Jenn

Last week was a big week for me! I had my very first speaking engagement, and it was an amazing experience. I was lucky enough to be a panelist at the Baltimore Public Relations Council’s panel discussion, “Developing a Social Media Strategy that Works for Your Organization.” The other panelists included Dan Collins, Senior Director for Media Relations, Mercy Medical Center; and Colleen McKenna, Principal, Marketing + Sales Advisor, LinkedIn Trainer, Intero Advisory. It was great to meet my fellow panelists, and the attendees of the event.

I posted a video of my presentation at the end of this blog post, so I won’t spend time talking about my portion. Both of the other panelists prepared awesome presentations and left myself and all of the attendees with a lot of things to think about.

Biggest take-away from Dan’s presentation

• Dan talked about Mercy Medical Center’s social media strategy, and explained that there are 7 basic steps for social media strategy. Be sure to determine your goals, do your research, create a digital rolodex of contacts, join the conversation, strengthen relationships, and measure results. Also, don’t forget to analyze, adapt, and improve your strategy as you go along.  Dan used this post on social media strategy to support his presentation.

Biggest take-away from Colleen’s presentation

• Colleen mentioned a lot of valuable things about LinkedIn, and she delivered a great presentation! I found myself scribbling down notes most of the time she was speaking. My biggest take-away was to make sure that your profile sounds like you. You should use LinkedIn for your own personal brand, not as a sales pitch. Therefore, your LinkedIn profile should reflect your personality.
• Okay, I just have to say something else that I learned from Colleen. She also pointed out that you have to optimize your LinkedIn profile with keywords, and include a photo. These things are essential!

And of course there was my presentation, which I put a lot of hard work and time into preparing. Feel free to check out my presentation on SlideShare! Here’s the video of my presentation that I promised:

Thanks again to the Baltimore Public Relations Council for providing me with this wonderful opportunity.

Timothy

Maryland’s veterinarians will have an easier time renewing their licenses this year – because for the first time they will be able to renew them on line.  This month marks the opening of a new website that will allow Maryland veterinarians to renew their licenses by submitting the required information and payments.  The website was developed by DECO’s Center for Applied Information Technology (CAIT) and the Maryland Department of Agriculture, which is the state agency charged with licensing and regulating Maryland’s over 1200 veterinarians, as well as veterinary technicians, and veterinary hospital facilities.

The website can be accessed by veterinary professionals using an address that is provided with their license renewal information.  Once they are logged into the site they can update required information that is associated with their license, and make a payment using a credit card.  When the information and payment are submitted the payment record is processed and the license renewal is recorded.

The new internet application was primarily developed by Genna Melamed, one of CAIT’s application developers, who worked closely with Courtney Stevens, a software developer at MDA.  Genna leveraged experience he has gained during his decade working on CAITS projects in support of numerous other state licensing and regulating agencies such as the MVA.

Genna used Microsoft .NET based technologies to develop the application and supported it with a SQL Server database.  Working together with Courtney, a data synchronization process was developed to keep the applications data base coordinated with the master veterinary database maintained by MDA.

The application has been online since earlier in the month and has already been used by several veterinary professionals for license renewal.

Nicole

My job at Towson requires me to wear many hats – one of which is Event Planner. DECO’s Integrated Marketing Team (IMT) is comprised of five consultants; all well-versed in the areas of website development, social media, print and web marketing, and event planning and management.  Most would probably say the role of Event Planner was made for me, likely because I am the one always planning my friend’s birthday dinners, girl’s weekends, and family vacations.

When beginning the planning process I like to stick to an acronym we all learned in grade school – WWWWW. Also known as the 5 W’s or spelled out: Who, What, Where, Why, When. The answers to these questions will be the foundation of your planning process and they should be your starting point.

WHO: Who are your prospective attendees? Are there VIP attendees? What special needs might these attendees have (dietary, physical disabilities)?

WHAT: What are the objectives for this event? Do you have a draft agenda developed? Have keynote speakers been identified?

WHERE: What are your space and set-up requirements for this event? Will there be multiple locations? What location will be most conducive for the prospective attendees? Is there adequate parking?

WHY: Why are people going to attend? What will the attendee’s take-aways be?

WHEN: When is this event being held? Are there reoccurring dates? Is this an annual event?  Is it necessary to have a back-up date?

