Lab 3: Neogeography

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Geog 7 Lab 3

Travels of an Engineering Student

    Given the chance to make a personalized map, I wanted to look back at the travels I have made as a UCLA engineering student around the country.  Joining the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) has given me the chance to meet Engineering students and Professionals from around the country.  Each engineering organization is broken down into geographic regions to organize the membership and chapters around the country.  For the National Conventions, a different region hosts the event every year so that each region gets to enjoy a local convention.  Luckily for me, two of the past National Conventions have been held in my region for each organization: Region 2 (SHPE) SHPE Regional Map in Phoenix and Region 6 (NSBE) NSBE Regional Map in Las Vegas.  Thanks to these two organizations, I've been able to see parts of the country I otherwise wouldn't have been able to see.  I was even to travel international to Canada, which was especially fun, because I got to travel with so many of my friends from school, reconnect with people I've met from around the country, as well as meet new people from around the organization.  This travel has given me a chance to expand my horizons and my personal network.

Pitfalls, Potential, & Consequences of Neogeography

    As I have been given a chance to explore Google Maps in this week's lab, I have been able to see what people will map when they have the opportunity to do so.  The biggest issue I've found with Neogeography is trying to track down where people are getting their information and its validity.  People can create personal maps or maps on politics, pop culture, or international conflicts; how accurate is that information is the question we need to be asking ourselves.  At the same time the issue of who owns the information that is being used is a conflict that will reappear again and again with this new technology.  However, at the same time the fact that the average citizen with access to computer can create a map of anything and everything can be used to open up areas that have been traditionally closed off to populations, humanitarian groups, and governments.  At the same time, anyone can edit the geographic information in real time, which means that geographic information can constantly be updated and verified, unlike like decades previous where a team of geographers would make a map of an area and it wouldn't be officially updated until the next geographic survey.  The possibilities of neogeography far outweigh its issues.  It is making the population more spatially aware that any thing happens somewhere. It is in turn our responsibility as neogeographers to make sure the geographic information is as accurate as we can possibly make it, because this new technology is not going away. 


Photos for Lab 3:



Note: here are the citations for each photo as well as the links. Each photo is a personal one that is currently posted online within the Facebook network with varying degrees of accessibility.


NSBE Fall Regional Conference 2007 Seattle - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v161/207/0/584165329/n584165329_687230_1620.jpg

SHPE National's 2008 Phoenix - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-ash1/v652/180/10/2538828/n2538828_43701628_2375.jpg

NSBE National's 2009 Las vegas - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3329/207/0/584165329/n584165329_2895920_5374015.jpg

NSBE Region VI Summer Camping Conference 2009 - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs150.snc1/5580_134716355085_119786480085_3735458_7323698_n.jpg

SHPE National's 2009 Washington D.C. - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs071.snc3/13840_333974730713_688200713_9851644_2224002_n.jpg

NSBE National's 2010 Toronto - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs085.snc3/15330_394753490880_635615880_4311611_4126116_n.jpg

NSBE Regional Leadership Conference 2010 San Diego - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs422.snc4/46536_435798890880_635615880_5387439_5975502_n.jpg

NSBE Region VI Fall Regional Conference 2010 - Facebook
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs244.snc4/39558_453353150880_635615880_5748520_3109499_n.jpg


Videos for Lab 3:

Note: here are the citations for each video as well as the links in case there are any issues with the presentation, which was found early in the creation of this lab.

YouTube - NSBE Region VI - http://www.youtube.com/user/NSBERegionVI

Fall Regional Conference Long Beach 2009 Promo


YouTube - NSBETV Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/NSBETV

Las Vegas Promo


YouTube - NSBETV Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/NSBETV

Toronto Promo