End of September Geo Conference Report RoundUp

W3G and AGI GeoCommunity (back to back in Stratford Upon Avon)

Ed Parsons (Google) recaps W3G (“onsiderable energy, lively debate and optimism around the use of open data, free and open software and the potential of “neogeography””) and AGI Geocommunity (“despair”).
- Ed Parsons Blog

Jo Cook (Oxford Archeology, a company, not the University) recaps each paper on Day One and Day Two of the AGI.
- Archaeogeek.com Blog - Day One
- Archaeogeek.com Blog - Day Two

Jeff Thurston (Vector One) recaps opening and the keynotes at AGI.
- opening and keynotes at Vector One

Gary Gale (Nokia), chair of the W3g event, reports on the logic of having the W3G before the AGI and asks if that should be repeated.
- Vicchi Blog

Steven Feldman (KnowWhere) addresses both W3G and AGI. And details his presentations.
- Know Where

Rich Treves found W3G ” like Geography only cooler.”
- Google Earth Design

Nick Bicanic, who did a keynote at W3G shares his slides and experience there.
- EchoEchoMe

Tim Waters recpas both W3G and AGI.
- ThinkWhere

Location-base Marketing Summit

Mobile Marketing Watch recapped a panel on the NJ Nets use of Gowalla to fill seats at its games and covered Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus, announcing the agency’s first product: FourScore, a “tool for businesses and marketers who wish to understand the impact of consumers’ adoption of location-based services on their business, across the enterprise,” among other things.
- Mobile Marketing

Destination CRM addresses a “we don’t need no stinking badges” comment about the future of LBS.
- Destination CRM

Mobilize 2010

Valerie Potter recaps the one day Mobilize 2010 event. One big idea: social+LBS is a winner.
- Computerworld

PC World offers up the top five apps to watch from the event; just one, Micello, is an LBS app. It offers indoor maps for malls, airports and the like.
- PC World

GigaOm put on the event and offers lots of coverage.  Of note: one on NFC (nearfield communication) and takeaways.
- GigaOm.

GIS-Pro 2010 (URISA Conference)

Geoff Zeiss (Autodesk) recaps day of the GIS-Pro 2010 event (aka the URISA conference). He notes more attention to open source and open data discussions.
- Between the Poles Blog

Wendy Neslon (URISA Exec. Director) looks back at URISA’s GIS-Pro event.
- URISA blog

New England Regional GIS Event: $45

The New England Chapter of URISA’s one-day conference is on October 18th.  Last year’s event was sold-out and was the subject of many enthusiastic comments from attendees and exhibitors.  This low-cost (pre-registration is only $45) event will be held at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA.  With it’s [sic] convenient location right near the junction of I-84 and I-90, this event is very accessible.  I strongly encourage you to visit the NEURISA web site (http://www.neurisa.org/events) to check out the program and register.  I think you’ll be glad you did.

So writes Chris French - NEURISA Secretary and Communications Coordinator. One more thing: I’m doing the keynote.

Have you ever used those “convince your boss” lists?

URISA is promoting its upcoming GIS Pro event with a webpage titled: “Convincing Your Employer That You Need to Attend GIS-Pro 2010.” I know getting the time off and the funding to travel to, eat, sleep and cover registration for a conference can be a hard sell.

I’ve been successful in the past with proposals that boil down to: “I can attend this event for $500 and none of my work will slip.” That tends to work, though I’m on peanut butter sandwiches and long subway commutes once I get to the city in question. And, frankly, if the event is that good, I’m ok with those inconveniences. Further, if I can show a return on the minimal investment for this year, the employer may well pay a bit more for my attendance in the future.

Which leads me to URISA’s list of why you should go:

- New Ideas
- Sharing What Works
- Inspiration & Rejuvenation
- Knowledge Gathering (speakers)
- More Knowledge Gathering (exhibitors)

That list probably would work for any conference on any topic in any city, as would most lists like this on other conference websites. (Here’s one for the ASHA.) URISA also offers a customizable letter (.doc) you can prepare for your boss.

Have you used such tools to lobby for attendance? Any luck? If you hold the purse strings, does this sort of approach work? What other advice might you add?

Update: Late July Conference Coverage

GeoLoco was held last week in San Francisco. Gary Gale of Nokia offers a wrap up.

- Gary’s Bloggage

GeoWeb is finishing up today in Vancouver. I found coverage by Business in Vancouver, the Vancouver Sun and JP at First Base Solutions who offers day by day recaps on the blog.

Update 8/4: One more review of GeoWeb from Dale Lutz at Safe.

Update 8/8: And another on GeoWeb from Mano Marks at Google.

Update 8/23: An odd column by Jimmy Schaeffler on the convergence of LBS and video in Multichannel News. Still not sure of its relationship to GeoWeb.

Podcast: Is Esri UC the only GIS Event that Matters?

If indeed the Esri UC is the most important GIS event in the industry, what does that mean for other events? Other communities that do not participate? Directions Magazine editors contemplate the implications and what options are available to bring together the whole community.

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