How a Media Organization Tackles the. Challenge Opportunity. Digital Gazetteer Workshop December 8, 2006

Transcription

1 A Case-Study-In-Process: How a Media Organization Tackles the Georeferencing Challenge Opportunity Digital Gazetteer Workshop December 8, 2006

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4 to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge 1888 to 2006: From gentleman s club to international media organization Mission and much of our content is all about geography Operating in a rapidly evolving, increasingly fragmented digital marketplace Increasingly urgent need to make digital content more versatile and accessible

5 Key assets Brand Venerable and revered but always in need of new audiences and fresh approaches

6 Key assets Brand Content

7 Key assets Brand Content Multiple media outlets

8 Key assets Brand Content Multiple media Cartography

9 Key assets Brand Content Multiple media Cartography Storytelling

10 Goals Create an infrastructure for organizing and accessing content geographically Archival content New content Leverage for print, Internet, mobile applications Integrate with our cartography Create new ways to tell stories: spatial storytelling Become the best source of curated, authoritative information about the world, organized and accessed geographically

11 Archival content Challenges Content archived by multiple divisions Little or no consistency in databases, naming conventions Much (most!) content has poor location information

12 New content Goal: Deploy GPS-enabled cameras and video equipment Meanwhile: Seek temporary solutions Software tools to incorporate spatial information into headers and metadata Place-names, addresses, descriptive text Incorporate georeferencing into editorial and archiving workflows

13 Creating an enterprise gazetteer Starting point: NGMaps placenames database Supports our World Atlas Advantage: High quality and accuracy Disadvantages: Relatively tiny (140,000) Currently associated with cartographic, not geographic, attributes

14 Creating an enterprise gazetteer Create a hierarchical structure based on standards and practices of existing online gazetteer services Fine-tuned to meet the special requirements of NGS Multi-scale cartographic database Media publishing needs A single primary display name will be matched with spatial information (points, lines, bounding boxes, and/or polygons), matching our list against NGA, USGS gazetteers Variant spellings, formats included as secondary names Provide a structure for future geospatial content reference and retrieval

15 Harmonizing Harmonize or cross-walk the gazetteer with National Geographic archival place-name lists We ll use Data Harmony s Thesaurus Master software Harmonizing done manually within NGMaps; vetted by Library and Information Services group We ll tap Getty gazetteer for additional names Master gazetteer Publications Index Film Library (video, film) Image Collection (photos) Combined total over 100,000 entries

16 NGS gazetteer schema ---- Pink means a repeatable field ID Gaz Entry ---- Dashed line means Optional Planetary Body Tag Date Range Name Preferred Tag Status Non-Preferred Names + TimePeriod Period Name Language Notes Status Source Repeatable Note Feature Type Broader Terms1 + One coordinate pair represents a point (most likely centroid), while two pair represent a minimum bounding box (MBB). Latitude Relationship4 Repeatable Longitude Gen Coordinates General Geometry Source GeoStatus Entry Metadata AdminID Date Entered Date Modified +.Current TimePeriod 3 FIPS/GFID (NGS) Note Note(s) Repeatable Repeatable..Current: Variant.Former.Proposed ---Later Contributed Field (see slide2) 1 Broader Terms are specified prior to placename data ingestion into data harmony thesaurus manager. This taxonomy is only visible to the user in the taxonomy list section of the Data Harmony Thesaurus Manager interface. 2 Anything beyond the specified source of the geospatial and other information are modifiers. When the source is NG Maps GIS Dataset, the GFID denotes a common link to features, the scale, datum/projection, and any other GIS-specific information. 3 Geospatial footprint could be represented by multiple occurrences of latitude-longitude pairs, such as with a point, a MBB, or a Convex Hull. It may also be a relational key that connects the entry to a feature in a GIS database, represented as the GFID (NGS). Alternatively, it could be a GML export. See Slide 2 for information on Complex Footprint Geometry GIS ArcSDE or ArcGIS Server connection? 4 The relationship element will cover any other relationship that would be required within the Thesaurus that the partitive heirarchy doesn t cover (a See also element). For example, to designate a Town feature (CDB terminology) as the capital of a state would require an is capital of relationship.

