I’m not sure if we exist, you and I.
Before you get worried that this blog is turning existential, let me explain. The other day Fast Company posted a short article about Stamen Design. The post starts with, “We used to have cartographers.”*
Excuse me? Let me show you some Maps Behaving Badly and then we’ll talk about why there is still a strong need for cartographers and the cartographic skill that is espoused in this blog. As a matter of fact, there is still a cartography profession, and some of us are, believe it or not, much sought after.
Despite the fact that we know that our profession is thriving, expanding, and changing at great velocity these days, there are still a lot of people who are confused about cartography, what it is, and whether or not cartographers still exist.
Before getting too down about it, though, ponder a term that the GIS and cartography community doesn’t use much but that, if employed more widely, would help the cause:
Digital Cartographer**
For those who are making webmaps on a regular basis, adopting the title Digital Cartographer could rid yourself of the need to go on, ad infinitum, about what GIS means, or what webmapping is, or what geoanalytics are, while you futily try to explain to a layperson just what it is exactly that you do for a living. I think the title Digital Cartographer can stand for itself and be readily understood by most people. Solution?
*Hat tip Andy Woodruff
**It’s a little disconcerting that the first time I ever heard this term, or perhaps the first time I ever took note of it, was in a tweet by the comedian Rob Delaney.
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