Thoughts - "Does any GIS staff has experience with many types of visual analysis, can you tell me about some who can help us?"
"Does any GIS staff has experience with many types of visual analysis, can you tell me about some who can help us?" - Post from an Anonymous Indian Reader
I read this post to my wife. Upon completion, she said, "I don't get it! What are you trying to say?" "First the question doesn't make any sense and second your answer seems vague."
First - The question was posed by an English speaker and included poor grammar.
Second - More information from the commenter is required before a definitive answer can be given by the commentee.
Now, on with the original post. I personally think it reads well. At times, it tends toward the poetic, but basically it says "I need more information!". _______________________________________________
These are the words every blogger longs to hear, "...SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP US". And of course that someone who can help is you. Even though visual analysis sounds like something we all are quite proficient at...I mean, I study Google Earth's HiRes imagery. I can identify types of aircraft, types and sizes of automobiles and even landcover becomes a target for my keen visual skills. However, you professional visual analysts working at CIA, NSA and the Pentagon who locate potential targets in battlefields chuckle to yourself and say "This guy is in over his head. The skill required in visual analysis takes years to develop. Tish! Tish! Silly man!". Still others, typically connected with the "publish or perish" research community and using cool things like spectral analysis or Band 1-5 analysis do their own chuckle and say "This guy is in over his head. The software required to conduct serious visual analysis takes lots of dollars to purchase and years to master. Tish! Tish! Silly man!". And I say, "You are both right!" I cannot identify battlefield targets and do not have loads of dollars to purchase software or the years of expertise to accomplish "publish or perish" quality research. But you are wrong as well. So Tish! Tish! right back at you. All of us pondering this viewer's plea for help truely have no idea what they are after.
I researched the time frame of the comment and found the person asking the question is from New Delhi, India. Their command of English grammar is limited, but their plea for "help" was clear. The link they used to browse my site was a non-corporate type. If I had any SPAM flowing through my viens, I could get back to the person using that link - but I am SPAM free. I am left with a somewhat cryptic question "Does any GIS staff has experience with many types of visual anaylsis, can you tell me about some who can help us?".
The entrepreneur in me wants to go for it! (Tish! Tish! Silly man!). The blogger in me wants to go for it! (Tish! Tish! Silly man!). The sane, amateur map-maker who has lots of experience at digitizing shorelines of islands along with a specific subset of layers of information (vegetation, reefs, roads, etc.) cautiously asks "What is it you are trying to do? What is your budget? Explain your project goals. I will either be able to offer my limited expertise or I will direct you to groups that might be able to offer assistance."
Now, that is what I would say if that person were to visit my site, read this post and then restate their question in a more complete, informative way. It also says legions about who I have become after two+ years of doing what I do. (Tish! Tish! You wise man!)
Enjoy!
