Maps on social networks: a case study of the Viral Cartography project on Facebook and Instagram

Currently, viral maps have gained significant space on social networks. Seeking to understand this cyberspace, the Viral Cartography project was created, which has a profile on Facebook and Instagram. The purpose of this article is (i) to evaluate the interaction in posts with maps and without maps on 4 Facebook and Instagram pages and compare the results to the content posted by the project; (ii) compare the audience interaction with posts considering Facebook and Instagram; (iii) evaluate the social engagement potential of 5 maps that dealt with the subjects discussed at the time. This work has a quali-quantitative character where metrics available in the social media used are evaluated. It was found that maps are not the majority of content on the evaluated pages, but they represent a great potential for engagement. Commonly, fundamental elements of maps are not used. The audience of the two platforms differs, since posts with great engagement one one did not have the same result on the other social media. As for the chosen viral maps, it is observed that subjects extremely debated in the media do not receive as many likes as curiosities that quickly attract the attention of the follower. Thus, this field of investigation becomes very relevant given the possibility of sharing geographic information.