Slate brings psychogeography a step closer to the mainstream, highlighting software that uses word frequency to show what kinds of people are in what parts of the city:
Of all the data goldmines that social media companies have acquired over the past few years, Yelp’s stash of 39 million ratings and reviews of everything from dive bars to hair salons to auto mechanics may be among the most underrated. But this week the company put that information to brilliant use, building what it calls Wordmaps — heat maps that show the geographic density of keywords like hipster, frat, yuppie, and tourist for 14 major cities.
…[T]hey also highlight newer and lesser-known pockets of trendiness, like Judah and 45th Street in San Francisco or North Mississippi Avenue in Portland.
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And for those new to a city, Yelp’s maps could be the quickest way yet to figure out which neighborhoods to check out—or avoid at all costs. A search for sketchy in San Francisco will steer you clear of the Tenderloin at night.
Sure, this is kind of crude coverage. But the underlying concept – telling who hangs out where by the words that are linked to the maps – is potentially really interesting.
Some sample maps at the link, but you might have more fun figuring out what concepts are linked with which places at the site itself.