Kevin Kelly, of Wired fame, has launched a lovely collaborative project to map the Internet, sensibly named The Internet Mapping Project.
The goal is for individuals to try and map the hairy N-dimensional structure of the Internet into a two-dimensional representation that matches their own interpretation of it, but the interesting twist is that contributors are expected to place their ‘home’ on the map. The split in designs is interesting - some contributors have drawn the internet from a position of consumption, placing their home at the center of a network of services, while others have drawn their maps from a position of oversight, trying to make sense of the many brands and roles that dominate our lives online.
I decided to try my hand at contributing myself, so I spent an hour this morning with a biro trying to make sense of the thing. I wanted to illustrate the difference and interdependence between things online that are predetermined, and things online that just happen. It also amused me to depict ‘the bubble’ as a self-contained structure that is completely insulated from outside realities, and in which you are unable to survive past thirty.
What I ended up with is basically a water cycle diagram from year 10 geography class, except I didn’t colour it in.
which means I would, under the reign of my former teacher, have lost marks for failing to add artistic flair to what is intended to be a scientific topic.
