Hello, I’m Chris Plummer, a 15 year old Freshman at LTHS. I was born in Denver,Colorado and moved here when I was 8 years old. Since then I have not moved at all. Here it is definitely a lot warmer than Colorado! I have traveled to Mexico 3 times in different locations. I have also been to Disney World in Florida and many other states as well. When we drive to my grandma in Illinois we cross through lots of states to get there. I only speak English but I’m learning Spanish at school.
Im reviewing chapter 11 of Maphead by Ken Jennings. The overall idea of chapter 11 is how geography/maps are changing due to the advancement of technology. “Twentieth-century map buffs absorbed in an atlas may have envisioned the page as a window into another world, but today’s maps literally act like windows, not pictures: we peer into them. We can scroll them and rotate them. We can switch them from road maps to terrain maps…” (213).
A big game changer in maps of technology is Google Earth. Ken goes on to say that it was’t the first electronic globe but the biggest industry leader now, “with more than 700 million installations world wide” (214). Brian McClendon helped create a program called Keyhole for 3-D technology. They showed to to Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Short after Keyhole’s aerial imagery was on Google Maps. Finally they released Keyhole as an application called Google Earth. Demand for it became incredibly high.
Since Google Earth is a technology product, you can’t expect it to be perfect the first time. There have been errors before. For instance, Google did’t label Taiwan as one of its provinces. Also Nicaragua’s border was misdrawn on Google Maps. There is also the problem of privacy with these type of maps. Terrorist can easily see where the locations of landmarks are or you might be taken a picture of when the Google cars drive by for street view and posted on the internet for millions to see. Another problem is that its accuracy could become so powerful people fear it might destroy the making of maps industry.
Geotagging is another main topic in this chapter. Ken says geotagging is where a location is attached to something online. For example, YouTube and Instagram ask for a location from where the picture or video was taken. People might not think thats a big deal but it is. What if you posted a picture on vacation and people saw where you where? They could use your coordinates to find you. They could look at previous post and find your house and rob it. This creates a time of environment where anyone can know where you are all most at every moment.
Then there is the idea of augmented reality. Well… its not really an idea anymore because small amounts of it actually exist. “”Augmented reality” is the practice of combining a real-world environment with computer generated imagery, like those yellow “first down” lines that appear and disappear during televised football games” (230). Ken explains how he thinks of augmented reality. Your in Manhattan and you pull out your smartphone. You turn on the augmented reality app. Every where you point the phone camera it there are labels on buildings. A pathway to your destination on the side walk. For rent signs on the windows of apartment buildings. Every where you angle your phone is combined with technology. Ken is caught by surprise when he finds out these kind of apps already exist. He tries a few apps but is mostly disappointed when the only thing the app shows are Starbucks and Best Buys within 5 miles of his house. But he does stay hopeful and knows that without a doubt things will change and be as good as his fantasy version.
In my eyes I loved this chapter. The main reason is because I love learning about technology and its advancement no matter if its about maps or anything else. I do think maps combined with technology is the most interesting though. I can’t wait to see what the future brings with augmented reality. That just seems outstanding that we can create a new version of out world by improving the old one then just switch back to the normal world by the click of a button! Geotagging does worry me though. Thats why I give away the least amount of info when I post on social media. I also post vacation photos after I get back so we will be home if someone tries to rob us. This concludes my review of “Frontier” , chapter 11 of the book Maphead by Ken Jennings. Photo below.
3rdPeriodAPHUG2014 
Your post was very informative and interesting. I completely agree that geotagging can be a huge danger. I also believe that google earth can be used for the wrong reasons as well, as you mentioned with the terrorists. You said you loved advancement in technology so do you think google earth getting even more accurate is a good thing? Or do you believe that it could be a threat to society?
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I found your post very accurate Chris. I agree with you 100% about the “geotagging” part and find it very scary about how tagging your location Ina photo can lead to a potential robbery. I also like your view on what you said about technology, and feel like I have the same views, for I am addicted to technology! And finally, what do you think could be some possible improvements to map technology and the “augmented reality”?
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