After the launch of this broadband program in Bloomingdale, discussions began to arise to launch a similar program in the neighborhood of  Anacostia around the intersection of Martin Luther King and Good Hope in Southwest DC. I was fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity to become part of this discussion to launch a wifi program in Anacostia. When I was approached about the project I began to think how we could integrate GIS into this project to help identify potential broadband broadcasting locations for the free service.  As GIS became a key part in the planning process for this project I began think about what information we needed to map to provide the community with optimal information to roll the project out quickly and find the perfect infrastructure locations. Working closely with members of the Anacostia community and the District of Columbia we decided to developed an online map at ArcGIS.com that community members could populate with information about community resources such as schools, libraries, churches, community centers, commercial districts, building complexes, etc. to help identify an ideal location to broadcast the broadband service from. Engineers could also access the maps to look at LIDAR data the District had collected to identify building locations that had elevation levels desirable to broadcast service from that had optimal line of sights. ArcGIS.com is GIS data sharing site that allows you to share maps created in GIS with personnel who are unfamiliar with using GIS or don’t have the software. ArcGIS.com allows you to view the maps online (with an interface similar to google maps) and add points, notes and all information they wish to see added to the maps in a very user-friendly format. Utilizing ArcGIS.com was the quickest way we could execute this project as we were able to utilize all existing GIS data on the city that had been uploaded to ArcGIS.com. We found that all the information we needed already existed in the ArGIS.com database. Thus, there was no need for additional data collection.

Upon brainstorming techniques of how the public would populate the map in ArcGIS.com by using the Map Notes tool, we analysed the quirks of the program and looked at potential problems that we may encounter as people begin to populate the maps with comments. Ideally we wanted to create a user group where people could individually log in (as an individual user) and submit their comments.  We ran into a problem when making comments as individual users using Map Notes. When creating notes by logging in as ourselves to ArcGIS.com the comments we made in the map would save locally to that particular user. This meaning that only I could see my notes that I made to the map for example, and people I shared the map with could not see my notes. Has anyone else encountered this before? As a result we decided to create a new (generic) user that everyone would have access to and be able to insert comments to the map. This way all the comments would appear on one map in one place.

Our goal here was to establish the best and easiest practice of sharing information about the community and get feedback from members of the community through interactive mapping. We hope that this process will set an example and motivate other communities in Washington, DC as well as around the country to develop free wireless and wifi broadband coverage programs in neighborhoods to strengthen economic growth for struggling businesses and improve the lives of individuals who are not fortunate enough to have internet services.

I have found that by making this switch to a complete cloud computing environment has proved to be successful for the most part.  Google Apps are very user-friendly and very easy to set up. I found that being able to cloud compute not only made it easier to share files (by emailing a link to the documents instead of large attachments) with my clients but it also saved a ton of space on my hard drive. The files were saved on a Google server instead of being stored locally on my computer. From a communications standpoint I think it improves business drastically. One of nicest features in Google Apps is the GChat function (Google’s version of AOL instant messenger). GChat is embedded in your Google email (GMail) where you can chat with coworkers to ask quick questions without having to pick up a phone. This is a great feature for those people who are communicating in different offices or long distance or getting a hold of someone for a quick question if they are on a conference call for example. Its helped me to cut down on my phone bills to get quick answers from clients on projects. I have also found it to be very efficient in improving production time for my business. As Google Docs is compatible with Microsoft Excel, Word and Adobe, allowing you to upload Excel and Word files to Google Docs and download the documents into an XLS, DOC and PDF format. For me, I have found Google Docs useful to share basic GIS attribute data and PDF versions of GIS maps with clients safely and securely.

Though Google Apps cane make it easier to share information, communicate more efficiently and is compatible with MS programs, there are functionalities that are missing with Google Apps that Microsoft has an advantage over in their applications. Google Docs tables can be described as more “watered down” version of Microsoft Excel and Word meaning that its functions are limited for formatting and calculations. If you are a person that uses complex calculations and formulas in an excel spreadsheet or elaborate templates in Word, Google Docs may not be the best fit for you. It will be more difficult to compose a data table with complex calculations in Google Docs. 

In the end I think going Google Apps is a great idea for small businesses or independent contractors for sharing Word files as well as basic data Excel files that don’t rely on many functions or heavy complex calculations as well as for communications (such as GIS attribute data). If you are working in accounting I would not recommend it. Google Apps is free for a basic version which I have been using, and is available for an affordable price for the deluxe version. The cost savings advantage here is another incentive to go Google. Finally, a really great aspect about Google Apps is that all information is accessible anywhere you go. If you have a mobile office like me and work on multiple computers this is great because all you have to do is type in the web address, log in and everything is right there (email, messaging, and documents), no fussy complex connections. Thus, I have decided to go forth and continue my operations using Google Apps to handle communications, and data sharing with clients.

More to come…

http://www.geometryit.com/index.php/igis

http://thenewwaveplanner.com/post/116950256/maintenance-concern-in-san-francisco-tweet-sf311

http://airportmagazine.net/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/arts/design/07buzz.html?_r=1&ref=design&pagewanted=all