Changing

Developments in geo-technology move almost faster than the speed of light, and as a consequence over the past few years the daily work of surveyors and adjacent professions has been changing dramatically. This is roughly how I embarked on my first editorial for GIM International , nearly four years ago. Back then I wrote of my surprise at the importance of geospatial data in the day-to-day life of citizens all over the world, while most had not a clue it was there. I was, according to my own words at the time, stunned at the techniques and the pace at which they were being developed.

Four years on, and I am no longer surprised. I’ve got used to it. But still I am amazed at the growing role of geospatial data in daily life. Take for instance the rising star of Google Earth and it’s applications. Or the way within just a few years car navigation has become a commodity, first as those black boxes you had to put on top of the dashboard, but nowadays built in, in mobile phones. And look at the big help geodata has been in responding to disasters like the tsunami in Asia, Hurricane Katrina, Cyclone Nargis and the recent earthquake in China.

Imagine the mass of research and development that has taken place within the field, behind the scenes, hidden from public view yet the focus of intense interest for the small group of geo-professionals. This R&D is what we want to share with you in the content of GIM International . Over the last four years we have built and remodelled the journal from simply a printed publication into a multi-channel platform. As a regular reader you are updated not only via the magazine, but also through our weekly e-newsletter and daily on the website at www.gim-international.com. We will continue to pursue this course, trying to connect not only with your needs in terms of professional information, but also in the ways in which you prefer to consume it.

In almost four years of writing editorials for GIM International I have never repeated a headline. So this a first, and it’s because this piece is also the last I will be writing for this page. Our next issue will carry a new signature at the end of the editorial. What will not be changing is my own role as publisher. So I continue to look forward to meeting you wherever you are, all over the globe, to discuss our field of business and try to translate these talks into a GIM International that develops in line with your professional needs. Stay tuned for more changes - always for the better, you can count on that - they’re on the way!

Durk Haarsma, publisher, durk.haarsma@reedbusiness.nl