U.S. NetworX

I’m a huge fan of maps and their graphical display of any topic. With Google’s mapping technology as just one of many options, there’s a huge selection of data being presented on top of base geographic information. Here are some of the best ones I’ve found lately.

Ship-ment tracking

It’s one thing to see where your UPS package is located, but how about tracking an entire cargo ship? You can use the Live Ship Map at MarineTraffic.com to see what’s currently sailing and any associated data with that vessel. For instance, you can follow this link to see what’s sailing near New Orleans. Click any vessel to bring up data such as name, speed and photos of the ship.

Hurricane help

As of this writing, there are no active hurricanes near the nation, but the Google Crisis Map was a boon to recent weather events like Irene and Lee. It allowed users to overlay possible tracks as well as current storm location. Other information included shelter details for storm victims and power outtages. Here’s hoping we don’t see this map receive any new storms to track.

Which state has the most football fans?

Not one map per se, but the New York Times takes a look at how states break down among college football popularity. Part of their article looks at Google’s own search data, via their Insights tool. From Insights, you can see which state is searching the most for college football-related info, and you can go as deep as to seeing that within the Jackson, Miss., area, Brandon is searching the most.

Comings and goings

Using migration data from 2007, this map provides users a graphical look as to where people are going from Country X or where they came from in the first place. Following this link you can see where Americans have been emigrating.