WiFi, Blogs & Video at GeoCommunity

I am sitting here uploading video instructions about getting connected at GeoCommunity. If you have a look at www.GeoCommunityLive.com you should be able to find the instructions.

If the technology and the bandwidth hold up we want to post video interview clips with the delegates and of course we hope to get some georants up there as well.

Bag stuffing is now underway. See you later

My name is Steven, I am a geoholic

Yes it is true, I am a geoholic. I love things geo and probably go a bit over the top (well maybe a lot over the top) in trying to preach geo as the answer to everything. Geo has kept me twittering, blogging and consumes much time and has from time to time even generated a bit of income.

For the last year since leaving MapInfo (or Pitney Towers as I affectionately call it) I have been suffering from a touch of withdrawal. Life has been good and I am working on some interesting projects but where has the hardcore geo been?

So thank you to AGI for inviting me to chair this year's GeoCommunity for the third and last time (yes this really is my last year, I have to kick the habit) - I am off to Stratford for 3 days of giscussions, geonetworking, georants, geobeers (or geolagavulins if that is your preference) and geofun. Hopefully this major fix of geo will not result in an overdose or even a geohangover and I will come back from Stratford cured and a reformed character (some chance).

Anyone else in the GeoCommunity got a confession they want to share?

You can follow GeoCommunity at www.GeoCommunityLive.com and on twitter by searching for #geocom (on Wednesday evening at 5.30 the georanters will be throwing digital tomatoes at #geosoap)

Free geobeers to lubricate georants at GeoCommunity

The generosity of AGI seems to be unlimited (well almost).

We have now got a load of chilled beers for the first people to turn up for the georants at the Soapbox, so make sure you get there early. The soapbox has a full program of speakers who will range from funny to thoughtful to outrageous (well that may be a matter of opinion in all three cases) add to that some geobeers and the opportunity to throw some digital tomatoes (twitter enabled mobile device needed) and it should be a great way to end the first day.

Don't think that the conference is only about georants - there will be over 70 presentations from distinguished figures in our community that will cover the issues of the day, the trends and possibilities that GI opens up and some of the best applications and case studies.

We will be live blogging and hopefully will have some videos being posted during the conference so even if you can't make it you should be able to follow what is going on. If you tweet search for the conference tag #GeoCom.

If you are coming to the conference I look forward to geochatting with you over a geobeer or even my personal favourite (please note) a geolagavulin.

See you in Stratford

Hopefully I will have written my welcome presentation and even put together my georant!

Bloggers are looking forward to GeoCommunity

Well at least the bloggers who are presenting are all looking forward to it.

Peter Batty is getting misty eyed at the thought of returning to the UK and speaking in the Bard's birthplace. Ed Parsons after flaming us a bit last year for being too introspective (possibly a little harsh but understandable) is coming back for another dose of GeoCommunity because of the GeoWeb stream that Chris Osborne is coordinating. Talking about Chris Osborne, he has a great offer on some of the remaining day tickets for #geomob members. Martin Daly author of the best titled paper of the year offers us a public service announcement Directions mag ran this article by me on the conference. John Fagan at Multimap couldn't resist giving us a plug as he is on the conference team and the Bing people joined in with this plug for the opportunity to win an XBox at the conference.

If you are coming to GeoCommunity I look forward to drinking a geobeer with you while having a GIScussion with you or even a georant (georants tend to take over after a few geobeers or even geolagavulins). If you haven't signed up yet, what are you waiting for? Get over to Chris Osborne's blog, join the #geomob and get a deal on a day pass or two.

Calling all georanters

There are still a couple of slots left on the GeoCommunity Soapbox for georanters.


Got something you want to get off your chest? Got a product or service you want to pitch? Got an idea that you want to test on a geoaudience?

If so you need to get on the Soapbox - 15 slides, 20 seconds each on autocue and an audience feeding back their approval and constructive suggestions online as you go - not for the faint hearted but it will be a lot of beer fuelled fun and a great warm up for the Black & White Party later that evening. Oh and we will film the whole thing and upload to youtube after the event.

Fancy it? Mail us at Soapbox

GeoCommunity is getting close

There are only 18 days left until we kick off GeoCommunity 09.

All of the residential passes have been sold but there are still some day passes available here and there are great deals on B&B if you want to stay over and come to the party.


Listening to the buzz that is building about the event I know we are going to have a great conference. The Geoweb stream will be outstanding if its chair Christopher Osborne can be believed and I know that several of the presenters are frantically honing their presentations as we speak and some experienced hands are getting a little edgy as they hype themselves up for their big moment.

I am trying not to think about needing to write my welcome address, plan the chairing of the plenaries, the keynotes and leading the panel discussion on "Privacy - Where do you care?" plus build my 15 slide deck for my georant on the soapbox entitled "My name is Steven and I am a Geoholic" (a good title - now I just need to fit some content to it). Don't worry there are over 70 other presenters at GeoCommunity so you wont have to listen to me if you don't want to.

There is a whole range of activity going on before the event if you are planning to come up on the Tuesday, geocaching, standards, environment, possibly some open street mapping, an oracle user group and of course the ice breaker, quiz and comedy.

If you haven't been to a GeoCommunity before - you don't know what you are missing. Come up to Stratford for a day or two, learn something, network with close to 600 geopeeps, have a few geobeers, throw a digital tomato at the georanters and have a geolly good time.

And here is a promise from me - If you haven't been to GeoCommunity before and you sign up between now and the 15th September and you are not convinced that it is the best geoevent in the UK come up to me at the conference and claim your free compensatory geobeer.

Don't leave it until the last minute though or you could be disappointed.