In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

Everyone in the geospatial industry should read this, If Mapping is So Big, Why Does GIS Feel So Small?

Brian Timoney offers another great article, which includes: "The continued presence of GIS database middleware in an era where SQL Server, Oracle, and Postgresql/PostGIS all come equipped with native spatial capabilities (the latter two handle raster) has important consequences. First, DBAs in IT want nothing to do with GIS implementations mediated by quirky middleware. [...] But let’s not kid ourselves: what ends up in the geodatabase is a fraction of an enterprise’s valuable spatial data. [...] When Google Earth and Google Maps stormed onto the scene, GIS professionals sniffed that it wasn’t “real GIS”. Of course, Google proved the masses didn’t mind that it wasn’t real GIS –whatever that was– and their basemaps and new easy-to-use file format KML led the web mapping revolution." I encourage you to read the full article.