Getting Out There
Spatial and Community
When I stepped out on my own at the start of 2023, I knew I wanted to get closer to my geospatial roots. I had spent the previous few years in a classic CIO role - responsible for things like compliance, endpoint/fleet management, and maintenance of the business systems portfolio. In short, not a lot of spatial.
I was lucky that I had outreach from people who knew what I could do and I was able to hit the ground running with revenue-generating work - and a lot of it was spatial so I started feeling comfortable again. In early 2023, I learned that the FOSS4G North America (FOSS4GNA) conference - focused on open-source geospatial technologies and workflows - was happening practically in my backyard in Baltimore, Maryland. I decided to get involved in organizing it. I had never done that before, so I was excited for the learning opportunity.
In retrospect, it was probably the single best decision I’ve made since I started my venture. There were, of course, concrete business benefits - I have gotten a couple of paid engagements for interesting work as a result of my connection to FOSS4GNA 2023 and subsequent events - but that’s not the primary reason. It gave me a chance to connect and reconnect with people I had known for years and some whom I met during the process. Refreshing those connections was a good outcome.
The experience also gave me an opportunity to work with many of them directly for the first time and to work with them in a meaningful way, trying to accomplish a specific goal. “Community” is an important concept in the open-source world and the FOSS4GNA community made it clear that there was a place for me and that I belonged. That was an important message for me.
I have since helped organize FedGeoDay 2024 and am helping to organize FOSS4GNA 2024 and FedGeoDay 2025. Being connected with these events has helped me see what other companies and individuals are doing and helped me jump start my understanding of the state of the art in the geospatial vertical.
As a one-person shop, being involved with these events has been the most effective “networking” I could have. More importantly, because I use open-source geospatial tools in all of my work - often alongside proprietary tools - it’s a way I can give back and support the community that supports me.
We all hear a lot of advice to “get out there” and “network.” A lot of advice centers around being active on social media and cultivating your “personal brand.” As a professional, it’s important to be known, but there are a lot of ways to do that so find one that works for you. I am helping with events, but you can also contribute to open-source projects (which doesn’t always have to be code), or do other things that can help you establish your professional reputation and credibility without always needing to have a bullhorn turned up to max volume.
Get out there. But do it your way.
Hi you look handsome