Esri’s Federal GIS Conference Kicks Off with Call for Better Maps #esrifedcon

Jack Dangermond, president of Esri, kicked off the Federal GIS Conference (formerly Federal Users Conference) by extolling the need to think more carefully about how maps are created and presented in order to communicate more effectively. "We need to remind ourselves that our maps communicate; [they need to] connect with the visions of others especially those at the executive level," said Dangermond, urging the audience to make sure their maps answer the question: what do we want to tell our leaders?

Dangermond also introduced new phrases into his normally focused charge about GIS calling geospatial technology and "information product" hammering on the points that:

• Good information products illustrate change
• Good information products sometimes show status
• Good information products can sometimes show the future
• Good information products illustrate time
• Good information products communicate importance

Dangermond also discussed how cloud computing allows new collaboration and provides and an intuitive platform for sharing discovery, access and use. At one point he emphasized that cloud computing will create many more jobs.

DOI’s Hayes Calls Geospatial Technology “Front and Center” in Federal Government #esrifedcon

David Hayes, the Deputy Secretary for the U. S. Department of the Interior (DOI) was the keynote speaker for the Esri Federal GIS Conference this year calling GIS the most important tool in the federal government.

"Geospatial technology is finally front and center," said Hayes. "The reason I'm so excited about geospatial technology is that it provides us with a much needed mechanism to break down the silos." Hayes discussed how GIS is enabling better management of natural resources that is giving citizens the opportunity to explore open spaces and "America's great outdoors."

Hayes also mentioned how DOI Secretary Ken Salazar is taking on a new tourism initiative to support ecotourism in the U.S. In addition, the DOI hopes to stand up a new Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA), similar to Geoplatform.gov, for the Arctic this summer.

ArcGIS 10.1 “Biggest Release Ever” #esrifedcon

Esri's Jack Dangermond, speaking at the company's Federal GIS Conference, said that  ArcGIS 10.1 "is our biggest release ever" where users will find enhancements in quality and a focus on usability to empower geospatial professionals across more organizations. Dangermond said the release cost the company $300 Million in development costs.

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Dangermond Presents “Making a Difference” Award to David Schell, OGC founder #esrifedcon

At the Esri Federal GIS Conference, Jack Dangermond opened the conference by presenting the "Making a Difference" award to David Schell, the founder of the Open Geospatial Consoritum.

"The reason I started OGC was that I thought it was more important to make a difference than to make a product. Interestingly, right from the very beginning when Jack and I first met I knew that we would be making a difference for many decades," said Schell.

Schell commented that the OGC was concerned more with communication and integration and that that was complimentary to what Esri was doing in making products.

Schell is retiring from the board of the OGC and will enter academia.

New Geo APIs - 2/22/12

Bing Traffic API: The Bing Traffic API provides information about traffic incidents and issues, such as construction sites and traffic congestion. Traffic incident information is currently available for the United States and Canada. Users can also get information about traffic issues that met the criteria specified in the URL request, such as map area, incident type and severity. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML and JSON.

deCarta MapSearch Engine API: deCarta is a location based services provider. The Map Search Engine API gives developers the ability to implement local search on their web sites and applications. The API can search address and point of interest data sourced from content partners. Developers can also overlay their own searchable content onto the map. MapSearch Engine is “white label”, allowing customers to unitize their own UI, branding and content. The API uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in XML, JSON, JSONP and XHTML.

- Programmable Web

Bonus: 40 real estate APIs

- +skipcody