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My kid is more up-to-date on geography than Google Maps
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"Where's South Sudan?" my five-year-old asked me.Being my kid, he's big into maps. He has a map of Africa with all the flags on it hanging above his bed. Using it, he's been able to trace dad's adventures in Ethiopia and Somaliland. It's been marked up a bit since I got it for him more than a year ago. I had to draw the boundary of the unrecognized state of Somaliland on it, and we had to add a flag after Libya suddenly got a second one.
He's been hearing me talk about wanting to visit South Sudan, the world's newest country after splitting from Sudan in July. In order to draw the new border, we looked it up on Google Maps. It wasn't there. Google, which analyzes everyone's search terms and takes photos of where everybody lives, hadn't yet decided South Sudan was worthy of notice. We had to go to this map on Wikipedia to find out the information.
After an online campaign, Google Maps has finally changed their map to reflect reality, the BBC reports. Yahoo!, Microsoft and National Geographic have yet to follow suit.
I guess this a good lesson to my son that no source of information is 100% reliable, especially if that source is on the Internet.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sudhakar Sep 24th 2011 4:33AM
Don't know, if..because...but google does.. now
Sudanese Sep 24th 2011 1:13AM
Sudan is still one in my eyes, always will be.
phybriola uiopis Sep 24th 2011 6:18AM
Hi, I was was wondering if anybody could give me help with my geography controlled assessment.
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Sean McLachlan Sep 27th 2011 1:29PM
National Geographic's Communications department sent me the following message today:
Hi Sean,
You recently reported in your Sept. 23 Gadling story that that National Geographic has not yet added South Sudan to its maps, which is incorrect.
National Geographic closely monitors important global changes such as the creation of South Sudan and reacts in a timely manner.
National Geographic’s cartographic policy is one of portraying the world from a de facto point of view. That is, to portray to the best of our judgment the current reality. National Geographic strives to be apolitical, to consult multiple authoritative sources, and to make independent decisions based on extensive research.
National Geographic's map policy on South Sudan was amended on July 11, 2011. South Sudan has since been added to our print maps and mobile apps such as the World Atlas. On our printed maps, South Sudan is represented in a yellow color fill, denoting it as a sovereign state. Juba, the nation's capital, is designated with a national capital symbol.
It is important to note that National Geographic web sites feature dynamic mapping platforms, including Microsoft Bing Maps and Google Earth. National Geographic content is occasionally juxtaposed with content from these platforms. While National Geographic has a relationship with these data providers we do not currently have editorial influence on how cartographic content is displayed. Therefore, we have made it a point to have all such dynamic maps carry the following qualifier: "The boundaries and place names shown do not necessarily reflect the cartographic policy of the National Geographic Society."
Please let me know if you have any questions. The BBC story you referenced is also working to correct the story right now.