As mappers, you might be familiar with a few theories of cosmology related to how our earth supports itself, the less scientific of them being the most fascinating. In Ancient Greece and Rome, Atlas was the titan who lifted the earth and sky. In A Brief History of Time, the opening anecdote suggests that the earth is flat and supported on the back of a turtle, or a chain of “turtles all the way down”.
While the globes of myth were supported on the shoulders (and shells) of a few, today’s cartography is the crowdsourced result of a world of contributors. We like to think that contemporary mapmakers are building the modern atlas, and resources like Wikipedia support the modern gazeteer. At MapLift you can contribute to both! What’s more, we’ll give you CartoDB support to do so! Read on to learn more about how we’re partnering with NACIS to build a better open gazeteer for the world.
What is MapLift?
We want YOU to join us and @fixwikimaps for our #MapLift week! Edit some maps in Wikipedia that need a bit of loving: http://t.co/z9ez5OpHJK
— NACIS (@NACIS) July 20, 2015MapLift is a weeklong series of events meant to engage the public in mapping for Wikipedia. If you like maps and have ever looked at a Wikipedia reference (which you already have if you’re this far in the blogpost!), then you qualify to participate!
From August 28th through September 4th, join the NACIS (North American Cartographic Society), the FixWikiMaps Project, and CartoDB in improving the quality of encyclopedic maps on the open web.
CartoDB @ MapLift
Aside from our own Wikipedian efforts, we’ll be supporting mappers near and far via upgraded accounts for MapLift members, and by extension NACIS members working with CartoDB!
MapLifters benefit from:
- Free upgraded Academy Accounts, designed particularly for learners and educational explorers
- Sign up here if you’re a part of MapLift
NACIS members benefit from:
- Free CartoDB accounts with 100MB of added space
- Private tables
- Sync tables
- 30% off any subsequent account upgrades
Check out the NACIS members benefits page on login to learn how you can redeem your accounts. You can email Aurelia, aurelia@cartodb.com with any questions.
Get Involved!
Help us “lift” maps without the titan Atlas! Sign up for a MapLift event in your area, and check out the NACIS member benefits for your boosted CartoDB account!