17 Parsing text: MetaCarta

18 Parsing text: MetaCarta National Geographic is likely to utilize MetaCarta s powerful text parsing tools To facilitate the georeferencing of text-based content and media metadata Parsing of archival text: Software would identify place-names in text; match them against lat-long coordinates using MetaCarta s gazetteer Potential dynamic text-parsing on the NG.com website Best uses: Text, archival content

19 Geotagging media: Red Hen Systems Geotagging, viewing, and cataloging new content Create a digital media library through which we seamlessly integrate content and geographic coordinates Best uses: visual media, new content

20 Red Hen media server: photos

21 Red Hen media server: video

22 National Geographic cartography Later phase: Fully integrate the gazetteer with Web-enabled cartography Potential for exciting new uses

23 National Geographic cartography Later phase: Fully integrate the gazetteer with Web-enabled cartography Potential for exciting new uses

24 Incorporating National Geographic content into our map viewer National Geographic MapMachine, produced in partnership with ESRI Goal: Make the MapMachine serve as an alternate means of access to National Geographic content

25 Pilot project About 1700 articles, news stories, photographs, video clips

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28 Spatial storytelling Goal: Use Web-based and mobile mapping applications to tell geography-based stories

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31 Spatially enabling National Geographic content Why are we doing this? To make our content more visible, accessible, and versatile for NGS staff To enable NGS to better serve new markets: 3-D globe apps, GIS, mobile/gps, etc. To form content distribution relationships that will diffuse geographic knowledge--and generate revenue To integrate multimedia content with cartography in innovative ways

32 Spatially enabling National Geographic content To create a gazetteer that, together with the content and cartography, is of value as a business asset Quality over quantity: Provide access to authoritative information about the world from a trusted brand To extend our 91-year tradition of cartography and spatial storytelling into new realms

33 Thanks to our georeferencers Technical questions? For answers from people smarter than me, contact: Jess Elder, NGMaps Anne Marie Houppert, Libraries and Information Services QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) are needed to see this decompressor picture. Jessica Wdowiarz, now in Education and Children s Programs QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) are needed to see this decompressor picture. Really, really simple questions? acarroll@ngs.org

34 Allen Carroll 12/8/06

35 A Case-Study-In-Process: How a Media Organization Tackles the Georeferencing Challenge Opportunity Digital Gazetteer Workshop December 8,

36 2

37 3

38 to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge 1888 to 2006: From gentleman s club to international media organization Mission and much of our content is all about geography Operating in a rapidly evolving, increasingly fragmented digital marketplace Increasingly urgent need to make digital content more versatile and accessible 4

39 Key assets Brand Venerable and revered but always in need of new audiences and fresh approaches 5

40 Key assets Brand Content 6

41 Key assets Brand Content Multiple media outlets 7

42 Key assets Brand Content Multiple media Cartography 8

43 Key assets Brand Content Multiple media Cartography Storytelling 9

44 Goals Create an infrastructure for organizing and accessing content geographically Archival content New content Leverage for print, Internet, mobile applications Integrate with our cartography Create new ways to tell stories: spatial storytelling Become the best source of curated, authoritative information about the world, organized and accessed geographically 10

45 Archival content Challenges Content archived by multiple divisions Little or no consistency in databases, naming conventions Much (most!) content has poor location information 11

46 New content Goal: Deploy GPS-enabled cameras and video equipment Meanwhile: Seek temporary solutions Software tools to incorporate spatial information into headers and metadata Place-names, addresses, descriptive text Incorporate georeferencing into editorial and archiving workflows 12

47 Creating an enterprise gazetteer Starting point: NGMaps placenames database Supports our World Atlas Advantage: High quality and accuracy Disadvantages: Relatively tiny (140,000) Currently associated with cartographic, not geographic, attributes 13

48 Creating an enterprise gazetteer Create a hierarchical structure based on standards and practices of existing online gazetteer services Fine-tuned to meet the special requirements of NGS Multi-scale cartographic database Media publishing needs A single primary display name will be matched with spatial information (points, lines, bounding boxes, and/or polygons), matching our list against NGA, USGS gazetteers Variant spellings, formats included as secondary names Provide a structure for future geospatial content reference and retrieval 14

