Geomob

This week's episode focuses on open tech, diversity, and inclusion as Petya Kangalova joins Steven. Petya is an Open Tech Advocate and works in Community Engagement at HOTOSM. Proving that you don’t need to have a degree in tech to make an impact, Petya explains there are many ways of getting involved even if you’re new to tech or mapping. Steven and Petya discuss the lack of diversity in tech and ponder how to change that. The first step, according to Petya is having an awareness of your privileges. Only then you can begin to work as an ally. While many focus on the lack of women in tech, it’s not only about gender inclusion but also being inclusive of those who may not have the same access or the language skills. Tune in to find out how HOT is contributing to diversifying and how you can be an ally too. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Joining Ed this week is Hannah Babineau from Data Appeal. Hannah explains how Data Appeal is processing and organising geospatial data for brands to use in marketing campaigns. Listen in as she explains the process of sorting through the vast amount of data and making it useful for clients such as Best Western and the Campari Group. Simplifying and democratising data is the mission, and there certainly is a lot to work. Hannah explains some use cases, how AI tech contributes, and how data literacy varies geographically. Tune in to learn which industries are at the forefront of utilising geographic data and who could benefit making better use of data. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.    

The European OpenStreetMap (OSM) community is having its biggest meeting - State of the Map Europe - next month in Antwerp, from November 10-12th, so Ed catches up with one of the organizers: Ben Abelshausen. Ben is not new to State of the Map, he has been a part of the OSM community for over 15 years and has organised State of the Map before. Ben fills us in on the Belgium OSM community. Ed and Ben exchange ideas on how to get a younger generation involved in not only mapping but also participating in organising these crucial networking events. This year the focus will be less on content and more on the social side of the conference so many chances for those who are looking to connect and networking with the OSM community to do so. Tune in to find out why you should come to Antwerp in November. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Steven shares his impressions from FOSS4G UK Local, and then Ed and Steven look back on recent Geomob events in London and Barcelona. We hope you can join us at an in-person Geomob in the near future. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Steven and Ed reflect on achieving the milestone of 200 episodes. They are joined by fellow geospatial podcaster Maxime Lenormand to discuss the challenge of endurance. As the saying goes: "Building is easy, maintaining is hard", a truism that particularly applies to the work of geospatial: the world never stops changing. Join us as discuss the challenge of long-running projects and plot the path forward.   Many thanks to all the podcast guests over the years, and especially to the listeners. We look forward to many more episodes. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

This week Steven chats with a special guest about the non-profit mapping organization PLACE. Denise McKenzie is a veteran in the geospatial community with over 20 years experience in the field. She returns to the podcast for the third time to explain why mapping data is so important in the modern digital ecosystem and how this startup is making a difference across the world. Tune in to find out how PLACE is fulfilling their mission to map the urban world, how they are funded, and which countries have already benefited from their work. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Do you like travelling off the beaten path? Joining Ed this week is Sascha Klement of Bareways. Offering a different approach to navigation, Bareways provides a highly customisable routing service. Find out how the service works, what they are doing differently than Google and other major players, and what technical challenges Bareways' creators face. The service is thriving with features such as weather routing, and Sascha is looking to add new members to the team. Tune in to find out more. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

This week's guest warrants an immediate visit to her website so you can look at the maps while you listen. Joining Steven is fantasy book, role play game, and computer game cartographer Chloe Bolland. A physicist by trade, Chloe explains how in her spare time she is able to combine her love of maps and games into a fun side hustle. Tune in to learn all about the latest projects for Chloe and which celebrity got commissioned her for a custom role play map. If you’re a Tolkien maps fan you’ll definitely want to check out Chloe’s work. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Ed welcomes a distinguished Geomob speaker to the podcast this week. Tim Fernando has won best speaker at Geomob London twice. One of those talks was about his travel journal service Esplorio. Esplorio is an app for those who don’t want to share their journeys with the entire internet universe, but still want to document and share with a few. The program allows you to record your trips automatically without draining battery with constant manual check ins. Tim is now looking for a new operator for the business, someone who sees the potential and the need to make it even bigger. Tune in to learn more aboue Esplorio, and what it takes to run the travel documenting service in a post pandemic world. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Ed and Steven take a break from summer break to chime in on some recent geonews. First up they consider the Overture dataset release, then the discussion turns to whether Apple Maps has improved and/or whether Google Maps has worsened.   Enjoy the break everyone and we hope to see you at Geomob events in September. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.