MapaboutMaps by Sha Sha Feng: Maps convey a certain perspective and it functions as a 2-D representation of the 3-D world. What does the cartographer want you to see? This project is a series of interviews on an interactive map. It is built on open source software and Google Earth. The idea of of the interactive map allows one to layer and juxtapose information to make connections with our knowledge of the world. It explores what people think the concept of maps and its functions means to them from artistic to functional – a map about maps. This interactive system can bring people together, virtually sharing their knowledge, thoughts and opinions. These layers are not static, they change as more people contribute their stories. The goal is for people to communicate through social software, learn, and explore in the virtual world using maps. In so doing, they can learn about each other’s cultures, geographies, and communities. [via The New Cartographers -What does it mean to map everything all the time? by Jessica Clark, In These Times]

Deer Blogs His Own GPS Position in Google Earth - In what may be a short-lived cool geo hack of the day, a deer named “Thor” now has his own blog where he shares his GPS position every five minutes. Someone named ‘Siberian’ at the Google Earth Community posted how he managed to make this happen. Turns out he had collared a deer they named “Thor” with a GPS and cellphone with SMS capability. They are studying deers living in suburban areas in Pennsylvania. Siberian then hacked up a way to use the resulting E-mail to create a spreadsheet which is then converted into a file you can use to track the deer in Google Earth. The system is totally automated using free services. His post goes into detail on how this was all accomplished. Siberian is using some tools by Valery Hronusov - who has developed and posted dozens of cool geo hacks for Google Earth (see his global rainfall example). Valery came up with the idea to let the deer blog his coordinates as well. Thanks to Valery for the tip on this cool deer hack! Note: you can also view the deer’s map in Google Maps. [blogged by Frank Taylor on Google Earth Blog]