Want straightforward news about New Hampshire’s primary? So do I. Yet within about seven seconds of turning on the television this morning, I heard someone begin a sentence with “If you buy my book . . .” In contrast, Google Maps offers a neutral representation of events.
The representation is, as you might have guessed, in the form of a map. Two maps, actually, since there are separate versions for Democratic and Republican vote results. But in both cases, yellow is used for areas in which the overall winners (Clinton and McCain) dominated, and this makes for some fairly bright pictures.
To be fair, there’s a lot of blue on the Democratic map; runner-up Obama did quite well. Also, on the Republican side, Romney had a serious following in southern New Hampshire. And since I know how some of you love Ron Paul, I couldn’t help but notice that he won in a small sector.
Anyway, Google’s own Brittany Bohnet explained why the company bothered to make these maps. “A few days ago, we announced that Google Maps would be presenting real-time U.S. presidential nomination results for the Iowa caucuses,” she wrote on the LatLong Blog. “The map was so popular that we’ve decided to do it again, this time for the 2008 primary in New Hampshire.”
Bohnet continues for another two paragraphs, yet doesn’t push a single product (other than the free Google Maps and Google Earth, of course). With relevant videos and a smattering of articles on tap, this is a kind of political news I can live with.
