GIS Blogs Sans-Conversation
Dave Bouman asked: Where’s the conversation? on GIS blogs. The result was one of the few conversations that I’ve seen in the GIS blog space.
I do believe that a conversation can take place on blogs. However, some threshold of comments and related posts are required over a period of time. A few comments don’t count.
Warning: Sweeping generalisations ahead.
A few people got close to providing satisfying explanations for the lack of conversation, including Stefan, Adena (see also Bill Thoen’s comment) and Allan. I don’t think it has anything to do with being blog savvy, the number of people involved, or “speaking” to a particular community.
I think it’s more simple than that. The topic needs to compel enough people to make the effort to write something in a public forum. i.e. Give their opinion, supply related facts, relay their own experience, agree or disagree.
Look at the post that started this conversation. Dave raised an issue that people had an opinion on. Conversation flowed. Value was added by thoughtful comments and follow on posts. (Often the value in a blog post is due more to the comments than the post itself.)
So why is conversation so sparse in the GIS blog world?
My theory is that it is to do with the nature of the industry and the work. Most GIS people are users of technology. Their primary goal is to convince the technology to do what they need it to do to get their job done. Nothing at all wrong with that, but it doesn’t offer up a lot of opportunity for blog conversations (other than vendor bashing). If you had to pick where you’d spend your time then forums offering peer support are probably of more interest. Also, as Stefan says, “GIS is relatively devoid of ideological turf wars”.
Contrast that with a field like software development. There are numerous ways of doing things. Many tools and platforms, all with different strengths and weaknesses. Projects with wildly differing constraints. Therefore, there’s room for a lot of opinion and sharing of experiences.
Not every blog post has to create a conversation. Posts that cover tips and tricks, case studies, and news items are all interesting. But, they are less likely to generate a conversation than a post on a subject that has room for the opinions of others.
Another issue is how many people actually know about the current state of GIS. I reckon that if they did, and then understood what's right around the corner, there'd be a whole lot of activity.
Your point about the 'community' being users for the most part is valid. There is also a sense of futility I feel out there because of the lack of enthusiasm from governmental agencies.
That seems like national political leadership lacking much understanding of the process or benefits of unlocking their data trove.
I think that boils down to seeing the 'killer app' that GE tried to be and WW could be.
That tied into something that makes the user experience directly relevant to their lives. We can't judge the apathy by the US consumer alone, since their main interest in GIS is traffic reports or mapping where to ride their trailbikes.
As the developing world comes online, they will drive a great deal of activity towards visualizing their world and exploring others, and making practical use of GIS right in the midst of an emergence of really interesting capabilities. As opposed to the ignorant hype surrounding the US consumer market, often touting a development that is irrational and feels like an invention was generated simply to make use of the tech, rather then being 'asked for' by end users.
The GIS blog community has opinions and desires and is working hard to create some really interesting times ahead. I'd imagine that they don't feel like blogging is going to solve their issues. On the other hand, I sense that if a 'crusade' were generated to make the 'killer app' and a steady stream of useful, informative visualizations and put into an organized location (see: exploreourpla.net) with some community backing, then you'd get a lot of people joining up to participate in the conversation about how to make it happen. The Open Source GIS world is energized and has produced some really great developments.
I hear cool things rumbling around for the consumers too. Unfortunately, I think it will be coming in a trickle from the military, to the movies, and then consumers will ask for it by name.
woozoom — 8 August 2006, 18:17