The MapScaping Podcast - GIS, Geospatial, Remote Sensing, earth observation and digital geography MapScaping

Planet manufactures and manages the world’s largest constellation of earth observation satellites!
Imaging “Just about everywhere on earth just about every day – Making change visible, accessible, and actionable”
… and the hope of this episode is to help you understand how they do that – along the way
you will hear about their two constellations and how they work together
Learn the difference between ghost ships and dark ships and find out that there are very few ground control points in the ocean and why that matters
Find out what this means for GIS and permit enforcement.
For more information go to https://www.planet.com/gis/
 
Recommended Podcast Episodes
 
Hyperspectral vs. Multispectral
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/hyperspectral-vs-multispectral/
NICFI Program
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/reduce-and-reverse-tropical-forest-loss-with-nicfi/
Synthetic Data
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/synthetic-data-for-real-problems/
Labels Matter
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/labels-matter/
 
 
 

This episode is a story about wide-angle imaging for fire mapping and maritime search but it's also a story about changing the culture and getting people to trust a new way of doing things.
 
My guest today is Alison Harrod - mission success manager at a start-up called Overwatch imaging 
 
Whenever I work with a company like Overwatch Imaging it is hard to know which story to tell, we could just as easily have made an episode about AI and object detection or about smart sensors because they do those things too. 
 
 The decision depends on the guest and their background so after meeting Alison we decided to make this episode for you and try to give you a broad overview of what wide-angle imaging is and how it's used in the context of fire mapping and maritime search.
...but It's one thing to have a technology and it is another thing entirely to get people to use it … as you will hear fire mapping is not “a move fast and break things kind of situation”
 
Connect with Alison here!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonharrod/
https://www.overwatchimaging.com/
 
Other relevant podcast episodes that you might enjoy
Thermal Imagery From Space
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/thermal-imagery-from-space/
Finding Water Leaks From Space
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/finding-water-leaks-from-space/
Cube Satellites Of The Stratosphere
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/cube-satellites-of-the-stratosphere/

It's not about becoming an influencer it's about creating opportunities for yourself
 
In this episode, we tackle the common misconception that personal branding is solely for influencers, revealing how it's actually about creating the right visibility and opportunities in your professional sphere.
Helena Merschdorf shares her unique insights, drawing from her rich background in GIS and marketing, and discusses:
Solving the Obscurity Problem: Discover how personal branding can help you get noticed by the right people, not just everyone.
Effective Communication in Technical Fields: Learn the art of conveying complex GIS concepts to non-experts.
Defining and Building Your Personal Brand: Uncover the essence of personal branding and how to strategically develop it.
Overcoming Challenges: Helena offers guidance on tackling imposter syndrome and finding your niche in the vast world of GIS.
Choosing the Right Platforms: Get tips on selecting the best channels for your personal branding efforts based on your target audience.
Success Stories and Strategies: While specific examples aren't named, learn about the different levels of personal branding success and what might work for you.
This episode is not just about building a personal brand; it's about leveraging that brand to carve a unique path in the geospatial industry.
 
Connect with Helena here
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenamerschdorf/
https://www.tales.co.nz/
 
Other relevant podcast episodes 
Rebranding GIS and Geospatial
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/rebranding-gis-geospatial/
 
Python Maps
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/python-maps/
 
Getting Your Dream Job In Earth Observation
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/getting-your-dream-job-in-earth-observation/
 

Entity resolution is the process of matching and merging records from different sources that refer to the same entity.
 
today's episode is about entity resolution for place data, why you might want to do that, and what any of this has to do with the dollar, Unix time and the idea that If data is really driving innovation, join keys are going to become more valuable.
 
Today's guest is Auren Hoffman
https://www.linkedin.com/in/auren/
https://twitter.com/auren
https://www.youtube.com/@worldofdaas
 
If you want to try Placekey for yourself go to https://www.placekey.io/
 
If you want to learn more about SafeGraph listen to this podcast episode
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/building-geospatial-truth-sets/
 
 
 
 
 

Embracing Open-Source Geospatial Technology is easy as an individual but what if you want your organization to use FOSS4G
How do you get strategic buy-in?
It turns out that the software does not sell itself and that even in the age of AI we still have to convince a human if we want organizational change to to happen. 
I think the temptation is to say hey look at this long list of specifications and notice how FOSS4G is often better or equal to the close source equivalent. 
Or hey look at the price tag … it costs nothing which is way cheaper than this other thing which costs more than nothing.
While this might be all the argumentation you need in some cases … in general, making change happen is hard,  and it's going to require more than that. 
That's why I have invited Todd Barr back on the podcast to walk us through what it takes to get an organization to Embrace Open-Source Geospatial Technology.
 
Here are a few of the key points
Getting buy-in for open-source software and addressing concerns about security and IP protection
Perspectives of External and internal stakeholders on open-source Software
Importance of collaboration, empathy, and understanding in decision-making and stakeholder management
Challenges of implementing open source technology in a corporate environment
Benefits of using open source solutions, such as faster analysis, increased stability, and flexibility for innovation
Accessibility and support in open source communities, including direct interaction with developers and availability of external consultants
Customization and development work required for creating vertical solutions with open-source components
Finding skilled developers and training them in geospatial technology
Cost-saving advantages of open source technology in cloud computing
Leading arguments for implementing open source software: cost savings and freedom to modify and customize
Advocacy for supporting and integrating with the open source community.

The last time Todd was on the podcast we talked about Leadership and Mentorship in the Geospatial community
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/skills-leadership-mentorship-and-the-geospatial-community/
 
If you are interested in FOSS4G you might enjoy these previous episodes
 
A Business built on Open Source GIS
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/a-business-built-on-open-source-gis/
 
Monetizing an open-source geospatial project
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/monetizing-an-open-source-geospatial-project/
 
Or just scroll through the archive to find episodes about QGIS, PostGIS, Geoserver, Geonode, Python, and a bunch of other open-source projects
 
I could use some support! please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/MapScaping 
  

** Warning** Consuming this content may lead to educated opinions and or a better understanding of the future of location technology!
 
** Proceed with caution!! **
 
If are curious about any of the following topics this episode is for you!
 
Evolution of Positioning Systems  Terrestrial-based Positioning: The role of Wi-Fi positioning and the potential of 5G in positioning.
 
 Visual Positioning Systems (VPS)
 
GNSS Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites: The potential of LEO satellites in enhancing positioning and navigation.
 
Future of Positioning: Predictions and expectations for the future of navigation and positioning technologies.
 
Connect with Sandy on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-kennedy-569a6a4/
 
 
Recommended listening 
SBAS - Satellite-based augmentation system
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/satellite-based-augmentation-system-a-base-station-in-the-sky/
 
GNSS - past present and future
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/navigating-the-past-present-and-future-of-gnss/
 
Where does Goolge's blue dot come from
https://mapscaping.com/podcast/how-google-calculates-your-location/
 
On the personal front, I have just moved back to New Zealand after 13 years in Denmark. It has been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, hence the lack of published podcast episodes.