nuance intelligence

News junkies, commodity traders and climate change scientists are all tracking last week’s midwest flooding, noting the confluence of impacts, including global commodity prices, US food costs, regional property damage, ethanol futures.  All of this is, of course, written in the context of the upcoming US election, and all the subterfuge within.

Over at AWhere (more here, here and here), they spent the week putting together a pretty cool package that allows individuals to make maps specific to any frame of reference.  Rather than relying on the media or on other mapmakers to tell you how to think about the flooding, you can interact with the map, ask it questions, and determine for yourself the impact on your business, life, community or other perspective.

What’s the nuance?

Data visualization is one of the most important frameworks for gaining insight.  But professional mapmakers have owned a near-monopoly over the frame of reference since mapping began.  Now the power is in your hands.  Google Maps, Google Earth and Virtual Earth have set the stage for interacting with maps.  AWhere takes this evolution to the next step, and lets you plot your data (as many layers as you can generate) on to a map, creating your own view of things.