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UC 2017 Daily Updates Day Four (Thursday)

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07-14-2017 09:42 AM
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ChrisCatania
by Esri Community Team
Esri Community Team
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‎07-14-2017 09:42 AM

Welcome to Day Four of our UC coverage here on GeoNet!  We hope you're having a great UC and enjoyed following along on the updates. 

Update: Check out each UC 2017 day recap: 

Day Four sections (click to jump to section)

Exploring the Kids Fair: Planting the seeds of GIS

The day started with a trip to check out one of my favorite times at UC: the Kids Fair. After hearing at the plenary how the 4H students have been using ArcGIS Pro, I was even more inspired as I walked around and saw the 6-11 year olds learning about geography from the Esri Training staff and creating maps with their parents. I'm pretty sure the next generation of geogeeks was born at the Kids Fair this week. I just wondered which one of these kids will be speaking at the plenary in 2025. 

GeoNet Meetup: Making the community better and how GIS creates new career paths

Then it was time to host the third and final GeoNet meet-up. Like we did earlier in the week, I shared success stories and updates on the GeoNet roadmap. Then we dove into the Q&A session, which was my favorite part as Daniel Inloes and Carol Kraemer shared several great ideas about how we can improve GeoNet and how to use the community for there organization. Carol asked if she could set up groups just for her team and I told her "Yes, we can!" And I explained how the GeoNet group strategy and setup process works. She also asked where new members can go to find out how to best use GeoNet. And I gladly shared how the GeoNet Help‌ group is designed just for that!

Daniel then shared a particularly interesting idea which was to create a virtual GIS and ArcGIS dictionary that users can access on GeoNet and use to search on too.  I told him I would take that idea back to our Esri and GeoNet team and see what we could do to make this happen.  

Daniel also shared an inspiring story about how GIS had played an critical role in his life and professional career because when we graduated college in 2008 the recession made it difficult to find work so he turned to GIS which gave him the opportunity to find a job and provide for his family, and that sent him on the path to where his today. 

 

Catching up with Adrian 

Adrian Welsh‌ continued to shared his adventures, insights and learnings as he made his way through the expo and other tech sessions. 

 

Dawn and the Day of Science

Yesterday was the world wide Day of Science and Dawn Wright participated and shared her experiences as the DOS was celebrated at UC. Check out more of Dawn's tweets as she continued to take us in and around the science side of UC. 

Geogeeking with Joseph Kerski 

UC isn't UC without spending time with Joseph Kerski.  I had the pleasure of geo-geeking out with Joseph and talking about his highlights so far this year. He was excited about what the 4H kids demonstrated during the plenary, how successful the EdUC conference was and how much progress he has seen in the GIS  education field in just a year. Each year Joseph does a UC "key themes" video wrap up so be sure to check back as we'll share the video when Joseph has it ready. Until then, check out the always helpful and informative previous blog posts from Joseph and the Eduction team. 

 

Update: Check out Joseph's final thoughts video below! 


Pop-up Chats: Talkin' neurogeography, emotional mapping

One of my favorite parts of UC is having the chance to talk with users about their work, what they think of the UC and what they are thinking about the future of GIS.  One of my favorite pop-up chats was with Russell Mercer‌. Russell gave a big "thumbs up" to the improved usability of UC mobile app and then we talked about the work he's doing with as the GIS administrator for Imperial Beach Public Works and how he was intrigued by the neurogeography topic explored in the plenary with Dawn Wright. That then lead us into a fantastic conversation about the future power of maps to enable us to map psychological and emotional experiences based on where we are located and how that would be valuable for retailers, mental health, public safety and many other industries. 

What great pop-up chats did you have this week? 

Who is moving to ArcGIS Pro?

Speaking of people, it was great to see GeoNet member contributions highlighted on the "Why people are moving to ArcGIS Pro" signs featured throughout the UC convention center.  I'm honored to say that our GeoNet community and the ArcGIS Pro‌ group have helped answer many questions users have about moving to Pro and you can explore the group find the details mentioned on the sign. Thanks to all the users and staff who have helped out and shared tips and experiences in the group! 

Discovering Helpful Python Tips

Speaking of helpful tips, I loved coming across Marc Mendez's Top Five Python‌ tips and tricks in the #ESRIUC twitter stream too. Great collection! What tips would you add to the list? 

It's Time To Celebrate: UC Party 

After a long and eventful week it was time to head to the Thursday night UC party. Like it always is, the party was a blast as geogeeks and their families and friends took over Balboa park in San Diego to celebrate a week-long adventure of sharing, collaborating and furthering the Science of Where. 

That's it for Day Four! Stay tuned for Day Five as we capture final thoughts and the closing session. 

What were your highlights from Thursday? What did you learn and enjoy the most? 

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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!