(This project may need a better name.)

Problem statement The newspaper has been around for so long that its categories and text-based format have become “the way things are.” But in reality the categories aren’t so intuitive for seeing the larger visual picture of what’s been happening to the world. Some issues, for example, are easily neglected when the next “in” topic comes by. This application is meant to bridge those gaps.

Approach Take years-worth of news data and display it as points on a world map, with heat maps and line connections between countries to show country relations and popular world issues over time. Each news item marker could get its own blurb headline with links to news articles for more information.

Audience People interested in international relations could make use of the country connections and heat map of news over time. People who don’t like reading news as text but want to get up to date on modern world history could use it as a visual tool for learning. People involved in non-profits could use it to identify issues that are still ongoing but passed over in the wake of more popular news, such as in small third-world countries that don’t have much attention.

Skills needed App programming, UI design, familiarity with news sources

http://prezi.com/tcb4w-rhosft/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy