The Virtual Road to El Dorado

By Marina Douglas

Think of comprehension as El Dorado – that glorious, golden paradise of myth. Wouldn't it be great if we could comprehend all there is to reality? Doing this is no simple matter, and in this way, true comprehension is an El Dorado of the mind. How do we find it? A helpful tool is maps.

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We all know that maps are important; they give us crucial information about weather, roads, landscape and human geography. A map is both a mirror and shaper of the world (Kuttainen, 2015). Social networks are important in a different way, and serve an abundance of roles in connecting the world through business, pleasure and politics. These two creations are among humankind’s most precious resources, and we need both of them in our never-ending quest to put a finger on reality. Yes, we’re all thinking it now: what do they have to do with each other? That’s a good question.

On physical maps, certain things are given emphasis – natural landmarks, cities, populations, routes, and environmental conditions. The same emphasis can be applied in creating social maps. Let’s say that we group all people according to different criteria, such as ethnicity, demography, lifestyle, personal interests, or any other factor imaginable. These groups are akin to physical landmarks, while the countless connections within and between these groups are just like routes. Picture these together and you've got one huge map that, despite being crazily jumbled, is a practical means to comprehending the realities of human social nature.

Mapping people and their behaviour online is easy through websites like Facebook, and there are even websites designed specifically for this purpose, such as Kumu. But in the words of Wood et al (2006), “No map can show everything at once.” These websites provide great insight, but you need to incorporate your own insight to gain greater understanding. Find out who does what, and why they do it; discover who sits where on a social map, and you'll find yourself a few steps closer to El Dorado.

References

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Lecture 4: Maps. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Mohr, J. & R. (2015). Kumu: Network Mapping. Retrieved from https://kumu.io/markets/network-mapping

Wood, D. et al. (2006). Seeing Through Maps: Many Ways to See the World. Oxford, UK: New Internationalist Publications

Image Credits

Proto57. (2009). Manoa: a Fantasy City. Retrieved from wordpress.com manoa_1_blog.jpg