UC Updates Day 3: Esri 5K, Drones, GeoMentor, Kids Fair, GeoNet Meet-up, Startups and more

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06-29-2016 08:48 AM
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ChrisCatania
Esri Community Team
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Esri 5K Run/Walk

By Chris Catania

Welcome to Day 3 of UC!  We kick off today's coverage with a shout out to the runners of the Esri 5K run/walk. The festivities got going early at 6:30am as more than 500 conference attendees ran, jogged and walked their way around the marina. It was a perfectly cool morning and a great start to the day as everyone celebrated the 3.2 mile journey with high fives and post-race selfies as they triumphantly crossed the finish line then headed to the showers to gear up for another exciting day at the User Conference. Nice work, everyone!

Special thanks to the Esri Startup Program for the race photo!

Stay tuned for more updates today as we continue to explore User Conference. What are you looking forward today? What have been your favorite experiences and moments so far?

Drone Zone!!!

by Timothy Hales

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The drone zone was a popular spot during the Esri UC Expo. Every time someone fired up a drone people gathered around to catch a glimpse of the action. Partners presented various applications that used drone technology to inspect structures, compile imagery, and collect LiDAR. As mentioned in the Plenary, Esri recently released Drone2Map (Drone2Map for ArcGIS)   which turns raw still imagery from drones into professional 2D and 3D imagery products. The desktop app will mean that affordable imagery is available on demand for land analysis, infrastructure inspection, and monitoring events such as natural disasters and environmental changes.

AAG GeoMentor

by Timothy Hales

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It was great to meet up with Candice Luebbering who works with the AAG Geomentors. They are working to connect GIS professionals and educators across the world to help teach students GIS technology. Esri has partnered with them to provide resources and support. One of Esri's initiatives is ConnectEd which provides free online mapping for schools. Connect with them on GeoNet - GeoMentors.

Inspired by students in the map gallery

by Chris Catania

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I enjoyed touring around the map gallery on Monday and through the conference! This being my first UC it was great to explore all the different maps and talk with the map authors and learn what inspired them.  During the plenary I was impressed by the student presentations so decided to talk with the students from UC Berkley (top left), National 4-H GIS leadership team (top right) and the San Andreas High School (bottom) about their work in GIS.  Reflecting on their work and understanding more about the focus of their maps encouraged me think deeper about the world around me. The future of GIS is bright, indeed. And I'm looking forward to continuing the student conversation in the GeoMentors group.

What were your favorite map discoveries and discussions? What did you learn as you cruised through the map gallery?

Exploring "what's next" in the Esri Startup area

By Timothy Hales

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The Esri Startup Program (Esri Startup Program) area in the expo was buzzing with excitement and innovation. We spent a few minutes with Jeff Lafrenz from VizworX – Visibly Better Solutions . They offer a product that focuses on in-person collaboration. They provide the capability for multiple people to engage within a single map displayed on a touch screen. Each person has their own viewer to interact with the map. They even have a way for a remote user to interact with the map. I was very impress with use of the APIs and look forward to seeing how their product develops over time.

GeoNet Community Meet-up

by Chris Catania

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It was good times and great conversations at our second GeoNet Community UC meet-up! We celebrated the growth of the GeoNet by sharing community metrics and success stories and we talked about the future strategy of the community.

Best of all, we had an excellent conversation with our members and it was a pleasure to hear from top contributor and MVP, Rebecca Strauch, GISP about the value of the community to her daily GIS work and what she's learning:

“I’m amazed at how much I learn when I browse thru the various posts. It’s incredible how many times I see something that could help me improve the project I’m working on right now, or something I want to look into later.”

“I am a GIS analyst, developer and ArcGIS Server administrator and also manage the licenses, provide user support and troubleshoot in our department. When it comes to issues I come across, I typically don’t have anyone in the office that I can talk to. GeoNet is like a very large, extended peer group. There is almost always someone that has come across the same issue, and even if not, there are many other users that are willing to help or giving things I can try out myself. Even if I end up calling tech support, I’ve typically already done research so I can expedite the conversation by letting them know what I’ve already ruled out.”

To see the other stories and stats from the meet-up, you can download a copy of our meet-up presentation deck here.

We're looking forward to the last meet-up tomorrow at 12pm in 33A. See you there!

Traveling, Mapping the world at the GIS Kids Fair

By Chris Catania

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Later in the afternoon we made our way to the GIS Kids Fair. During the conference more than 200 kids and parents had attended the fair and it was a joy to see families having so much fun working together and virtually traveling around the world and using GIS to make memories as they mapped out their journey with story maps. Kudos to the Esri training and certification staff for putting together an excellent learning and collaborative experience.

Social learning and listening at its best

by Chris Catania

The day wrapped up as we took in the evening's social poolside festivities at the YPN social and the GeoDev Meet-up. Since I'm only 82 days into my role at Esri, one of my favorite parts of the UC has been to meet and talk with Esri customers and I had many opportunities to ask questions, listen and learn at both events. I've had so many valuable discussions this week and I've appreciated getting a better understanding of how they use GIS in their work and how they currently use (or don't use) the GeoNet Community and how would like to see the GeoNet experience evolve.

Each conversation has helped me understand where we should and shouldn't take the community. Best of all, these informal social chats have revealed many valuable nuances of how the Esri platform is utilized across the various industries.

And what I've discovered this week has really inspired me to think differently and find ways to connect customers and Esri employees in the community and enable us to work better and collaborate more. And I look forward to sharing more of what I'm learning as our journey continues.

What did you enjoy the most about Day 3? What are you learning so far at UC?

About the Author
I lead the Esri Community Team and oversee the Esri Community strategy. Thank you for being here with us and I look forward to serving and connecting with you here in the community!