In his last editorial our publisher Durk Haarsma alerted you: “Stay tuned for more changes - always for the better, you can count on that - they’re on the way!” My signature underneath this editorial was one of the changes. But there are more to come. GIM will shortly be ready for the new decade. For the past ten years GIM has arrived at your door each month like a welcome, tried and trusted friend: knowledgeable, reliable and always bearing a sound message. It is both my desire and conviction that GIM retains this level of high-quality content. And, in my publisher’s words, you may count on that. However, as of 2009 you will find your GIM International has undergone a face-lift.

This new decade is one in which we will be seeking your opinion. As a reader of GIM International we consider you an expert in your field. We are looking for geomatics professionals who would like to share their experiences as a GIM blogger. You are invited to contribute your own articles and images and to let the world know what is moving you. Would you like to send something in for our GIM International website? If so, just let us know! We will compile an overview of our bloggers’ experiences for the magazine.

We on the editorial staff of GIM International see it as our duty to find out what is of interest to you. We have noticed that the GIM email Newsletter readers among you liked our news item on the first 50cm image from the GeoEye-1 satellite. Good news! This issue carries an exclusive interview with Mark Brender, GeoEye vice-president of communications and marketing. The particular image mentioned was collected on 7th October 2008, as the satellite moved north to south in a 681km orbit over the eastern seaboard of the USA. Ground sampling distance is the highest ever achieved by a commercial, permanent earth-observation satellite.

Or did you miss this news and now find your curiosity awakened regarding our weekly GIM email Newsletter? If so, feel free to subscribe at www.gim-international.com .
As this year creeps towards its end, we are well ahead with plans for the next. But how about you? Any good intentions to free up time in 2009 to attend a conference, trade-show or other geo-event? GIM International invites you to be the first to write a report on it for our website, and we’ll keep you posted with the best contributions.

All these new initiatives are aimed at keeping pace with developments in the geomatics business as they evolve all over the world. And ensuring that rather than peering over our shoulders our eyes are fixed firmly on the horizon. Along with my editorial manager Boukje Vreman and content manager Joost Boers, I look forward to hearing, seeing and reading your opinion.

Let us meet in 2009!