Data, data, data: Thanks to the rigid format of the Google Mapper Spreadsheet, building this map of Ulysses coerced me to consider data management and information architecture. Prior to dumping my data into the spreadsheet, it all existed in marginalia, paperclipped debris, and ephemerally in my noggin. Isolating the points of data and making each instance  in the spreadsheet discrete rendered the project—its scope and possibilities—legible, not only for me, but for others who decided to espy my work. Framework and modelling, from here out, obsessed me, and I learned how much labour they take—and to quit apologizing for my prototypes.

During the seminar, the class worked collaboratively to input the data of the “Lestrygonians” map into the spreadsheet and “publish” the KML file, which emphasized the necessity of making data exportable; a coherent data model, it would seem, incites collaboration and the data’s preservation. By keeping the data ready for export, I’ve since transmogrified this data into a semi-functional, if hideous, mobile app.

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Author: Michael Stevens
Word Count: 166

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