Answering these questions will help you to determine things like your event marketing plan, costs, logistics (food, set-up, parking, etc.), and what kinds of local accommodations you might need. The most important event planning advice I can share is this: create a timeline, stick to your budget, and stay organized. There are plenty of planning checklists and budget calculators available online to help you stay on track. I found my favorite planning guide when I was working with the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel for a client event. I would suggest checking it out before planning your next meeting, small event, or large conference!

Starting to feel overwhelmed? Don’t worry; the IMT is here to help! We can create an exciting and effective marketing strategy to ensure you reach your goals for attendance and exposure. Additionally, our team can manage your entire event from selecting venues to coordinating catering and technology needs. We also handle all on-site, day-of logistics. Download our brochure to find out more!

The IMT was specifically created out of a need expressed by our partners in business, government, and non profit organizations and works in collaboration with the other DECO centers that provide IT services, GIS application development, economic analysis, corporate training, and more.

Ashley

As I have been working in the GIS field for 10 years in Maryland, I have met some interesting, talented, intelligent, and motivating GIS colleagues along the way.  Hopefully this blog series will share with you some exciting tidbits of information from each person who has touched my career in some way.

I was first introduced to Jim last year at a MSGIC meeting and then subsequent MD iMap technical committee meetings. I was immediately drawn to listening to Jim as he speaks because of his experience with both GIS and imagery and the way he communicates.  Jim is able to look at the big picture and disseminate information in a clear, concise manner.  Maryland is very lucky to have someone like Jim as a GIS leader!

Tell me something fun about your job.
I like working for MDP for many reasons.  Our agency is a very GIS-centric organization.  The leadership within the agency recognizes and appreciates the value of GIS technology in support of smart growth and planning analysis work.   I am also fortunate to be able to work with a very committed, technically knowledgeable, and diverse team of professionals.   MDP has a long history in advancing GIS in the State and the data and tools we produce are used by a wide array of users in many different industries.  It has also been enjoyable learning more about Maryland. I have learned more about the geography and issues of the State during my 2 years with MDP, than in my previous 20 years as a resident.

What is one of your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy traveling, hiking, and visiting historic communities.  I also play tennis quite a bit in the spring and summer.

What is your favorite GIS book?
I tend to read more online publications and journals than GIS books.  With the technology changing so much it seems as if GIS books are outdated before they are even published.  It’s amazing to me that our industry has progressed to the point that there is now a “GIS for Dummies“ book available from Amazon.  I do enjoy looking at various Atlases from National Geographic and also like ESRI’s compendium of user maps distributed at their annual conference.  In terms of textbooks, I would have to say that Mark Monmonier’s “How to Lie with Maps” is a classic because it illustrates the importance of cartography and map design in conveying information.

1. What professional organizations are you active in?
Currently I am heavily involved in state-level activities through MSGIC and MD iMAP.   I am the Chair-elect for MSGIC so next year should be interesting in that regard.   I also try to participate to the extent that I can with URISA and the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

2. How would you recommend others get involved in GIS?
For those who are just starting out — taking some online tutorials (many are available from ESRI especially), taking a class at one of the local universities, or attending one of the local GIS user group meetings are all good ways to get involved.

3. What resources would you recommend for learning about GIS?
There are a wide variety of resources available.  At the University level Towson, Salisbury, and UMBC have particularly strong programs.  Over the past year I had student interns from the University of Maryland and another from Morgan State and was pleased with their GIS skills.  At the Community College level, I recently had the chance to participate in a class with Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) and was very impressed by their program.

I also think the MSGIC quarterly meeting, local user group meeting, and the ESRI special seminars present great learning opportunities.

4. How has GIS changed since you first started your career?
When I first started the focus was on building the GIS infrastructure.  Now the focus is much more on how to leverage those investments to solve problems.   Everything related to the technology has changed in terms of data availability, applications, user interfaces, systems infrastructure, networking, etc.  The one thing that has not changed is the importance of an organizational commitment and the allocation of resources (budget and people) to successfully implement and utilize the technology.

