we cover, but by us, the journalists.
But in many ways, the process of getting newspapers from ink on paper to text and multimedia online is getting bogged down by process, when more people really ought to be thinking about the product.
I spoke to a reporter yesterday who ...
Lessons from Everyblock
May 16, 2008 at 7:54 p.m.
Adrian Holovaty, founder of ChicagoCrime.org and Everyblock.com, spoke at O'Reilly Media's Where2.0 conference. Video of the entire event is at Blip.tv. Here's a breakdown of what Holovaty says we can learn from Everyblock:
1: Take advantage of existing data
Plenty of sites start out by asking for contributions. Everyblock doesn't. Its first mission is to make data that's already floating around the internet and locked in government file cabinets available and easy to access. Tips for getting data:- Be nice: People will help you out if you're polite. Duh.
- Governments ...
