25 replies to this topic

[nonie3234]

FWIW - I have Facebook on my phone. A lot of smart phones have it already installed when you get them.

Some people aren't able to access facebook from work. (I haven't checked to see if we are still blocked where I work as I'm not big on using facebook either).

[DaveB]

FWIW - I have Facebook on my phone. A lot of smart phones have it already installed when you get them.

Some people aren't able to access facebook from work. (I haven't checked to see if we are still blocked where I work as I'm not big on using facebook either).

Call me a Luddite, but I don't have a smart phone. I have a stupid phone. Doesn't even take pictures!

[nonie3234]

Doooood! Dontcha know you could get ArcGIS on the iPhone???? I mean - how cool is that? I have an HTC with the Android OS right now, but I am seriously considering switching to Apple just to get the mobile ESRI product!

http://www.esri.com/.../ios/index.html

FWIW - I have Facebook on my phone. A lot of smart phones have it already installed when you get them.

Some people aren't able to access facebook from work. (I haven't checked to see if we are still blocked where I work as I'm not big on using facebook either).

Call me a Luddite, but I don't have a smart phone. I have a stupid phone. Doesn't even take pictures!

[CHART]

From what I have read, US centered destinations are probably most logical in the selection of NACIS annual meetings.

As a suggestion would it be advantageous for NACIS to set the SAME 'central' US location for all annual meetings. The choice of that location would obviously not please everyone but knowing that NACIS is ALWAYS held in the same city would make overall long term planning better. It seems that most, use the wait and see where it with be held before making any commitment. Plus would it be more cost effective in the long term for NACIS and their members?


Personally my vote goes to Madisson, (2006 was the closest I came to attending).

[David Medeiros]

From what I have read, US centered destinations are probably most logical in the selection of NACIS annual meetings.

As a suggestion would it be advantageous for NACIS to set the SAME 'central' US location for all annual meetings. The choice of that location would obviously not please everyone but knowing that NACIS is ALWAYS held in the same city would make overall long term planning better. It seems that most, use the wait and see where it with be held before making any commitment. Plus would it be more cost effective in the long term for NACIS and their members?


Personally my vote goes to Madisson, (2006 was the closest I came to attending).

Speaking as an independent cartographer, someone who is not attached to any organization that would pay for me to attend a NACIS meeting, I think that's a terrible idea. I'm not sure what the demographics are for the NACIS membership or the work situation of its pool of potential attendees but it seems to me like there are quite a few freelancers who would have to foot the bill themselves. It's this group who waits to see if the next meeting will be in a spot that they can afford to visit or has other draws (friends/family) besides the conference itself.

[CHART]

I am also a freelance cartographer.

It was only a suggestion. No need to depict it as a 'terrible idea'.

An Idea as terrible as it seems to some might be interesting to others.

...my last post.

[Jimbo]

Has NACIS considered video conferencing for members not able to attend? Doesn't have to be free but it's an idea.

[David Medeiros]

I am also a freelance cartographer.

It was only a suggestion. No need to depict it as a 'terrible idea'.

An Idea as terrible as it seems to some might be interesting to others.

...my last post.

Sorry, I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. I thought I was expressing that as my opinion with the "I think...". The fact someone else might find it interesting is a given and I wasn't suggesting you not have said it. Its an issue with the web sometimes that what one person hears as they write something, reads as more aggressive or harsher on the other end.

[Clark Geomatics]

As one who, only recently, started to dabble in the black art of cartography I don't have much "NACIS history" to bring to the table. In fact, I've only managed to attend one NACIS conference (Montana). However, being a NACIS newbie didn't change the fact I was duly impressed with the organization and did enjoy the presentations/contributions from the members. The diversity in personal and professional experience of the members at large was, and continues to be, a great draw for me.

But, back to Nat's question relating to what would stop me from attending future conferences; time and money of course. My travel plans, like most, are dictated by the cost of travel and accommodation, which generally translates into my attending conferences (NACIS and others) that are closer to Vancouver and Seattle. I'm in the same boat as David M. re: footing the bill independently, so I have to prioritize my travel plans accordingly. If I can drive to a conference, I'm there. Mind you, flying to U.S. destinations out of Seattle isn't that bad, price-wise (forget flying in Canada).

Another aspect that would whet my info-appetite would be discussions around information visualization. Most of my experience with maps/data is from my years thrashing about in the fields of geophysics and geographic information technology and in those fields data reigns supreme. We all know the "garbage in / garbage out" adage - and I see this is much the same in the field of cartography. One aspect I'd like to see more of within NACIS discussions / presentations has to do with the convergence of cartography and information graphics / visualization - the field of infographics is changing rapidly as more and more data becomes public. As cartographers, are we equipped to parse through, understand/analyse and present this (increasingly complex) information? Sometimes it's not just about the map, but about the story behind the map.

Thinking out loud here - maybe someone can generate a word cloud from CartoTalk - that should give us a good indication as to what people like to discuss.

My two cents (Canadian) - thanks for listening.

[Hans van der Maarel]

Has NACIS considered video conferencing for members not able to attend? Doesn't have to be free but it's an idea.

At another conference I've been to all of the presentations were professionally recorded. Shortly after, they were made available to the attendees for free and others for a nominal fee.

[Martin Gamache]

For those of us who loathe Facebook, how about a regular old blog or RSS feed for sharing this info? Or duplicate the FB posts on LinkedIn?

For me FB just isn't where I would get info related to my professional life. I really dislike FB so I could be an anomaly, but I suspect I'm not alone. You might reach more people by cross posting on LinkedIn in both the NACIS site and the GIS or Cartography groups. Also, maybe send notices to some of the existing major map blogs. I get most of my industry alerts and info from a small number of map focused blogs.

I agree with David entirely.