If you've ever wondered where all the parts in your laptop came from, take a second to look at this map
---or maybe a few minutes, because it is a dense, complicated web. Sourcemap
, which has its origins in MIT Media Lab, is a new open source website for mapping global supply chains and carbon footprints. There are also Sourcemaps for Chicken of the Sea's tuna
and Nutella
among others. Although the site seems to have been conceived as a way of keeping track of modern corporations, some of the most intriguing maps are historical ones. Take this supply chain for Western Electric's candlestick telephones from 1927
or this overview of international trade in 19th century London
. The beauty of open source projects is that they can go off in unexpected and delightful directions. But as Ariel Schwartz at Fast Company has pointed out
, Sourcemap also suffers from that plague of open source sites, quality control. Go to the browse
tab, and you'll immediately be finding yourself among maps titled "Test 123," "farting robot," or "My stuff." Hopefully, Sourcemap will come up with way of rating and verifying the quality of maps, so that the cream rises to the top. Meanwhile, watch a demo of the interactive maps below or head over to Sourcemap
to play (and create) maps yourself.
Image via Sourcemap
