If a Picture = 1,000 Words, then a Story Map > 1,000 Words
If you’re involved in the GIS world, then you’re probably familiar, at least in concept, with ESRI’s Story Maps. They’ve been pushing Story Maps really hard for the last couple years, and rightfully so. If you’re not involved with the GIS world, it’s very possible that you may have seen a Story Map and not even have known it. With the upcoming Great American Eclipse on August 21, 2017, I’ve seen the See the Great American Eclipse Story Map all over the place:
People have been adding maps, both static and interactive, to blogs for a long time, but ESRI took that concept and made it better. Instead of adding a map to a article or blog, the map becomes the story/blog. If done correctly, you can minimize the text necessary to convey your point making it easier and quicker for those on the other end of the story to get your gist.
I found this quote on an ESRI ArcGIS Online help page, and it really hits the nail on the head:
“Whenever you look at a map, you inherently start turning that map into information by finding patterns, assessing trends, or making decisions. This process is called spatial analysis, and it’s what our eyes and minds do naturally whenever we look at a map.”
The concept of “interactive picture books (maps)” almost seems childish, yet so much more efficient when trying to grasp the who, what, when, WHERE, and why are people using story maps?
Special Interests — The Great American Eclipse! I’ve already mentioned it once, but I’ll do it again. Michael Zeiler does a great job with this Story Map. It elegantly cascades through pictures, videos, and of course, maps! I’ll be checking https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/ for pictures, weather, and traffic on August 21. I’ll be hanging out at Lake of the Ozarks trying to get a good view while trying to avoid Marty Byrde (little Ozark reference for those following it on Netflix).
Marketing documents — I wish I could say that I came up with the idea, but I heard someone at the ESRI Partner Conference/Developer Summit suggest using Story Maps as leave-behinds following conference calls and demos. I thought the idea was brilliant! Why leave behind a tired old PowerPoint or PDF when the whole point of what WDT provides is data that you can interact with. Here’s a look at the Story Map we’ve created using canned data to let clients interact with our SkyWise GIS data services that they could implement in their enterprise directly into their applications (except their data would be current, real-time data rather than canned data): WDT GIS Data Services Catalog Story Map
Executive Summaries/Public Briefings — Beyond email, PowerPoint has been the briefing slide show tool of choice for the last 20 years. I’m not suggesting that Story Maps will replace PowerPoint, but they’re easier to share — they are web-based, and recipients can’t edit them. We all know the best PowerPoint presentations have more pictures than words, so start with something that’s innately visual. Here’s an example Story Map showing who is at risk from Hurricane Matthew and why based on location. Long after Hurricane Matthew, there are location-based risk factors which need to be understood. I like how you can scroll down for through the cascading presentation or click the links in the upper right to view information and maps on each risk factor: https://arcg.is/1TfPSL
Case studies — This one is a bit of an obvious fit. Whether tracking the spread of Zika, mapping crime, or doing forensic analysis as an expert witness, mapping your data just makes sense. I used to provide forensic weather reports to insurance companies, roofers, and attorneys using images of static maps embedded into PDF reports. I wish I would have had Story Maps to recreate the weather scenario and better tell the story that often took many map images and a long narrative (many pages).
Fun — Story Maps aren’t all work and no play. There are several Story Maps out there that document everything from famous ballpark fare to the locations used in iconic sitcoms: Seinfeld: A Map About Nothing. Whether it’s pop culture, hobbies, or personal interests, a touch of “where” adds a whole new dimension.
If you’re working with spatial data, consider using a Story Map for your presentation. If you’d like to add weather data to your maps and apps, I’d be glad to help. The configuration is intuitive using a GUI and doesn’t require any coding, so that any ESRI users can do it.
