Welcome to Map Prompt Monday!
This is the official repository for #MapPromptMonday, a weekly social mapping project open to everyone.
The intent of Map Prompt Monday is to create a welcoming, supportive, and thoughtful community around producing and sharing maps on social media using the hashtag #MapPromptMonday.
Map Prompts
| Start Date | End Date | Prompt |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-01 | 2024-01-07 | New Tool or Map Type |
| 2024-01-08 | 2024-01-14 | Travel Plans |
| 2024-01-15 | 2024-01-21 | Hexagons |
| 2024-01-22 | 2024-01-28 | Municipal Data |
| 2024-01-29 | 2024-02-04 | Boundaries |
| 2024-02-05 | 2024-02-11 | World |
| 2024-02-12 | 2024-02-18 | Islands |
| 2024-02-19 | 2024-02-25 | Choropleth |
| 2024-02-26 | 2024-03-03 | Population |
How Map Prompt Monday Works
Each week you can create and share a map based on the provided prompt. Prompts are provided in advance, but a new prompt begins each Monday. Given the #MapPromptMonday name you are encouraged to share your maps and relevant resources on Mondays! However, knowing life is busy and to encourage participation, you are also encouraged to share your maps and resources throughout the week of the current prompt!
Prompts will take a variety of forms, such as focus on making a specific type of map, a map with a specific dataset, or focusing on map accessibility. To help everyone have the ability to learn more about map making, you can find a list of free additional resources on various mapping and cartographic topics that will continue to be added to over time in the AdditionalResources folder.
Prompts will be released in advance in monthly blocks at minimum one week before the beginning of the month. For example, map prompts for all weeks in February will be released no later than January 25.
Still have a question? See the Frequently Asked Questions section at the end of this README file.
Map Prompt Monday Guidelines
Everyone is welcome to participate, but please follow these guidelines:
- Be supportive and kind to all participants and follow our Code of Conduct
- Strive to make ethical maps using best practices and be mindful of your power as mapmaker. For background and references on these topics, see the Map & Data Ethics section of the Tutorials & References page in the Additional Resources folder
- Please no negative or critical unsolicited comments on another person’s map. If a person says they are open to comments, please keep comments positive, constructive, and how you envision the map might be improved.
- Make sure to include a picture of your map when you post it, and please add alt text to your maps. You can learn more about alt text and ideas for crafting good alt text in the section called "Please Use Alt Text" below.
- Please consider sharing information about how you made your map. You are not required to share any supplemental resources, but others may appreciate learning from your work.
- Please only post maps you have made using the #MapPromptMonday hashtag. However, feel free to reshare with attribution any other maps with this hashtag.
- Give credit to the data sources you use to create your map whenever possible
A tip of the hat to #30DayMapChallenge and #TidyTuesday for providing inspiration to start this project and templates for how to operate.
Submitting Ideas For Map Prompts
Thanks for your Map Prompt ideas! We will work to implement all submitted ideas into future prompts that meet the following criteria: (1) the topic is general enough to allow participants flexibility and variety to create maps in different ways and interpretations; (2) the prompt is relatively short and simple; (3) the topic and prompt are accessible to people at all skill levels.
You can submit your idea for a map prompt in one of two ways:
(1) Submit A New Issue via GitHub
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Go to Issues section and select the New Issue button
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Provide a title and short description of the map prompt as part of your submission. For example, your map prompt title could be "Points" and your description for the map prompt would say "In this prompt, participants would make a map that includes points". If your idea uses a data set, please include a link to the data set.
(2) Provide Prompt via Google Form
Go to the linked Google Form here and follow the instructions to submit your prompt idea.
Please Use Alt Text
Please add alt text (alternative text) to all of your posted maps for #MapPromptMonday
You can find Twitter guidelines here how to add alt text to your images, as well as a description on Twitter Help here how you can set up image description reminders when you have tweets with images
DataViz Society/Nightingale article on alt text
Penn State Charts and Accessibility article
Here is a simple formula that can help you quickly generate alt text for your map:
Alt Text = “Map of location that shows type of data. Primary takeaway from map.”
“Map of”
You can also be more specific here by describing the type of map, such as choropleth or raster satellite image
“location”
Describe the location and scale of your map. Is it the United States, Illinois, Chicago, or the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago?
“type of data”
Explain what data is being shown by the map
"Primary takeaway from map"
Summarize in a sentence what you most want the reader to know about what the map shows
Example
Alt Text Example for the Map Above: "A world map showing production of tea leaves by country. China and India are the world leading producers of tea."
Map Author: Caroline Léna Becker, Map source: Wikimedia Commons
Map Prompt Monday Frequently Asked Questions
Below is a list of questions you might have about #MapPromptMonday and answers for each one
Q: I’m intimidated by all the beautiful maps because I’m not really a cartographer. Should I even do this?
A: Yes, we hope you join us! We encourage people of all mapping abilities and levels to post their maps! Maps can still have important stories to tell and be great conversation-starters even if they are not deemed to be aesthetically pleasing by someone who claims to be a cartographer. We want Map Prompt Monday to be a community where anyone feels safe sharing their maps and being comfortable.
Q: Can I make multiple maps for a prompt and post them?
A: Absolutely! Make as many maps as you want for each prompt. We assume most people who participate for a chosen week will create one or two maps to practice their skills on that specific prompt, but there is no limit to how many maps you make. Just make sure they are your original creations!
Q: I want to post a map I made that’s relevant to the prompt this week
A: Awesome! Please at minimum do the following things before you post your map. One: Include a picture of the map when you post to Twitter (or other platform) and in the text of your post use the #MapPromptMonday hashtag so we can all quickly and efficiently access your map! Two: please add alt text (also known as alternative text) to your map image so that we are inclusive to all social media users! See the section Please Use Alt Text above.
Q: I want to post a web page or other online accessible resource that’s relevant to the prompt this week
A: Great! Please remember to include a link to the resource in your post. Also, please only post free and openly accessible resources so everyone has the ability to access them.
Q: I want to post a map or resource that’s not relevant to the prompt this week
A: I’m glad you are enthusiastic, but please either save the maps or resources for another week when they are relevant, or feel free to post the resource on your own but without the #MapPromptMonday hashtag
Q: Do I need to sign up for anything?
A: Nope! Just share and/or enjoy the maps and cartography resources everyone is posting.
Q: How often should I participate?
A: Participate whenever and how often you want. The idea behind having the whole week for a prompt is so people have more time and flexibility to participate. However, you are not obligated to participate any week you don’t want to or don’t have the time or energy.
Q: I have an idea for a map prompt to be done in the future!
A: Ideas for prompts are always appreciated and we want to hear them! Please follow guidelines in the "Submitting Ideas For Map Prompts" section of this page.
Q: Am I restricted in the tools, technologies, or data I can use to create maps?
A: The short answer is no, you can use any tools or data to make your maps. There are a couple possible exceptions. One: a few prompts might focus on using a specific dataset or data provider. In that scenario, you can use other datasets in combination with the dataset chosen for the prompt, but at least one of your data layers used to create your map features should come from the chosen dataset. Two: please use your best judgement when choosing data sources and map visualizations by keeping data and map ethics in mind so that you are not inadvertently causing harm. Links to articles on this topic can be found under the Map & Data Ethics section of the Tutorials & References page in the Additional Resources folder.