 5. Where do you see GIS going in the future?
For those that believe recent history is a predictor of future trends, the next few years will be exciting.  Despite the downward economic cycle we have seen major investments in GIS by Microsoft (Bing Maps), Google (Google earth street view, etc.), in data collection technologies (digital cameras, mobile mapping, LiDAR), and in GIS applications, ESRI (ArcGIS Online).   We are seeing a blurring of the differences between consumer-based users of GIS technology and professional GIS.  Within the next 5 years I think there will be an increased business focus to make sure the technology is being used to solve problems in a measurable way.  Maryland’s “StateStat” programs are an example of this.  I also believe we will see a lot more movement towards integration of technologies with GIS serving as the focal point.  Increased emphasis on visualization tools (3D, street level LiDAR and imagery) and the need/desire to support mobile users will also impact our industry.

6. Where do you see the job market going in terms of opportunities in GIS?
I continue to believe the job opportunities in GIS are strong.   I think this is especially true in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region.  The D.C/Maryland/Northern Virginia area, along with the Denver to Colorado Springs hub (home to a lot of the satellite and remote sending/mapping companies) are the two strongest areas in the country for opportunities in public and private sector GIS.

Employment opportunities for people with GIS expertise in fields such as public health, planning and engineering, and the environmental seem to be strong.  In the past 5 years, opportunities in defense- related industries have been tremendous.  It will be interesting to see if that continues over the next 5 years.  I also think the increasing emphasis on professional certifications and accreditations strengthens the industry and increases opportunities for GIS professionals overall.

 7. How did you get interested in the field of Geography/GIS?
I have always been interested in geography and traveling.  After my first physical geography class as a college student at SUNY Plattsburg I changed my major to geography. My interest in computer mapping and GIS has continued since that time.  I became interested in State and local governments application of GIS when I started working for PlanGraphics.

 8. Did/do you have a mentor?  Who?
I have been fortunate over the years to have the support of, and learn from many individual in the GIS community.   A few key people that were influential earlier in my career include:

• Dr. James Carter from the University of Tennessee:  He encouraged my interest in remote sensing and computer mapping.

• Mike Kevany from PlanGraphics:  Mike taught me about the importance of the GIS requirements, design, and implementation process and was a mentor in terms of learning how to guide a GIS team.

• Drew Dedrick (Montgomery County):   Drew’s support enabled me to get a foothold in the GIS community in Maryland.

More recently a lot of people at MDP and throughout the State (Bob Dadd, Graham Petto, Stephanie Martins, Kenny Miller and many others) have served as advisors, in terms of increasing my understanding of planning programs and statewide activities.

In case you missed the second installment of “On the Map,”  check out my interview with Barney Krucoff.

Clay

TowsonGlobal’s Second Business Plan Competition has finally declared a winner! On May 2, after months of preparations, two teams emerged as the winners of the competition. The first place winner was ToolSpinner, a team of Towson University alumnus brothers who created an online platform for tool rentals.   Second place went to the Johns Hopkins team Innovostics, a medical device company that specializes in detecting various causes of fevers in patients within minutes, using an extremely low cost method.

Luccie Wo, Divya Maxwell, Marjon Akhavan & Luis Soenksen (Innovostics) left; Daniel Cole & Steven Cole (ToolSpinner) right

Over the course of that afternoon, these two teams, along with the other finalists—Hemova Port, NeoPersona, and Momo Scientific—presented both in front of a panel of distinguished judges and at a public forum. After careful consideration, ToolSpinner was selected the winner.  All of the presentations were impressive, well-prepared, and the concepts were not only innovative but socially conscious.

During the discussions, the judges provided insightful financial, marketing and management advice. The competition was stiff, but; after intense deliberation, it was decided that ToolSpinner offered the most viable business concept.

The first place prize package is valued at $17,400 and includes a monetary prize of $4,000, a 90-day Resident membership to TowsonGlobal and executive coaching from CEOIQ.  The second place winner also receives a prize package valued at $5,200, which includes a monetary prize of $1,000, 90-day Associate Membership to TowsonGlobal and one year membership to the online community and resources of CEO IQ.

The support of sponsors has helped make TowsonGlobal’s competition a great success. Thanks to:

TowsonGlobal’s latest effort in encouraging and strengthening entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in the Baltimore area has surpassed expectations. The response to the competition has been gratifying and shows the great potential of entrepreneurs in our region.  Stay tuned for the next competition in 2013!

Jenn

Are social media and online gaming the next step for your organization’s marketing plan? Could gaming help you to reach your target audience? While we know that social media gaming and online gaming are becoming increasingly popular, there are still a lot of unanswered questions in terms of its application for business. I was lucky enough to speak with Ben Walsh, CEO of Pure Bang Games, and find out his thoughts on gaming and its future in marketing.

