I‘ve noticed a trend in the newsworld/blogworld recently. Everyone wants to represent everything on a map. Some of these are genius, others make me wonder “why bother?” I collected some of each for this post… but I warn you, once you notice this pattern you’ll start seeing it multiple times per day.

Job loss from Slate.com: (Usability note: good luck mousing-over your county)

Race in an area compared to toxic waste release from the Sundancechannel.com

Electricity Visualized from NPR.org (This link has many map options. Wind power pictured below.)

Immigrant Populations from the New York Times (Also an “explorer” graphic with interactivity)

Religion in the United States via the Wall Street Journal

That’s just a taste. Also see:

• Falling tax revenues
• Pop vs Coke vs Soda
• and of course…
• The Swine Flu

(post image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/manitobamaps/2340939496/)