Today’s feature is a map of the Internet done in the style of a classic National Geographic map. For those of you who aren’t map geeks (in which case you’ve got to ask yourself why you’re reading this blog), National Geographic magazine is an official publication of the National Geographic Society. It features articles and photographs about world culture, history, and of course geography. Its iconic yellow bordered glossy cover is delivered in more than 30 languages to almost 7 million readers, half of whom live outside the US.
As a child I enjoyed the articles and pictures, but my favorites were the issues that included an extra map tucked into the pages. A two-sided wonder folded into a package slightly thinner than a comic book and about half as large, but to me at least, packed with fun. One side featured a fine artistic map related to the main article in the issue. It might show ocean currents, volcanic activity, or the economic influence of the Ming dynasty. The reverse side often had a modern political map of the area in an immediately recognizable National Geographic style; countries labeled in bold black text, political boundaries in yellow, pink, and purple, bodies of water shaded to reflect depth, mountain chains in browns and greys, etc. If you were a map nerd (and if you’re still reading you probably were) then you had one of these on your bedroom wall.
Today’s Map
It took artist Martin Vargic more than two years to create an Internet map in the iconic National Geographic style. Major internet players such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft are represented as continental countries. Other important companies like Wikipedia, twitter, and Facebook get substantial territory. There’s even an entire continent dedicated to some of the less savory aspects of the Internet.
Perhaps it’s only my personal experience, but I think the SPAM Ocean is a bit too small and isolated. What are you thoughts about Mr. Vargic’s map?
As always thanks for reading.
Armen
PS Mr. Vargic plans to sell his map as a poster, but I was unable to find a link. Here’s a link to what he does have available at Amazon