{"id":84642,"date":"2019-02-06T13:37:51","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T21:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=84642"},"modified":"2024-05-13T16:25:56","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T23:25:56","slug":"use-a-location-centric-approach-to-sharing-information","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/use-a-location-centric-approach-to-sharing-information","title":{"rendered":"Use a Location-Centric Approach to Sharing Information"},"author":1432,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15202,25002,931],"tags":[4381,281,1281,20392],"arcuser_issues":[63142],"class_list":["post-84642","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cartography","category-developers-corner","category-spatial-analysis","tag-apps","tag-location-intelligence","tag-visualization","tag-web-gis","arcuser_issues-fall-2017"],"acf":{"short_description":"I love maps. They\u2019re beautiful. They can help reveal new patterns and relationships in data that couldn\u2019t be discovered in any other way such as\u2026","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"I love maps. They\u2019re beautiful. They can help reveal new patterns and relationships in data that couldn\u2019t be discovered in any other way such as finding the way to that elusive new secret whiskey bar.\r\n\r\nMaps are everywhere. We have them in our cars and our phones and on websites from Airbnb to supermarkets to our health insurer."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":84652,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"But a map isn\u2019t always the right tool to help you understand what\u2019s around you. Sometimes we\u2019re too map centric. Sometimes we need to switch to a more location-centric view of the world.\r\n\r\nMy favorite example of this is the oh-so-common garbage collection map showing which day of the week my bins get emptied. When I go to my local council\u2019s website on my smartphone to find out if my green waste is going to be collected this week or next, I\u2019m presented with a map of local government boundaries that is colored and hatched in various shades and styles. I zoom and pan around to find my street. Great. I\u2019ve discovered my area is colored mauve with white diagonal hatching."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":84662,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The next step is to look at the legend. Mauve tells me my bins are emptied on Tuesdays, and the hatching tells me my green waste is collected on odd weeks. No idea what that means but not to worry because there\u2019s a link to a PDF of a calendar that shows me (after panning and zooming around a bit) that this is an odd week. That means it\u2019s green bin day today. Hoorah!\r\n\r\nThis is what I refer to as the map-centric\u00a0experience. I was presented with garbage collection information about my entire council area. Without wanting to be rude to my fellow residents, I can honestly say I don\u2019t care what day the bins are emptied on the other side of the council area or even on the next street.\r\n\r\nThis map-centric view is great for printed static material pushed into residents\u2019 letterboxes, but we can do better for online viewing.\r\n\r\nI\u2019m interested in my house, my street, my block. What\u2019s relevant to me starts with me (the user). Show me what\u2019s relevant to me. Rather than calling this approach location-centric, you might call it egocentric because it\u2019s all about me!\r\n\r\nThat\u2019s where the location-centric\u00a0approach works well. Let\u2019s start with the user and an important location, the user\u2019s address. A location-centric approach takes the user\u2019s geospatial data and presents it in a highly relevant way\u00a0by understanding what locations the user is going to be interested in.\r\n\r\nIn the example of the garbage collection map, start with a simple question: What\u2019s your address? Instead of making the user find his address, try to use the browser location to derive, or at least narrow down, the area viewed by address. If the user has been on the site before, remember the address or area of interest between visits using cookies.\r\n\r\nWith this simple step, the user is immediately presented with\u00a0a relevant message such as \u201cYour next bin day is Tuesday 18 July.\u201d No map. No exploration. No superfluous data."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":84672,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A great example of location centricity\u00a0is the simple taxi booking app. When I use it, I\u2019m\u00a0presented with three choices for selecting my\u00a0pickup location: where I am now, where I have been in the past, or a location I specify through address input or map navigation. The app assumes that I will most likely want to book a taxi from my current location or one of the places I have booked from before. It doesn\u2019t start\u00a0by displaying a map of Australia and asking me to find\u00a0my pickup point on it.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s a comparison showing some of the key differences between map-centric\u00a0and location-centric\u00a0applications.\r\n\r\nOf course, being location-centric doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s no place for a map. A location-centric approach can work great in combination with a map. If I want to go to the library and then to the dog park, it will be a lot easier to choose the best options from a map rather than seeing two lists of the closest three facilities. If I want to understand how planning developments will affect me, proximity is important. The map helps me understand how I\u2019m impacted.\r\n\r\nEven with a map, we need to start with the user. Start with the question: Why is the user here today? What does the user want to discover?\u00a0Here are some tips for a location-centric approach to sharing your information:\r\n