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I would suggest that the cartographer’s sensibil- ity is becoming ever more crucial to public life. We are awash in data, and all our “look-up” needs can be fulfilled in a matter of seconds. But we also rely on maps when making sense of the world — we use them to orient ourselves historically, socially, and politically as well as geographically. This has always been the case, but what is new today is the opportunity for unusual, provocative, or minority points of view to reach a wide audience. Pick an issue — anything from drone strikes abroad to the Olympic bid in Boston — and imagine a map that reframes the debate. Now go make that map. For the cartophile, loving maps should mean producing them, too.

I think he doesn't really value the point that more people have access to geo (and other open) data and to excellent mapping/visualizing tools nowadays.