GIS Dev Cafe

Election Night With CNN - Now With Holograms!

Aaron VanWieren — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:21:42 +0000

In the beginning CNN had John King and his Magic Map. Now, they have trumped the magic map and taken news reporting technology to another level using holographic technology, real world “Help Me Obi-wan Kinobi You’re My Only Hope” holographic technology! Embeded video after the jump, you have to see it to believe it! (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: Poll Closing Times Map

Aaron VanWieren — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:55:27 +0000

Election day is finally here. Yay! In my blog I have tried to provide access and perspective on a wide variety of election related cartographic content, primarily looking at how the related information as well as the maps themselves are composed. This year has seen a flood of content driven maps offered to explain a wide range of topics and concerns(see related posts below). Tonight it all draws to a close and I know I will be glued to my television and laptop computer to follow it through to its conclusion. I have been like an addict the past couple of months, watching CNN and news more often than prime time television. As well, I have discovered some great maps along the way that provide keen visualization to campaign issues. In light of tonight’s presidential election conclusion, I figured poll closing times would be a great focus for this Election Day posting. (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: The Candidates Stances on Technology

Aaron VanWieren — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:30:58 +0000

Unlike my previous posts this one does not focus on a map or mapping technology. Instead it focuses on the candidates stances toward technology and technology legeslation. Recently Tech Republic published an article on the candidates’ stances toward internet technology and high technology job. I feel this is a pretty good read and interesting to think about. This election year has not had alot of focus on anything besides economics, so the author has discerned this from their press releases and voting histories. (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: Get Out And Vote - Campaign and Map

Aaron VanWieren — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:10:06 +0000

Election time is a week away. As I reported yesterday, record lines are expected next Tuesday at the polls. Early voting in Georgia has reported some places having up to a 2+ hour wait for early voting. It will definitely be interesting to see what the final numbers are next week. With the enthusiasm building up to the end of the general election, I figured I would look at what are the state policies for time off for voting. As well Google has emphasized the “Vote Hour” campaign on their blog. And yes, there is a video too! (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: Early And Absentee Voting Map

Aaron VanWieren — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:54:03 +0000

The National Elections are only a week away. In news this weekend, there have been reports of massive numbers of voters turning out for early voting. In some places, voters are met with long lines. Next Tuesday it probably won’t be any different. In light of the reported record turnout at the polls, I want to focus today’s post on a map dedicated to informing the voter about states’ early voting practices. (more…)

SNL Spoofs CNN Magic Map(Video)

Aaron VanWieren — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:48:53 +0000

Last week in my election map series, I blogged about CNN’s Magic Map and its facilitator John King. On Thursday, Saturday Night Live decided to have some fun of their own spoofing CNN’s John King and his Magic Map. Watch it here! (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: Patchwork Nation Map

Aaron VanWieren — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:29:21 +0000

So far in these posts I have focused on numerous topics relating to this election year from finance to voting machine reliability and of course polling data. But, who are the people at the heart of this election, who exactly are the voters and how does they effect this election? The Christian Science Monitor Patchwork Nation map focuses on this concept: Who are the voters in this election and what issues matter to them the most. (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: Voting Machine Technology Maps

Aaron VanWieren — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:07:44 +0000

The 2008 presidential election is less than two weeks away! With the upcoming election day looming closer and record turnout for early voting, the media has focused heavily on the voting machines and methods used to vote. As many may recall, there has been numerous problems in recent elections with voter machines. On CNN last night I saw a story about voter machines that had issues when a voter selected one candidate, it highlighted the other one instead. With all the attention focused on the end of this presidential race and the upcoming vote, I figured today I will highlight some maps dealing with the location and potential security of voter registration machines. (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: Ad Spending Maps

Aaron VanWieren — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:48:09 +0000

In yesterdays post I focused on digital map offerings that highlighted campaign financing. While that post provides maps that answer the question of how they got their money and where it was raised, today’s posting will focus on where that money is being spent through advertising spending. These maps follow closely to the recognized battle ground states, providing an interesting look at where the parties feel their message will have the greatest impact. This will look at two sites: CNN Ad Spending and The New York Times Ad Wars Maps. (more…)

Presidential Election ‘08 Online Maps: Campaign Finance Maps

Aaron VanWieren — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:00:16 +0000

This weekend Barack Obama’s campaign broke a campaign finance record raising a record 150 million dollars in September. Following up on that theme, this post will set aim on examining CNN’s Fundraising digital map and the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Fundraising map. The primary goal of this post will be to compare and look at the available content and the means of displaying the same data differently as well as focusing on each maps supporting content. (more…)