49 Harmonizing Harmonize or cross-walk the gazetteer with National Geographic archival place-name lists We ll use Data Harmony s Thesaurus Master software Harmonizing done manually within NGMaps; vetted by Library and Information Services group We ll tap Getty gazetteer for additional names Master gazetteer Publications Index Film Library (video, film) Image Collection (photos) Combined total over 100,000 entries 15

50 NGS gazetteer schema ---- Pink means a repeatable field ID Gaz Entry ---- Dashed line means Optional Planetary Body Tag Date Range Name Preferred Tag Status Non-Preferred Names + TimePeriod Period Name Language Notes Status Source Repeatable Note Feature Type 1 Broader Terms + Latitude 4 Relationship Repeatable Longitude Gen Coordinates General Geometry Source GeoStatus Entry Metadata TimePeriod FIPS/GFID (NGS)3 Note Note(s) Repeatable Repeatable AdminID Date Entered Date Modified One coordinate pair represents a point (most likely centroid), while two pair represent a minimum bounding box (MBB). +.Current..Current: Variant.Former.Proposed ---Later Contributed Field (see slide2) 1 Broader Terms are specified prior to placename data ingestion into data harmony thesaurus manager. This taxonomy is only visible to the user in the taxonomy list section of the Data Harmony Thesaurus Manager interface. 2 Anything beyond the specified source of the geospatial and other information are modifiers. When the source is NG Maps GIS Dataset, the GFID denotes a common link to features, the scale, datum/projection, and any other GIS-specific information. 3 Geospatial footprint could be represented by multiple occurrences of latitude-longitude pairs, such as with a point, a MBB, or a Convex Hull. It may also be a relational key that connects the entry to a feature in a GIS database, represented as the GFID (NGS). Alternatively, it could be a GML export. See Slide 2 for information on Complex Footprint Geometry GIS ArcSDE or ArcGIS Server connection? 4 The relationship element will cover any other relationship that would be required within the Thesaurus that the partitive heirarchy doesn t cover (a See also element). For example, to designate a Town feature (CDB terminology) as the capital of a state would require an is capital of relationship. 16

51 Parsing text: MetaCarta 17

52 Parsing text: MetaCarta National Geographic is likely to utilize MetaCarta s powerful text parsing tools To facilitate the georeferencing of text-based content and media metadata Parsing of archival text: Software would identify place-names in text; match them against lat-long coordinates using MetaCarta s gazetteer Potential dynamic text-parsing on the NG.com website Best uses: Text, archival content 18

53 Geotagging media: Red Hen Systems Geotagging, viewing, and cataloging new content Create a digital media library through which we seamlessly integrate content and geographic coordinates Best uses: visual media, new content 19

54 Red Hen media server: photos 20

55 Red Hen media server: video 21

56 National Geographic cartography Later phase: Fully integrate the gazetteer with Web-enabled cartography Potential for exciting new uses 22

57 National Geographic cartography Later phase: Fully integrate the gazetteer with Web-enabled cartography Potential for exciting new uses 23

58 Incorporating National Geographic content into our map viewer National Geographic MapMachine, produced in partnership with ESRI Goal: Make the MapMachine serve as an alternate means of access to National Geographic content 24

59 Pilot project About 1700 articles, news stories, photographs, video clips 25

60 26

61 27

62 Spatial storytelling Goal: Use Web-based and mobile mapping applications to tell geography-based stories 28

63 29

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65 Spatially enabling National Geographic content Why are we doing this? To make our content more visible, accessible, and versatile for NGS staff To enable NGS to better serve new markets: 3-D globe apps, GIS, mobile/gps, etc. To form content distribution relationships that will diffuse geographic knowledge--and generate revenue To integrate multimedia content with cartography in innovative ways 31

66 Spatially enabling National Geographic content To create a gazetteer that, together with the content and cartography, is of value as a business asset Quality over quantity: Provide access to authoritative information about the world from a trusted brand To extend our 91-year tradition of cartography and spatial storytelling into new realms 32

67 Thanks to our georeferencers Technical questions? For answers from people smarter than me, contact: Jess Elder, NGMaps Anne Marie Houppert, Libraries and Information Services QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) are needed to see this decompressor picture. Jessica Wdowiarz, now in Education and Children s Programs QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) are needed to see this decompressor picture. Really, really simple questions? acarroll@ngs.org 33

68 34 Allen Carroll 12/8/06