Cyber Cartography

In this paper, I discuss how mapmaking has changed in the context of database structures, networks, the Internet, and virtual worlds. I examine what the mapping of cyberspaces can show us by considering recent cartographic projects, especially within a media arts context. When we attempt to draw a map of an unseen or previously unexamined, digitally-mediated territory, we are giving a visual form to an abstract system. As with any map, selecting the territory and the viewpoint from which to chart the territory represents the fi rst and most important step in creating the cyber map. This selectivity and subjectivity can often be the most interesting and useful aspect of the map.