This was a five minute presentation that started off a session that I led at WhereCamp 2010 called "Maps and play: mapping social and strategic spaces." The key idea is that emerging metaphor for interacting with location-based services has been the list, not the map. My theory is that this is because google-maps type maps are not the most suited for social and strategic spaces. But then what kind of maps are? We had a great discussion and the notes are at http://notepad.smedresmania.com.

1. MAPS AND PLAY
How to effectively map
non-geographical landscapes?
(social / strategic / etc..)

2. THE EVOLUTION OF LBS
First Try
Dodgeball, Latitude, etc.
D
“Friends on a map”

3. THE EVOLUTION OF LBS
First Try Second Try
Latitude, Loopt, etc. Foursquare, etc.
D
“Friends on a map” “List of places”

4. THE EVOLUTION OF LBS
The second try is taking off more than the first. Why?
D

5. GEOGRAPHICAL MAPPING
Needs being addressed:
- Orient Directionally
- Gauge Distances
- Orient to physical
landmarks
- Identify transit routes
<- Pretty good!
D

6. SOCIAL MAPPING
Needs being addressed:
- Orient Socially
- Nearby places
<- TMI!
<- Important info gets lost
D

7. SOCIAL MAPPING
Needs being addressed:
- Orient Socially
- Nearby places
<- Does the job.
<- But the best we can do?
D

8. WHAT I HOPE TO COVER
- Use cases for non-geographic landscapes? (games, etc)
- What dimensions do we need to map?
- Effective ways to map non-geographic landscapes?
- Explore outside the Mercator/GMaps projections
- How to best communicate using maps?
- Keep it concrete: what can we do with existing tech?

9. IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION
Psychogeography Social traces Re-projection Social graph
Cartoons Diagrams