May 15, 2018: Cartography. MOOC Ask Me Anything (AMA)

CandaceLoya · ‎04-30-2018

Live Today! AMA Event on GeoNet

Tuesday, May 15, 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (PDT)

Join our Cartography. MOOC guests here on the GeoNet Community for a LIVE AMA (Ask Me Anything) event. The AMA will take place in this discussion thread on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (PDT).

*Click HERE to convert exact time for different countries.

This is an opportunity to ask our guests questions about the Cartography. MOOC course, about cartography in general, great maps, best practices or anything else that comes to mind.

AMA Guests

Ken Field

John Nelson‌

Wesley Jones‌

Nathan Shephard‌

Edie Punt‌

Craig Williams‌

How does the AMA work?
During the AMA, you can post your questions by clicking  the "Add Reply" button below and our guests will reply to your questions in comments. You are welcome to post questions ahead of the AMA and they will answer them during the AMA.

 Please note: You must be logged in to post questions and see responses. See instructions 
on How to Log into GeoNet for the AMA. 

AMA Tips and GeoNet Community Guidelines
When asking questions and comments during the AMA, remember to follow the GeoNet Community Guiding Principles‌: Be Helpful, Be Human, Be Smart.
This discussion page will not auto-refresh, so please remember to refresh this page to see new questions, comments and replies.       
                    
                    
                               
 Please note: The AMA will be live when you see a picture of our guests below.

We are live!

9:30 a.m. - And we're live! Go ahead and ask your questions!

9:45 a.m. - If you are just joining us, feel free to ask any question.

10:00 a.m. - We're halfway through, Great questions! Keep them coming!

10:15 a.m. - If you are just joining us, feel free to ask any question.

10:25 a.m. - Five minutes to go! Got any fun questions for our Guests?

10:30 a.m. - And that's a wrap! The live AMA has ended with our wonderful Cartography. MOOC Guests.

Thank you for your questions and participation.

The thread has shifted to a time-stamp view. To view the threads in their entirety, you can select the Actions above the right corner of the discussion thread and select View PDF.

WillBegley · ‎05-15-2018

Thank you! Both your response and Ken's are exactly what I needed to hear. I use my time to do what I do at work but in my free time or afterwork, I don't use it to build my portfolio like I should.

The idea to contact the map maker themselves is smart. That honestly makes sense.

Again thank you guys for the encouragement.

KenField · ‎05-15-2018

Really, I would just keep making maps, learning new techniques and working out how to make them. Learn what works, what doesn't. See what sorts of maps are out in the big world and try and replicate them. that way, you build your experience, you learn what is better and what is poorer and your personal portfolio grows at the same time.

WesleyJones1 · ‎05-15-2018

1. One way to make things feel less repetitive is to see if you can start up any of your own projects that you have a passion for. Can you carve out 30mins to do that project that inspires you. Because when you are doing something that inspires you you will naturally want to do it and you will see your skills leap forward.

2. Take courses like this one. But I think it is key to do a project - at home or at work. Suggestion: Do small projects first. If you start too big it is easy to get deflated. Do something that is a two week project to start.

WillBegley · ‎05-15-2018

That is a good idea. I have done a few things here at work that I got to do myself and make it my own and the only person who really needs to be pleased with it is myself. You are right saying that when is it something that inspires me, it goes well and I get to be as creative as I want.

Thanks!

JohnMNelson · ‎05-15-2018

I think that's the best way forward sometimes. It was for me. I was working at a software company that had maps and stuff but I hadn't made a map in like 8 years. So I just started doing it and it all sort of took on a life of its own. Have fun!

EdiePunt · ‎05-15-2018

I answered a similar question elsewhere in this forum, but keep an eye out for skills that don't seem cartography-related. These include graphic design (page composition), typography, color theory, statistics...

Also, as others said... find maps that resonate with you-- even if they are old. Take a long hard look and try to figure out what makes it work. Is it the colors? The typefaces? The way the numeric data is presented? Then do what you can to replicate it as closely as possible.

Edie

ZackaryKing · ‎05-15-2018

I definitely understand your predicament Will. I used to make maps for an Archaeology consultant that thought cartography was based on a strict set of rules and allowed for no variation on it.

I ended up automating as much of the process as I could using scripts, layer files and templates and then used the extra time to find new data sets and explore new techniques for making maps that hopefully someone would appreciate. It allowed me to be available for special more interesting projects that would come up while the other GIS Techs were bogged down in their day to day tasks, which they seemed to be comfortable and happy with.

I saw blogging mentioned in one of the topic above. I think something like that might help get out of a rut.

Maybe there is a place online where people can share maps or ideas? An instagram for cartographers maybe?

EdiePunt · ‎05-15-2018

Zachary,
yes, there is such a place for exactly that, sharing maps and ideas. Take a look:
https://community.esri.com/groups/map-advice

Edie

Anonymous User · ‎05-15-2018

Hello all,

Myself and two coworkers started a GIS Power Users Group (GISPUG for short..) in our department. The GIS Power Users meet quarterly to share projects we're working on, new products we are using or just general GIS tips and tricks! This month our GISPUG topic is ArcGIS Pro. A few of us will be demonstrating our experiences in Pro and encouraging others to join the bandwagon! What are some of your favorite features/ abilities/ structures/ etc. of using ArcGIS Pro vs ArcMap to show off that would help us to pull more users over to the Pro-side? Thanks!

JohnMNelson · ‎05-15-2018

Cool, Samantha!

My favorite feature of Pro is, hands-down, the mega support for transparency. Item-level transparency to clustered features appear denser, and even transparency within gradients. So many cool things to be done. So many. Play with the color scheme editor and get ready to live.