Strange Maps tackles the age old myth that ancient cartographers would cover up gaps in their knowledge (specifically, the gaps in their maps) with the slogan “‘ere be monsters!” A rather enjoyable and entertaining read accompanied by some wonderful illustrations of old maps.

All Things Spatial has a post that talks of a handy Australian web map for gaining insight into real estate – although, it admits that no Australian maps are as sophisticated as those seen in some other countries.

Google Maps Mania has its non-Google Maps of the week, which highlights a web site that uses a map interface for navigation, a website that allows anyone to create animated map tours, and a real-time twitter map of the world.

O’Reilly’s Strata has an interview with Stephen Goldsmith on the potential of urban predictive data analytics in municipal government.
“The increasing use of data mining and algorithms by government to make decisions based upon pattern recognition and assumptions regarding future actions is a trend worth watching. Will guaranteeing government data quality become mission-critical, once high profile mistakes are made? Any assessment of the perils and promise of a data-driven society will have to include a reasoned examination of the growing power of these applied algorithms to the markets and the lives of our fellow citizens.”

The New Zealand Herald has a peculiar web-map/visualisation that maps the geographic dispersal of the seven deadly sins across New Zealand. Worth a look.

Jonathan Crowe from The Map Room has an interesting, if belated, response to the Apple Maps kerfuffle. He posits that all online maps suck, in one way or another, and that Apple were not the first company to cause such a drastic change in map quality – just the highest profile.

Google Maps Mania profiles a web map that documents open (free) WiFi hotspots across the world – including Australia and New Zealand. It collects its data from the Free Zone Android app, which logs open WiFi networks as users pass them.