I started the year with a sense of renewal. By that, I mean that I had cataract surgery the first week of the year and I literally have a new vision for the future. This time last year, I was already down with bronchitis – the result of an unnamed respiratory illness that knocked me out for the whole month of January. I have asthma, so the recovery was slow and my running/fitness routine took a hit. I ran two 10K races in 2024 – both at a leisurely pace. That was it aside from a lot of time at the gym and doing breathing exercises.
In the War On Cubicle Body, the enemy mounted a strong counter-offensive. I was a little complacent, so I definitely backslid. That said, the work I had done the previous few years paid off in that the year wasn’t a complete reset. I’m setting up a modest race schedule for 2025, culminating in the 50th Marine Corps Marathon in October. If I start now, I’ll be ready.
While 2024 wasn’t great from a fitness standpoint, it went really well for my business. I had a better year than expected and was able to learn a lot about AI and its underlying technologies. I helped organize FedGeoDay, FOSS4G North America, and the inaugural DMV GIS Day. I also attended the Esri Federal GIS Conference in DC. Another highlight was being selected as an OSGEO Charter Member.
In a practical sense, helping with those events is great networking. The aforementioned AI work was direct result of working on FedGeoDay. My role organizing and helping with sponsorships gives me a chance to interact with the community in a meaningful way that aligns with my leadership goals. That’s the most effective business development I can think of for this one-person shop.
But beyond the practical benefits is the fact that the FOSS4G community writ large is generally welcoming and inviting. After six years in SaaS, I had been sort of removed from the community but they welcomed me in and made space. I couldn’t be more grateful. In 2025, I hope to ramp up my advocacy for open-source geospatial. There is a colloquial perception in geospatial that you are either open-source or you’re not. The reality is much more nuanced.
Many commercial geospatial tools (Yes, ArcGIS, but not only that.) use open-source components in their stacks. Many of the commercial vendors (Yes, Esri, but not only them.) support at least some of the open-source projects they use. There is always room for more support. As Paul Ramsey pointed out in his closing keynote at FOSS4GNA, a little support can go a long way, so I’m not necessarily advocating for those who currently provide support to dig deeper. Rather, I’d like to see more vendors and integrators recognize the value they are deriving from open-source, and integrate support into their budgets. I’m looking forward to helping out more with that in 2025.
It’s also time to think about growth. A couple of avenues have already presented themselves to me and I owe the people involved my attention. At one point in 2024, I realized I had said “yes” to about 1.5 too many things. I got a clear object lesson in the limits of how much I can support on my own. It’s time for a growth plan.
So growth and fitness, those are my goals for 2025. Let’s get going.
