Lab 3: Neogeography

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Neogeography, a new division in the field of geography is a recent innovation that has altered the world of GIS. Lately, it has been at the forefront of the profession. Neogeography makes use of existing tools to create maps that users can utilize for information, as well as to share location information with friends and family. Unlike GIS, neogeography is an “amateur,” instead of a “professional” means of map making. In addition, while GIS is rigid, neogeography is pretty flexible.

However, there are some consequences for this sort of technology. First off, there is the question of authority; how reliable are such maps if they are made by everyday people? This is a risk that is prevalent since the Internet is now filled with thousands of such maps. Secondly, the issue of privacy is brought up since this technology allows users to find location information of almost anyone quite easily. This is yet another threat posed by neogeography. Virtual crimes and online stalkers have increased exponentially in the past few years.