Introduction

Thank-you for visiting my blog. My intention for this blog is to provide you with an insight into the authoring/building of multi scale web maps like what Google, Bing, Yahoo, MapQuest and Open Street Map provide.

Maps have never been more widely used and viewed by the public than they are today. Multi scale web maps are now accessible to millions and millions of people worldwide on a daily basis. They are used for a variety of purposes, on a variety of mediums and are transforming the way we view the world. They assist us in sharing information like we never have before and are helping us to make better decisions about our environment and the world we live in. They help us travel from point A to B faster and they help us find the nearest restaurant, hotel or cinema. And these are just a few of the common day to day uses of such maps. There are of course many more!

Google's Map Marker will most likely become the most

recognised map symbol in history!

Never before have we been able to view the world from our homes, offices or by using our cell phones like we can today. So how do these maps get created/built? Where does the data or information behind the maps comes from? What programs/software is used to build the maps and who builds/authors the maps? What are the key cartographic design considerations when building multi scale online maps? What are the key differences between the 'Big 5' online mapping providers?

Who would of thought we could view some of the
world's most iconic landmarks in such detail from our desktop or mobile
using web map services like Bing's bird's eye viewer - incredible really! © Bing Maps 2011.

I am going to address all of these questions and more during this blog. Why you ask? Because I want other cartographers and the general public to better understand this incredible and amazing technical revolution.

I hope you can continue to visit my blog and find the information interesting as I address the ins and outs of multi scale web maps!

Screen shots from Google's Terrain Maps at different scale levels. © Google 2011.
You can see that at each scale the map gives the user a more detail representation of the earths surface.
The idea that you get more detail as you keep 'zooming in' is the core property of a multi scale web map.