ACSM Bulletin, April 2011, Number 250

Promoting Advancement in Surveying and Mapping


INBOX


ADVOCACY

  • JGAC report: 2011 on the Hill

BRIEFING

  • Improved HTDP utility; Intellroute GPS; Field-to-finish control; Extending the rod; Google search; Competency model; iWare apps; Hubble spots; Mapping aid projects; NFCU adopts GIS; 2010 center of population; NOAA's new HQ


CASE STUDIES

  • GeoEye Foundation: Monitoring shorelines from space
  • ALTA Land Title Survey: Violations, Encroachment, and Variations
  • An Eye on Earth: UAV knowledge and echnology
  • Ask Vic! Unwritten standards


COMMENTARY

  • The Savvy Surveyor: Diversity in surveying and mapping
  • Geodesy: As told by a former Coast surveyor


TECH BRIEFS

  • Rewriting legal descriptions
  • A Mayan prophesy?


COMMENTARY

  • The Savvy Surveyor: Diversity in surveying and mapping
  • Geodesy: As told by a former Coast Surveyor




 

ACSM Bulletin | April 2011 | #250

Editor's Desk: The brave new world of e-publishing

by Ilse Genovese

For many, the Internet is synonymous with web browsing, e-mail, and chat. But, the Internet and, IP-based networks in general, are also the foundation for a host of commercial services with significant impact on our daily lives. Many of us shop, net-bank, and search online for government services ranging from education to health care. Behind all this activity is cloud computing. In parallel, ever since mobile wireless devices made their appearance, the way people collect, contribute, and consume information has dramatically changed. A quote from a recent conference devoted to the future of publishing summarizes this latest heady development in the Age of Information:
"Thousands of new technology sparks have ignited the primordial stew of words and data that for millennia was the tightly contained world of publishing. Post Bang, countless fleeting and elusive new publishing components are colliding, creating new publishing elements and systems, some fleeting and dying as soon as they appear, others gaining momentum and racing outward at electrifying speed."
Various new technology sparks have solidified into web and mobile "e-publishing" platforms which encourage personalized engagement with published content and, consequently, an altogether new way of informing and educating different audiences.
With our much improved digital edition of the ACSM Bulletin, which officially joins the new e-publishing media with this edition, we aim to form long-lasting partnerships with our readers, wherever they may be, through the cloud, with their IP addresses or e-mails, and their iPhones and iPads.