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Podcasts: Directions on the News
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Last week Esri announced at its European User Conference that it had acquired LBS firm, Geoloqi. Our editors look at why Esri might be interested in the firm and the new market areas it might open.
StackMap is a tool to literally map the stacks of libraries. It offers patrons maps and directions to books of interest and makes the lives of those who manage those stacks easier. Is StackMap, now just a few years old, a long-term winner or is it another mapping solution that is here today and gone tomorrow?
The Directions Magazine 2012 Readers Survey provides insights into how the GIS community keeps up with technology and each other. Our editors share the data and try to tease out the subtle messages within them.
Last week Senator Charles Schumer of New York requested an investigation and began pondering legislation to help prevent trucks from causing accidents related to use of GPS and satellite navigation tools. What’s the real issue? Can legislation help?
The early verdict is in: Apple Maps on iOS 6 underwhelms the tech press and some users. What does this situation suggest about the state of consumer mapping and are there implications for GIS professionals?
You may not have heard but the International Map Trade Association renamed itself the International Map Industry Association. Have map publishers been part of the GIS and online mapping revolution? Can they find a way to straddle the two worlds?
The long northern hemisphere summer is over and the geospatial industry is gearing up for fall. What should we expect? What would we like to see? Our editors get listeners ready for the next few months.
Last week the news was all about Hurricane Isaac. All sorts of maps beyond those of its predicted course filled government and media websites and blogs. Old apps were refreshed and new ones announced. A week later, we look back and share six pieces of advice for mapmakers as learned from Hurricane Isaac.
What is the Dept. of Defense doing with its Enterprise Software Initiative? Why is the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency asking for input on its procurement of apps? Does this tell us anything about the state of the geospatial market in the DoD or elsewhere?
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?
Journal News Removes Interactive Gun Permit Map
The Lower Hudson Journal News has been under fire for publishing a map of gun permit holders in two counties in New York State before Christma. (APB coverage 1, 2, podcast). On Friday January 18 the paper removed the interactive map. Why? Publisher Janet Hasson gave answers in a media statement and in a letter to readers.
In a statement in response to The Poynter Institute (a journalism school) she argued:
With the passage this week of the NYSAFE gun law, which allows permit holders to request their names and addresses be removed from the public record, we decided to remove the gun permit data from lohud.com at 5 pm today. While the new law does not require us to remove the data, we believe that doing so complies with its spirit. For the past four weeks, there has been vigorous debate over our publication of the permit data, which has been viewed nearly 1.2 million times by readers. One of our core missions as a newspaper is to empower our readers with as much information as possible on the critical issues they face, and guns have certainly become a top issue since the massacre in nearby Newtown, Conn. Sharing as much public information as possible provides our readers with the ability to contribute to the discussion, in any way they wish, on how to make their communities safer. We remain committed to our mission of providing the critical public service of championing free speech and open records.
In a letter to readers published on Friday she wrote:
So intense was the opposition to our publication of the names and addresses that legislation passed earlier this week in Albany included a provision allowing permit holders to request confidentiality and imposing a 120-day moratorium on the release of permit holder data.
She goes on to say that during the 27 days the map was online any one interested would have seen it and that the data would eventually be out of date. She also noted that the paper does not endorse the way the state chose to limit availability of the data.
The original map/article still includes a graphic - but it's a snapshot, a raster image, with no interactivity. Says Hasson in the letter to readers:
And we will keep a snapshot of our map — with all its red dots — on our website to remind the community that guns are a fact of life we should never forget.
I continue to applaud the paper for requesting the data via a Freedom on Informat request, mapping it, keeping the map up despite threats and criticism and now responding to state law. I think the paper did a service to the state, to citizens and to journalism.
- via reader Jim and Poynter
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