I recently resigned my position as editor of GeoWorld magazine and show manager of the GeoTec Event, after 10 years at GeoTec Media. Many people have asked what prompted the change, so I’ll provide a bit of background.

First and foremost, the change gives me an opportunity to recharge, re-energize and focus on writing. The duties as editor and show manager were demanding, and while I endeavored to write more, the time just hasn’t seemed available lately.

I believe strongly in the future of the geospatial industry, but a bit of a doldrums seems to have settled upon us. Certainly there’s a great deal of quality work being done in more diverse fields than ever, but the full promise of the tools aren’t being fulfilled. A predominant amount of the work is simply data collection and maintenance. While important, where’s the insightful analysis, improved communication and enlightened decision support?

The advent of “neogeography” in the form of mash-friendly Web applications has stolen a certain amount of the user’s drive for ingenuity. When everyone is asking for Google Earth visualizations, where’s the time or impetus for insightful Web Services dashboards or in-depth spatial analysis.

There’s certainly some industry resentment about the thunder of interest for geovisualization tools that lack substance, but there’s also a great deal of jumping on the bandwagon. A primary complaint about speakers at recent conferences is that everyone feels the need to sneak in a Google Earth screenshot of their project to show that they too are publishing to this visualization medium. It’s a me too move without sustained benefit for most of an organization’s primary customers.

I don’t mean to criticize a phenomenon that has provided a great deal of attention to geospatial community, and some serious gains in available data and ease of use. On the whole the tools have greatly bolstered the prospects of the geospatial community, it’s just that there needs to be more creativity from users and more competition among vendors to return more vitality to the industry.

Instead of continuing on a path of reporting the latest technology development, I’ve decided to make a switch to focus on an exciting application area with much promise and growing momentum. This new area centers on sustainable infrastructure for more livable communities. More on this later…

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