Joe Francica

Francica is the editor in chief and vice publisher of Directions Media, the leading online publishing group for location technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) reaching nearly 200,000 visitors each month. Now comprising four publications and two major conferences, Directions Media is the largest publication dedicated to the location technology sector. Personally, Francica has authored over 200 articles and editorials on topics ranging from market research, wireless location-based services, retail trade area analysis, and the use of geographic information system (GIS) technology for business applications and he has been sought out for his market guidance by the national media, venture capitalists, and market research groups. He serves as a member of the board of directors of Directions Media.

Along with his weekly Internet podcasts and daily commentary at Directions Magazine, he has contributed to three books, Profiting from a GIS (published in 1993 by GIS World Books; edited by G. Castle), Geographic Information Systems in Business (published in 2005 by Idea Group Publishing; edited by J. Pick), and the Encyclopedia of GIS (published by Springer). In conjunction with colleagues at Penn State University, Francica has developed a course entitled “Location Intelligence for Business,” for the university’s online GIS program.

Francica helped to develop the Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM) in 2010 for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration that seeks to support the creation of model curricular for two- and four-year colleges. In addition, Francica serves on the National Visiting Committee for the National Science Foundation supported Geospatial Technology Center of Excellence (Geotechcenter.org) at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas.

In his early career, Francica was engaged in developing applications of hyperspectral remotely sensed data for mineral exploration and was one of the first geologists to map the Indus suture zone between India and Pakistan with Landsat imagery. While working for Sun Exploration and Production Company, Francica was active in utilizing Landsat Thematic Mapper data for oil and gas exploration. After receiving his MBA, Francica worked for GIS software companies, Tydac and Intergraph, in management roles. In 1991, Francica originated the column "GIS for Business" published by GIS World Magazine and later because editor of Business Geographics Magazine in 2000.

Personally, Mr. Francica received his bachelors degree (BA) from Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey) in Geology in 1978, followed by a master's degree (MA) in Earth Science from Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire) in 1980, and a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas) in 1989. In the late 90’s he obtained a national ranking as a Masters runner and still holds state records at certain distances in Alabama. He lives in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife and has four sons.
 

Information

1. Company: Directions Media
2. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Links

1. Web Site

Recent Content by Joe Francica

1. An Open Letter to the CEOs of DigitalGlobe and GeoEye (May 14th, 2012)
2. Retailers Go Geofencing ... Again (May 10th, 2012)
3. GeoEye Offers, DigitalGlobe Rejects Offer to be Acquired (May 6th, 2012)
4. A Look at Bentley’s New Release of Descartes V8i (SELECTseries 3), Focused on 3D Image Processing (April 25th, 2012)
5. Meet Your Colleagues: Kerry L. Wright (April 18th, 2012)
6. Podcast: Interview with John Palatiello, Executive Director of MAPPS on HR 4233 - “Map It Once; Use It Many Times Act” (March 30th, 2012)
7. SpaceCurve Tackles the Complexity of Geospatial “Big Data” (March 7th, 2012)
8. Esri’s Federal GIS Conference Wrap Up (March 1st, 2012)
9. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, After All, It’s About Geospatial Jobs (February 29th, 2012)
10. 2010-2011 Review of Publicly Traded Location Technology Stocks (January 26th, 2012)
11. Geospatial Data Content Licensing and Marketing in the Era of Data as a Service - An Interview With James Cutler, CEO, emapsite.com (January 23rd, 2012)
12. The Marcellus Shale Play ... Hot Prospecting, Cool Geospatial Lease Data (January 19th, 2012)
13. Podcast: Interview with Dr. Frank Kelly, Director, USGS EROS Data Center (January 18th, 2012)
14. GeoDesign Is About Collaboration and Process (January 11th, 2012)
15. The NGAC Challenges FGDC to Restructure, Use GSA Procurement Process (January 2nd, 2012)
16. Top 10 Videos from Directions Magazine’s Archives (December 28th, 2011)
17. Top 10 Articles of 2011 from Directions Magazine’s Archives (December 21st, 2011)
18. Directions Magazine Editors Look Back at 2011; Make Bold Predictions for 2012 (December 13th, 2011)
19. Podcast: Looking for that Unique Christmas Gift for the Cartophile? Try Axis Maps’ Typographic Map (December 12th, 2011)
20. Podcast: Press Briefing with National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Director Letitia Long, GEOINT Symposium 2011 (October 20th, 2011)
21. Podcast: Interview with Keith Masback, President U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation - Impressions on the 2011 GEOINT Symposium (October 20th, 2011)
22. GEOINT 2011 - Recap of Day 2 (October 18th, 2011)
23. GEOINT 2011 - Recap of Day 1 (October 17th, 2011)
24. Letitia Long, Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Press Conference Transcript #geoint2011 (October 17th, 2011)
25. The Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Conference Wrap Up (September 19th, 2011)
26. The Top Five Skills Needed to Have a Successful GIS Career (September 13th, 2011)
27. Podcast: A Look Back at 9/11 and GIS in NYC - An Interview with Al Leidner, New York City’s GIS Director in 2001 (September 8th, 2011)
28. Hurricane Irene: Surge Maps and Impact Areas (August 26th, 2011)
29. Political Redistricting With Transparency (August 22nd, 2011)
30. deCarta Remains Nimble in Mobile and Internet Geographic Search Market (August 5th, 2011)
31. The Cloud’s Disruptive Value Play (July 27th, 2011)
32. GIS Employment Outlook: Relatively Rosy for State and Local Government Professionals (July 20th, 2011)
33. Podcast: Powering Location-based Shopping (July 18th, 2011)
34. Podcast: Directions OnPoint - A Conversation with Matt O’Connell, CEO, GeoEye (July 6th, 2011)
35. Pitney Bowes Business Insights 2011 User Conference (June 13th, 2011)
36. GPS Vulnerabilities and LightSquared – Symmetricom Weighs In (June 13th, 2011)
37. Hexagon 2011 Conference Coverage -  June 8 (June 9th, 2011)
38. Hexagon 2011 Conference Coverage - Tuesday, June 7 (June 8th, 2011)
39. COM.geo Reports (June 1st, 2011)
40. Sponsored Podcast: An Interview with John Graham, President, Intergraph Security, Government and Infrastructure (May 18th, 2011)
41. Podcast: Technology of Geospatial Weather Forecasting-The Alabama Tornadoes - “We were the bull’s eye” (May 5th, 2011)
42. Podcast: Skyhook Wireless’ Ted Morgan Comments on “Locationgate” (May 2nd, 2011)
43. Google Earth Builder Launched: Cloud Platform for Geospatial Data Storage and Processing (April 20th, 2011)
44. Podcast: Interview with Rob Gorrie of ADCENTRICITY on Location-based Advertising and Digital Out-of-Home Media (April 13th, 2011)
45. Podcast: Geospatial Dataset Offers Lease, Mineral Rights Information for the Marcellus Shale Region (April 12th, 2011)
46. Podcast: Cloud Services a Major Strategy for Pitney Bowes Business Insight - An Interview with John O’Hara, President (April 8th, 2011)
47. Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami - Comprehensive Map & Imagery Resources (March 23rd, 2011)
48. BI or LI: Alteryx Can Play in Either but There’s No Magic Quadrant Answer (March 15th, 2011)
49. National Broadband Map Released; Connected Nation Shares Analysis (February 17th, 2011)
50. AT&T, LOC-AID Join to Offer Mobile Resource Management Solutions (January 30th, 2011)