Happy GIS Day!

GIS Day is always celebrated on Wednesday during Geography Awareness Week (the third week of November), and this year it’s today, November 20. For some of us, GIS Day is every day, because we use the technology all the time. For everyone else, the reminder is good, because Geospatial technology is everywhere these days: on our phones and tablets, our computers, and even in the news. Not everyone is aware of its pervasiveness, reach, and possible uses, but every bit of press helps.

The interactive maps you see in news reports often have a GIS operating in the background, whether it’s ArcGIS Online, Google Maps, MapBox, TileMill, or ‘other’ (sorry if I left your favorite technology off this list – it’s not meant to be exhaustive). A cool recent example of one of these ‘story maps’ may be found at the Wall Street Journal web site, and deals with nuclear waste cleanup.

Enjoy!