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This thing was constructed on October 5, 2007, and it was categorized as Data, maps, mashup.
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Buzztracker traces the connections between major cities and current events by visualizing news coverage as a series of interconnected circles, allowing users to see the ripple effect of important stories. The number of major news stories determines the relative size of the circle for each city, and lines diagram linkages. The interconnections are also explored textually, with the entry for each city including a list of related locations ranked by their recurrence in media reports. The site includes links to English-language media.
While clearly and effectively demonstrating the social, political, and economic interconnectedness of the modern world, the site also shows the ways in which single, often unimportant events, can skew news coverage. I first saw the site when O.J. Simpson had returned to the headlines, causing Las Vegas and Los Angeles to be weighted heavily in the cartogram. On a more positive note, Buzztracker allows visitors to explore how a wide variety of media outlets present contemporary issues, allowing comparisons of context and analysis.
. Historian Shae Davidson's research interests include public policy and the relationship between culture and civil society. His publications range from articles on industrial history to absurdist poetry.