1. Is social media/online gaming becoming part of organizational marketing plans?
“I believe so.  We are being contacted by more and more companies who want a game to engage their audiences with games or game-like features on their sites.  The Gartner Group predicts gamification will be a key trend that every CIO, IT planner and enterprise architect must be aware of as it relates to business.”

2. How is social media/online gaming changing the social media/Facebook/online experience?
“Gaming is the #2 activity on Facebook, with over 50% of Facebook’s 800M users logging in daily to play games. According to a 2010 study, 90% of American tweens are playing online games. Games are becoming a huge part of our online culture and I predict that they will be a driving force in social network innovation over the next 10 years.”

3. What are some of the benefits of social media/online gaming for companies and users?
“The #1 benefit of online gaming is that it is a powerful tool for engaging your audience.  With people spending less and less time watching TV or reading print, a lot of companies are looking to games to reach the audiences they used to find on those mediums… what they are finding is that branded experiences in games are more powerful than in any other medium known.  Users will interact with the brand longer, remember the brand longer, have greater loyalty, and actually share the brand with their friends (if the game is good).”

As you can see, there are a lot of great reasons to consider including a game as part of your organization’s marketing plan. Only the future will tell if these engaging games have staying power.

Interested in learning more about social media and online gaming? Check out the Pure Bang Games website.

Photo credit: jscreationzs

Sharyn

We’re happy to announce the completion of a 6 month project with Cyberguys, a local technology company providing computer solutions, service and sales.  This was a collaborative effort between 3 groups within DECO – the Center for GIS, the Integrated Marketing Team, and Regional Economic Studies Institute.

The first phase of the project focused on developing a strategy to help Cyberguys expand their reach. To accomplish this, we analyzed who their local competition is, what their services include, and how those businesses pricing structures aligned with Cyberguys. Cyberguys provided us with a comprehensive customer list that we were able to display on a map, allowing us to visualize where the customers live in relation to the retail store. In turn, this allowed them to see exactly where their customers are located – right around the corner or on the other side of town. We also recommended new customer bases to target as well as package pricing that would be attractive to those audience groups. The strategy also included suggested specific media outlets and provided a social strategy that will provide the guidance they need to launch their social platform.

The second phase of the project took our focus onto more tangible items which included messaging, print collateral and a new website. For the messaging, we kept it straight forward so that potential customers would know exactly what the Cyberguys do. We landed on

Cyberguys. Expert Computer Solutions Service and Sales. Priced Right and Hassle Free.

This messaging was integrated with selected imagery on various mediums (print and web) to create consistency in the visual branding. These visuals complimented Cyberguys’ established logo. For the print collateral, we designed two pieces – a direct mail postcard that can be easily updated for specific audiences and a 2 sided flyer that can be printed on demand for the store or business development meetings. We also developed all the copy. To meet Cyberguys’ needs, all of the collateral was designed using Microsoft Publisher allowing Cyberguys to easily maintain their print collateral moving forward. Finally, we developed a website for Cyberguys. We made recommendations on the site’s architecture and reworked copy for the site to work in this new organization. We provided a photo shoot at their store and voila! Their site was ready to be launched. The great thing about their site is that it was created using WordPress and is hosted in their own hosting environment so they were able to integrate some plug-ins and modify the design allowing them to have complete control of their site.

Matt

Is your network PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant, are you sure?  If you are like most of us you have heard of this and other similar regulations but don’t really know what it means without taking a course on the subject.

I have been researching some tools to perform a network vulnerability assessment for a graduate class and found one worth mentioning.  It comes from a reputable company based in Columbia, Maryland called Tenable Network Security and it can be downloaded here.

The Nessus Professional Feed from Tenable Network Security is a lightweight, no-frills network vulnerability scanner. It features the ability to scan local and remote systems for the latest vulnerabilities. With the Professional Feed, users also get access to a compliance configuration audit pack, which can add credential-based auditing for NIST FDCC/SCAP, DISA STIG, CIS, and PCI compliance, along with many others.  I really liked the idea of being able to add plug-ins for regulations that I am not an expert in, such as PCI compliance.

