{"id":908,"date":"2012-06-09T14:45:40","date_gmt":"2012-06-09T21:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/?p=908"},"modified":"2012-06-09T14:45:40","modified_gmt":"2012-06-09T21:45:40","slug":"linear-vs-non-linear-storytelling-the-map-tour-template","status":"publish","type":"insider","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/linear-vs-non-linear-storytelling-the-map-tour-template","title":{"rendered":"Linear vs. Non-Linear Storytelling: The Map Tour Template"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve been developing story maps<\/a> for over a year now, and from the start we\u2019ve defined the term liberally. Many, even most, of our stories are non-linear; that is, they allow the user to browse and wander through the story at will. We\u2019ve organized these stories using elements such as headlines, text blocks, map legends, and user interfaces that help guide the user through the map. But there\u2019s no \u201ccorrect\u201d sequence by which users are supposed to navigate through these story maps.
\nTraditionalists might insist that a story is by nature linear. Written or oral stories are in fact linear narratives. Even stories that jump back and forth in time are written and read in a linear fashion. The mediums of text and the spoken word require it: you can\u2019t tell, read, or listen to a story all at once, or back to front, or at random. It\u2019s at least theoretically possible, perhaps, but doing so makes comprehension difficult.
\nGeography is essentially non-linear, although components of it are sequential. One travels through a landscape in a linear fashion, just as one can view change over time in a sequence or series of maps. But spatial relationships are complex and multi-dimensional. Confining geographic analysis to two dimensions robs it of much of its richness and texture.
\nOn the other hand, many geography-based stories are<\/em> linear. A travelogue, the migration of a bird or mammal, an explorer\u2019s route, and the path of snowmelt from mountains to sea are best depicted in narrative form. Which is why we developed our Map Tour template.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nWe prototyped the template with our \u201cWalk on the High Line\u201d<\/a> story. Story maps team member Lee Bock, who has long experience with Adobe Flex and Flash, developed it as a Flash application. I took advantage of a business trip to New York to walk the length of the park on a lovely spring day and document it in photos.
\nWe knew from the start, however, that we wanted to create a JavaScript version to enable its use on tablets and mobile phones. The \u201cWalking tour of the National Mall\u201d<\/a> marked the debut of the JavaScript app. The app, in this case, came before the story, so I chose another sunny day to walk the Mall, camera in hand.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nI kept a GPS track using the \u201cMotion-X GPS\u201d app on my iPhone, and after the outing I dragged the resulting .gpx track onto an ArcGIS Online map to create the route. I uploaded my photos to Flickr, and copied the URLs for small (thumbnail) and large versions of each onto a .csv file, into which I added lat-long coordinates (compiled manually by using the \u201cMeasure\u201d tool on ArcGIS Online). I also wrote titles and descriptions, and copied them into separate fields on the spreadsheet. The .csv became the basis of the \u201cstory points\u201d in the narrative. (The current version of the Map Tour uses .csv files that aren\u2019t incorporated into a web map. An upcoming version will.)
\nI used the same method during a trip to Esri\u2019s headquarters in Redlands, California to document a walk around campus. The Walking Tour<\/a> uses a different template we call the \u201cplaylist.\u201d It\u2019s less strongly narrative in form, and it places greater emphasis on the map. We\u2019ll be making the playlist template available soon.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nThe method I\u2019ve described for compiling story maps is fun, but it\u2019s admittedly somewhat tedious, and it involves multiple steps. For that reason, we’re working with Esri\u2019s mobile team to develop an iPhone \u201cStory Builder\u201d app. When the app is completed, subscribers to ArcGIS Online will be able to create and save a feature service as a web map. When they get into the field, they\u2019ll access the web map ID via email. The app will record the GPS track, and any photos, notes, and captions made by the user on his or her device will automatically be added to the feature service.
\nWhen the user returns to home or office, the map will be ready to edit and publish on ArcGIS Online. I can imagine myriad uses for this powerful combination of mobile app and web map, for everything from scientific observations to personal travelogues.
\nYou can download the Map Tour template<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"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":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[276562],"tags":[276962,276972,1811,276982],"class_list":["post-908","insider","type-insider","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-storytelling-maps","tag-map-tour","tag-narrative","tag-story-maps","tag-storytelling"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLinear vs. Non-Linear Storytelling: The Map Tour Template<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/linear-vs-non-linear-storytelling-the-map-tour-template\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Linear vs. Non-Linear Storytelling: The Map Tour Template\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We\u2019ve been developing story maps for over a year now, and from the start we\u2019ve defined the term liberally. 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