Understanding Cyberspace Cartographies: A Critical Analysis of Internet Infrastructure Mapping

In his PhD thesis Understanding Cyberspace Cartographies: A Critical Analysis of Internet Infrastructure Mapping, Martin Dodge describes the different approaches in cyberspace cartographies to reveal what the Internet looks like. His work takes an interpretive stand with a focus on the connotative meaning and power of statistical mapping to represent the nature of the globalisation of Internet connectivity. Then, on a more critical stand, Martin provides insights into how different interest groups want the Internet to look.

Relation to my thesis: Part of my work is to map the data generated by our interaction with the multiple Internet infrastructures to “reveal the invisible”. That is maps OF cyberspace from cyberspace census-taking as exemplified by Jean Gottman‘s statistical map of telephone calling patterns from Washington DC (p. 79) to reveal a megapolis. But then it is still unclear what is the nature of power these new types of maps mirroring our own activities have to do work in the world.