This tool is a very straightforward install. The small server component can be installed on a medium-size machine with at least 2 GB of memory. The installation itself is easy and only takes a few minutes after launching the executable installer. After the server is installed, licensed and started, it instantly downloads the latest vulnerability checks and is ready to go. The web GUI can be accessed from any machine on the network, and scanning can begin.  I really like this product and it was simple and straightforward to get up and running.  I learned a lot and it didn’t require me to know cryptic Linux commands or jump through hoops to get it running.

Check it out if you get a chance.  They now have a cloud-based option if you don’t want to maintain a Nessus server.  Download it and run a test scan against your network.  You can scan your home network for free.  You can run a scan using a default out of the box policy or get creative and create your own scanning policies.  Start looking at the reports and fixing the high priority items in your environment.   Be pro-active about network security and cut the “low hanging fruit” off the security tree.  Then get a ladder and go after the rest.

The downside to this tool is that it is not free for business use.  It costs $1,200 a year for a subscription.  However, this is a small cost compared to what you may pay in fines and loss of reputation when a hacker penetrates your network.  For instance, banks can be fined up to $100,000 per month for PCI compliance violations.  For a little upfront effort and cost to comply with PCI, you greatly reduce your risk from facing these extremely unpleasant and costly consequences.

Happy and Safe Computing!

Dawn

It’s time for another adventure into the world of Business Analysis (I know you’re excited).  In this blog I’m going to be discussing the process for developing a RFP, which you probably know stands for “Request for Proposal.”  I often interact with RFPs both in terms of creating them and responding to them.  RFPs are utilized to solicit potential vendors for the purchase of a good or service.  For instance, if your organization needed a new computer system for payroll, you would write an RFP to solicit vendors capable of completing the task.

One reason it can be so difficult to write a RFP is that the information in the RFP does not explain how the system will function, but rather what the system needs to do. (See What Does Your System Require? for defining how a system will function.)  Now I know how your curious minds work Dear Readers, you are wondering:

• Who? needs to be involved in helping you write the RFP
• How? you should approach writing the RFP

The Who?
If you have been charged in writing a RFP, one of the first questions you ask yourself is who else needs to be involved?   Well the first people you need are the stakeholders, and not just management, but those people who will be using the new system. As a Business Analyst it has been my experience that when members of an organization are tasked with writing a RFP, they can find it difficult.  The reason is that deriving this information can become complicated if there are many stakeholders involved.  In those instances, everyone wants to make sure their needs are voiced and met.  So who else might need to be involved?  The answer is an objective third party.  Bringing in an objective third party can be of great assistance in this process since they are neutral and have no reason to put one stakeholder’s needs over another’s.

The How?
How do you start to write a RFP? Meet with all the stakeholders, both separate and en mass.  Sitting down and allowing everyone to express their needs and desires (and documenting them), provides a basis for writing the RFP.  As more and more details are voiced and explained, a clearer picture of the needs of the system begins to emerge.  The next step involves sifting through all the information to define what the system will need to do at launch, what aspects are “must haves” and what other aspects are “nice to haves.”   For example if you were writing a RFP to purchase a new coffee maker, you would not want to include that it should fry eggs. But you might want to include that it have an automatic timer.  Can you still make coffee without the timer, yes, but it would be “nice to have” a timer.    Both must haves and nice to haves can be included in the RFP, but making a clear delineation helps create a concise, well thought out design (scope of the project) and can help to contain the cost.

So now you are ready for your own RFP adventure, but if you need a guide, please give me a call.

Image credit: Stuart Miles

Ashley

As I have been working in the GIS field for 10 years in Maryland, I have met some interesting, talented, intelligent, and motivating GIS colleagues along the way.  Hopefully this blog series will share with you some exciting tidbits of information from each person who has touched my career in some way.

I first met Barney Krucoff at a Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments GIS committee meeting in 2006. At the time, Barney was the GIS manager for Washington DC and I was very impressed with his knowledge of spatial technology and the cohesiveness of DCs GIS. When I heard the news that Barney was coming to work in Maryland, I knew that Maryland GIS would be in good hands.

Quick Facts about Barney Krucoff Maryland’s State Geographic Information officer at the Maryland Department of Information Technology Born in Washington, DC Degrees from  Vanderbilt University and Georgia Institute of Technology

Tell me something fun about your job.
Governor O’Malley has a special interest in geospatial technology and really uses maps and data to manage and lead the state. I bet that I’m the only state GIO who sits in his governor’s senior staff meetings. The challenge is delivering data and applications fast enough.

