Infoviz for Info Pros: Information Visualization Software Tools : http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/oct04/gelernter.shtml (good overview). Infoviz companies aim to add value by showing a large amount of data on an information map that can be assimilated at a glance. .. hue alone does not make nearly as effective an impression as does hue along with brightness and saturation of color against a background. Visualization research has advanced further and faster on the interface side than on the content side, and that results will improve when metadata processing improves. How does infoviz add value? ;
• Comprehensive. Displays very large data sets and affords a concise overall picture.
• Context. Patterns and trends are displayed that would not be otherwise discernable.
• Colorful. Pleasing to the eye.

Human behaviour when searching for information was similar to that of the hunter-gatherers and animals in search for food. http://www.infovis.net/E-zine/2004/num_153.htm ... define the profitability of an information source as “the value of information gained per unit cost of processing the source”. Web surfers are able to quickly find the optimal path to the desired information; the problem is that in many web sites this path is considerably long and winding, if it exists at all.

Sample (Flash) navigational MediaMap / index : http://www.publicityclub.org/mediacapital.htm

The art of Mary Daniel Hobson involves the use of collages (of old maps) on images of the human body. .. http://www.marydanielhobson.com/ As early mapmakers used pen and ink to chart the surface of the world, I use collage to navigate the inner world. I print images of the body on kodalith, because black and white transparencies render the surface invisible. I collage in layers using real objects. I delight in insect wings, needles, fishhooks, matches, traintracks, and door hinges because they are so very tactile and
convey multiple meanings.

2004 Visualization Challenge-winners and overview: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5692/1903 Investigators at the outermost frontiers of science and engineering frequently study phenomena that are extremely difficult for most scientists to visualize, and downright formidable for the general public. More information: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/events/sevc/over.htm

TouchGraph has developed a Java browser for Google at http://www.touchgraph.com/TGGoogleBrowser.html. Server side php + caching mechanism, relying on Dietrich Ayala's SOAPx4 PHP classes. Implemented initial Google Graph Browser version using Christian Langreiter's TG-Based Vanilla-Vista Applet.

Possible PeaceMap resources; http://fontes.lstc.edu/~rklein/Documents/maps.htm