“Beyond the geotag: situating ‘big data’ and leveraging the potential of the geoweb” describes the possibilities of advancement in the geoweb with big data analysis, by using the example of the #LexingtonPoliceScanner trending topic on Twitter.
One of the most important things I found in this article is how inaccurate the spatial data can be. As the author points out, the location of the user is usually self-reported and can be a fictional place. Moreover, even if they correctly identify their home location, it does not necessarily reflect the location of the user at the time the information was sent. However, we know that most apps record the user’s location, whether they choose to post it or not; therefore it should be possible to have more precise information.
This paper reflects the need for GIScience to move away from static points on maps. The three maps representing tweets at different times in the night could be helped by a functioning temporal GIS and geovisualization.
It is very relevant that this is one of the last papers of the semester, as it ties together many of the fields studied in GEOG 506.
-IMC