Lab #1 Three Interesting Maps

Interesting map #1

The World Map Of Social Networks

I search "interesting maps" on Google, and this world map of social networks intrigues me. You can find this map at the following website:
http://vincos.it/world-map-of-social-networks/
The data sources are collected by Google Trends for Websites/Alexa. The map is credited to Vincenzo Cosenza. 
This map describes the social networks that are used in different countries. There are all kinds of different social networks that I have never heard of before, except Facebook. I am interested in how people interact with each other from different places. I am not surprised seeing that Facebook dominates the social network because almost everyone uses Facebook. Five years ago, in my home country, Taiwan, not many people knew about Facebook. The first time I used Facebook was when I studied aboard in the U.S.A. Seeing everyone using Facebook in here, I decided to register a Facebook account in order to interact with my peers. The interesting thing I find from this map is that even though Facebook has dominated the work social network, there are still some other specific social networks that are used in certain countries. For example, in China, people use QZone, but do they use Facebook too? Also, I find out that all countries around North Korea use all different kinds of social networks, but not North Korea. This indicates that North Korea is isolated from the global world. How does North Korea prevent the spread of social networks? This is an interesting fact I find out from this map. 

Interesting map #2

Tokyo Metro Map

I search for Tokyo Metro Map on Google. This map is from the following website:
http://mappery.com/Tokyo-Metro-Map-official
It is created by Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
This map gives direction of how the metro goes in Tokyo. In this map, different color indicates different lines of metro, which gives a clearer view of the path for each metro line. My home country, Taiwan, has metro system too, but not as complex as the one in Tokyo. I am pretty shocked by seeing this dense metro system. This map indicates that Tokyo has convenient public transportation. In order to have this dense metro system, the city must be well developed. Therefore, I learn that Tokyo is a more developed city than the capital of Taiwan, Taipei. This is an interesting fact I find out from this map.

Interesting map #3

Maps of Ancient Greece

I find this map from searching "ancient Greece map" on Google. And you can see this map from the following website:

http://worldhistoryatyhs.wikispaces.com/Ancient+Greece+Resources

The finisher of this map can not be found. 

This map shows the ancient Greek geography. I am more curious about how the ancient people draw this map in 3D through their undeveloped technology. This vivid drawing gives me an information of how the ancient Greece looks like. For instance, how the mountains surrounds and how the rivers locates. There are lots of myth from Greece. Ancient Greeks fought in so many wars. But due to their geography, all surrounded by mountains, how were they able to fight? This map intrigues me because not only I love Greek myth but also I am surprised by how detailed the ancient people drew the map with their undeveloped technology.