What is one of your favorite hobbies?
Ultimate Frisbee

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Washington, DC, and have lived in Bethesda, Maryland since 1995.

What is your favorite GIS book?
To be honest, I don’t read GIS books cover-to-cover. That said, I’m a sucker for books that use transparent pages, like GIS applications use layers, to tell a story about a place.  For example:

• Cities Then and Now, by Jim Antoniou
• Transparent Cities, by Brian McGrath

1. What professional organizations are you active in?
I became active in the National State Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) when I became the District of Columbia GIS manager in 2004.  Over the years NSGIC has been a great source of contacts and information. NSGIC also provides benchmarks to measure how a state-level geospatial program is doing, and a little friendly comparison between states never hurts.

Now I’m also becoming involved with the Maryland State Geographic Information Committee (MSGIC). Maryland is lucky to have so many professionals and students interested and active in the organization.

2. How would you recommend others get involved in GIS?
I’m amazed at the quality and quantity of GIS programs in Maryland universities and colleges.  Whether you want to major in GIS or support another specialty by adding GIS knowledge, here are some links:

• Community College of Baltimore County
• Coppin State University
• Frostburg State University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Montgomery College
• Salisbury University (Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative), (Department of Geography)
• Towson University (Center for GIS), (Department of Geography)
• University of Maryland
• University of Maryland Baltimore County
• Washington College

3. How has GIS changed since you first started your career?
Here is some of the stuff we didn’t have:

• Data (except TIGER and some DLG)
• Graphical user interfaces
•  GPS (it existed, but few civilians had seen it)
• Email (it existed, but wasn’t widely used)
• The World Wide Web
• Did I mention we didn’t have any data?

4. Where do you see GIS going in the future?
I haven’t been all that good at predicting the future of GIS during the first 21 years of my career, but as they say, “past performance is no indication or guarantee of future results,” so there is hope. The obvious trends seem to be the same ones that are moving the IT industry generally:

• GIS, more than most information technologies, was focused on the public sector. It is now mass market and consumer oriented. The public sector is still adjusting to this shift.
• Open source software is coming on strong.
• Crowdsourcing and volunteer geographic information are coming on strong.
• The cloud hosting is changing business models.
• Web offerings continue to evolve rapidly from publishing pages to publishing services.
• Citizen expectations for presentation and quality of government data are rising.

5. Could you explain how/why GIS is important in today’s world?
We are living in a new geologic epoch, the Anthropocene, aka, the Age of Man. Through development, farming, and energy use, humans are now changing the Earth itself and geologic time is accelerating. GIS helps us manage many things today (crime, transportation, health, land use, farms, etc.). What many people don’t yet realize is that now we need to start managing the planet holistically. GIS isn’t a tool in the planetary management tool box, it is the schematic.

6. Where do you see the job market going in terms of opportunities in GIS?
I see the job market remaining strong, but at the same time GIS is becoming less like magic every day.

7. How did you get interested in the field of Geography/GIS?
I was always interested in maps and cities, and I was comfortable with computers. I was already on my way to getting a Master’s in City Planning from Georgia Tech when I took Dr. Bill Drummond’s GIS class in 1990. I knew quickly that I had found my calling.

8. Did/do you have a mentor?  Who?
Many people inspired me, taught me, and helped me establish my career. They include:

• Georgia Institute of Technology – Bill Drummond
• Georgia Power Company – Myles Smith
• National Capital Planning Commission – Frank Deter, David Nystrom, Robert Marriot, Mary Fitch. Leo Schmittel
• Michael Baker Jr., Inc. – Robert Hansen, Travis Clark, David Greenwood, Ed Wiley
• District of Columbia  –  David Seidman, Konrad Perlman, Charlie Richman

My greatest professional inspiration has come from my staff at Michael Baker and the District of Columbia. They are too numerous to mention here.

9. What is one piece of advice you would give to a newbie in the field?
I have never loved the traditional five-part definition of GIS (hardware, software, data, processes, people). It is accurate but too clinical. I prefer a two-part definition: “GIS combines the power of maps with the power of computers.” Now the advice, don’t forget the computer part – particularly relational database management.

In case you missed the second installment of “On the Map,” check out my interview with Kenny Miller.