Newsmap is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator. A treemap visualization algorithm helps display the enormous amount of information gathered by the aggregator. Treemaps are traditionally space-constrained visualizations of information. Newsmap's objective takes that goal a step further and provides a tool to divide information into quickly recognizable bands which, when presented together, reveal underlying patterns in news reporting across cultures and within news segments in constant change around the globe.
Newsmap does not pretend to replace the googlenews aggregator. Its objective is to simply demonstrate visually the relationships between data and the unseen patterns in news media. It is not thought to display an unbiased view of the news; on the contrary, it is thought to ironically accentuate the bias of it.

concept, design & frontend coding:
  Marcos Weskamp drop me a line: mail{at}marcosweskamp{dot}com

backend coding
  Marcos Weskamp
  Dan Albritton

Treemaps at the University of Maryland

Treemap Implementations and Applications

Treemaps for space-constrained visualization of hierarchies

Martin Wattenberg, Ben Bederson Dynamic treemap layout comparison

Stuart K. Card, Jock D. Mackinlay, and Ben Shneiderman. 1999 Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think

Samuel Wan Blog Treemap Visualizer

smartmoney.com

[2004-4-1 ] - slashdot
[2004-4-2 ] - El Pais, ES
[2004-4-14] - dot Journalism, UK
[2004-4-18] - the Register, UK

[2004-3-30] - published
[2004-3-30] - newmap get's k10k'd
[2004-3-30] - now mefied
[2004-3-30] - and boing-boinged
[2004-4-1 ] - the whole internet is pointing to newsmap
[2004-4-1 ] - newsmap gets slashdoted
[2004-4-1 ] - server is on fire
[2004-4-1 ] - server dies
[2004-4-1 ] - server is alive
[2004-4-1 ] - server dies
[2004-4-1 ] - server is alive
[2004-4-1 ] - server dies
[2004-4-1 ] - server is alive
[2004-4-1 ] - server dies
[2004-4-1 ] - server is alive
[2004-4-1 ] - bandwidth usage tops 50gigs
[2004-4-1 ] - server log files reach 60MB
[2004-4-1 ] - server dies
[2004-4-1 ] - server is alive
[2004-4-1 ] - database gives up and dies
[2004-4-2 ] - database is up and running
[2004-4-2 ] - newsmap resumes with partial data
[2004-5-4 ] - newsmap receives Award of distinction in Prix Ars Electronica 2004
[2004-5-11] - macromedia site of the day
[2004-6-21] - fetured in macromedia's the edge - sites that inspire
[2004-9-6 ] - exhibited in Ok Center, Linz, Austria for ARS electronica
[2004-9-15] - squarified layout added
[2005-4-03] - the Wall Street Journal reports about newsmap and other google hacks

Help me take some time off work and bring newsmap to the next level.

Newsmap is long overdue for an update, however I just seem not to be able to find the time to get off work and develelop it further. By donating you will be enabling me to put desktop work on hold for a while and get my hands dirty in implementing a good deal of ideas. Do you have any suggestions? drop me a line! mail@marcosweskamp.com