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Speaking of Writing . . .
I’m pleased to introduce myself to you as the new editor of
EOM. I look forward to weaving your input and my imprint into
these pages in the coming months. While much of my experience
lies in the online world (www.gismonitor.com), I can’t help
but be drawn to the convenience and allure of a shiny magazine
when I’m on the subway or during those long take-offs and landings
when “electronic devices must be stowed.” My hope is that EOM
in time will be your companion on those trips and also part
of that must-read pile on the side table, the breakroom shelves,
or the nightstand. I hope it will also be something you can
hand to your family and friends and say, “This magazine is about
what I do.”To that end, I’ll need to know a bit about you. To
encourage you to fill out our 14-question online reader survey,
we’ve got a terrific prize for one lucky winner: an MP3 player.
Five others will receive memory sticks. You’ll find the survey
at: www.eomonline.com/survey or click the survey link on the
main page. If you prefer you can simply send your thoughts and
suggestions to me at [email protected]. Thanks in advance
for your help.
That brings me to what I really want to write about: writing.
About eight years ago I learned I could write. I’d written before
that, of course, but a C in first year college English propelled
me to study other topics more seriously. But somehow, in 1996
at a CAD conference, I must have sent a vibe to the then editor
of one of the top CAD publications. She called me some weeks
later to ask me to pen an article about a topic with which I
had no familiarity. “You’re perfect!” she said. I thought she
was crazy, but clearly, she was not.
I’ve been thinking back on that episode and have determined
why she called me to write about raster to vector conversion:
when we met it was clear I had something to say. If I recall
correctly I’d raised issues related to coverage of GIS in her
publication. I was passionate about it and in retrospect that
was all she knew about me. These days I know that some very
high percentage of great non-fiction writing comes not from
“great writers,” but rather from those with passion about the
topic.
And, after some 15 years in the industry, I am well aware that
geospatial practitioners have a great deal of passion for what
they do: passion about the technology, about policy, about education,
about applying the tools to new questions and new geographies,
about making better maps and making better decisions. I challenge
you to document that passion and share it with others in this
publication. If you have a story to tell, let me know. If you
have an opinion and want to stand on a soapbox, let me know.
Together we can build a publication that reflects the energy
and excitement of this industry. And, one that keeps us entertained
on the plane.
Adena Schutzberg, Editor
Publisher’s Note
It is with great pride that we at GITC America introduce Adena
Schutzberg as the new editor of Earth Observation Magazine.
Adena, who has been serving and will continue to serve as editor
of our very popular sister publication GIS Monitor (a weekly
electronic newsletter www.gismonitor.com), brings with her an
intense passion for her work.
After studying chemistry and geography at the University of
Chicago and completing a master’s program in geography at Penn
State University, she went on to expand her professional skills
while working for Arthur D. Little’s Earth Science and Engineering
Unit. She followed this with an eight-year tenure at ESRI, where
she worked as an ArcCAD specialist in a variety of positions.
She subsequently opened ABS Consulting Group, where she honed
her technical writing skills and came to us as a consultant.
In the coming months, this magazine will begin to reflect Adena’s
passion for her work in this field, and, in fact, with this
first issue you’ll notice a change in our cover tag line. “Geospatial
Technologies in Your World” succinctly summarizes what you will
begin to discover in the pages that follow.
Please join us in welcoming Adena.
Respectfully,
Neil Sandler, Publisher
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