Location Intelligence and Business Geographics

Our editors step up to the plate to evaluate last year's predictions and offer new ones for the geospatial marketplace in 2013.

Are there any innovations in maps or mapping applications on the near horizon that are going to substantially change consumers’ lives? Maybe.

Last week location-based ad company JiWire announced a new ad service to help marketers target specific audiences based on location data it has collected from mobile devices. The product, Location Graph, uses the data to create anonymous user profiles based on the types of places people visit. Is this truly a new way to target or just a twist on the tried and true psychographic analysis?

As we head into the

Our editors attempt to judge the health of the geospatial tech industry based on evidence from last week's Esri International User Conference. Do they see mergers, morphing or mortality?

The editors of Directions Magazine joined 15,000 Esri software users at the opening plenary events of the 2012 User Conference. They discuss the trends, ideas and technology products that will impact users and non-users in the coming year.

A new algorithm developed by UK researchers can predict, within 1000 meters, where you will be in 24 hours based only on past location information. Add in data on where your friends are and the resolution drops to just 20 meters. What if you add in sensor data from your phone and data from your social networks and online shopping? What is possible, in terms of using these data to improve your personal life and the lives of entire communities?

This week we mull over the announcements and news from the Where Conference held last week in San Francisco. It’s supposed to be about the business of location. So how’s business? What’s hot? What’s old news?

Analytics and big data are becoming areas that are truly leveraging geospatial technology, and new and not-so-new players are entering the geo arena. We'll look at companies like SpaceCurve, Teradata, Rhiza and Tableau and examine what they are bringing to the table.

This week we go looking for geo innovation in recent product announcements. Do we find any? Yes!