The Shape of Public Engagement - Participatory Mapping: New Data, New Cartography - page 137

Blog comments have played a particularly significant role
as synchorization spaces. Marian Steinbach's blog served as
a platform to exchange advice on how to make maps in terms
of extracting data sources, processing data and interpreting
them. It also became a space for suggestions on new features
to improve the maps (such as adding the direction of the
wind) 12 . The comment sections have also provided an
opportunity to call for help. Geir Engdahl voiced a number of
requests following the posting of a map based on Marian
Steinbach's data:

I would also much appreciate any help with filling
in the missing latitude and longitudes, which will
make more stations available on the map. You
can use http://www.gebweb.net/japan-radiation-
map/ms.php?station_id=219 and replace the
number 219 by the station_id in the spreadsheet
that you are investigating, in order to find the
last measured value. You can then cross-check it
with the bousai.ne.jp links above (e.g.
http://www.bousai.ne.jp/vis/jichitai/hokkaido/) to
verify that the measurement station is right. 13
Geir Engdahl, blog GebWeb, March 18, 2011.

We have seen how Web users mobilized to obtain
radiation data and how the combination of these data to
create Web maps shaped opinions on an emergency
situation. Was there a next step? Were these data and maps
pooled to be used on a more general level as a way of taking
part in the public debate in a way comparable to

“statactivism” [DID 13]?

12 As suggested by Geir Engdahl in a comment to his blog post, March 22,
2011, 9:15. See: http://gebweb.net/blogpost/2011/03/17/japan-radiation-

map.
13 See: http://gebweb.net/blogpost/2011/03/17/japan-radiation-map.