The Everyday GIS User in You

GIS technology isn’t just for the firefighters and the business owners. It also isn’t a new fancy technology. In fact, you are probably using GIS technology in your everyday life, if not many times a day. Don’t believe us? Here are just a few ways you’ve probably used it.

Looking to buy or rent a new home? Those phone apps are so convenient- you just open up the map, choose the specific location, and it shows all of the homes along with data about their prices right there in one visual spot. In some cases, it even color coordinates the icon for each home depending on if it is for sale, pending, or closed. Surprise! You just engaged with GIS. All the data, one spot. Easy and interactive.

What about when you are on vacation, or driving somewhere new? Do you ever utilize maps on your phone to locate the nearest gas station or coffee shop? You’re utilizing GIS! Here, the map goes beyond just a map. Instead, it offers extra information such as names of businesses, color coordinated by type of business. There’s also another layer- do you know how those roads turn red when there’s traffic? That’s all data, corroborated into one spot on one visual map. As vehicles (with smart phones) travel roads, data collection assesses how quickly the sets of cars are moving- establishing when there is a significant hold up on roads according to their speed limit. Which reminds us- when you’re using that GPS and it tells you the speed limit for that road? GIS.

The help that comes if you are ever in an emergency? They depend on GIS.

Google Earth- where you probably have looked up your own home on multiple occasions? GIS.

Are you a social media person? Do you find it amazing when you take a selfie and upload it to social media and it suggest your location? Be amazed no more- it’s GIS!

Marketing professionals use GIS as well. Do you ever feel like your internet knows exactly what you’re looking for or exactly what is happening around you? In some ways, they do. Marketing professionals use GIS to analyze data of potential consumers. By looking at purchasing data, location data, search data, and a lot more- they can establish what they should be putting out to you and when.

GIS is going beyond maps. It’s information. It’s data. It’s interactive. And, it’s meaningful. Information, correlated with geography- that’s GIS.