What is the best way to explain GIS to someone who is unfamiliar with it?

As I have had some experiences in this case; I start by asking them a question, what do you want to control and manage that are related to their geographic locations by considering to save the time and cost in that case?! Next try to take the examples they wish... after a short time you find yourself explaining the model and the databases for them... finally they can understand: GIS is a collection of Hardware, Software and experts that are trying to capture, collect, standardize, arrange, analyze, model, and map the data those have the digital number of geographic location; and eventually, displaying the result in an easy understanding platform and very user friendly environment to users to make an optimal decision in what case they wish..

Wait?! So it’s not just “Google Earth on Steroids?!” ?? Seriously though, I have used this explanation for years. It’s relatable and simple.

Explaining Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to someone unfamiliar with it involves breaking down the concept in simple terms and emphasizing its practical applications. So, simply put, GIS is a technology that helps us understand and visualize data in relation to locations on the Earth's surface. It deals with spatial data, which means information tied to specific locations which could be anything from the location of cities, roads, and rivers to more complex data like temperature, population, or land use. At its core, GIS is like an advanced mapping tool which allows us to create, analyze, and interpret maps. However, it goes beyond traditional maps by layering different types of information on top of each other.

If we want to explain someone what 'GIS' is or why it is important? We must say 'GIS' is the eye of this technological era; because without it, just like our eyes, we could definitely hear, sense or somehow understand something but can not see anything. GIS is all about "geo-spatial" information or the data related to location. It will give you exact visualization/information about 'where' you are working in or talking about. For ease of understanding, we could easily comment that without GIS, your booked taxi from Uber, Ola, etc. or your favorite food could not able to reach you in fastest time through partners like Zomato or Swiggy. I believe it will clear all the doubts of the individuals who are not familiar with the term 'GIS'

To non GIS audience, GIS is the science of WHERE or GIS is the technology behind Google Maps. It helps you determine your itinerary from starting point to the destination, the nearest bakeries, the spreading of COVID in your neighborhood... It has many applications fields in private or public sector.

In various fields, one common thread emerges: the imperative to map and monitor diverse areas to glean comprehensive insights into their conditions and statuses. This encompasses a wide spectrum, ranging from climate changes to anthropogenic actions and beyond. The goal is to gather extensive information that sheds light on the intricate dynamics of these targets.

Uma grande vantagem dos SIGs é a possibilidade de compreender as dinamicas de uma regi?o sem necessariamente ir ao campo. Isso abre infinitas portas e tornam essas ferramentas poderosos recursos de auxílio para a resolu??o de problemas, das mais variadas ordens.

GIS helps you solve problems. Everything has a location. Things closer to you matters more. GIS can help you know what you don't know and make better decisions and quickly solve your problems.

GIS can help you understand the world better and can aid in solving the major challenges and problems of the world including complex issues. GIS is used in almost everything. With urban planning to disaster management to cybersecurity to environmental management and more, GIS is used in almost every sector. GIS is important because it helps us visualise and understand data patterns and relationships to make better decisions on the data available. It can help to communicate effectively and help us identify problems using effective maps, charts, graphs and interactive dashboards. It helps in emergency response, resource management and conservation, wildlife management and control and in a lot of other sectors of our country.

GIS provides insights that general statistics or general relational querying does not because it takes into account the role of spatial concepts such as distance, direction, connectivity, and topology. Lots of the data in our world today have spatial components, and those spatial components can unlock all kinds of insights from that data that are not being leveraged currently to the level that they should.

GIS works by gathering different pieces of information, like maps, data, and images, and putting them together in a way that makes sense. It's kind of like solving a puzzle, where each piece represents something about a place or location. Then, using special computer programs, we can analyze this information to find patterns, measure distances, or even predict what might happen in the future. It's a powerful tool for making sense of the world around us and finding smarter ways to do things.

Los objetivos básicos de un SIG son los siguientes: ? Consultar y analizar información a través de su representación espacial y sus atributos asociados ? Conocer el comportamiento espacial de los datos para resolver situaciones y problemas del mundo real. El SIG almacena información cartográfica digital, a la cual se anexa una información atributiva organizada mediante tablas. Los datos descriptivos recogidos en las tablas permiten realizar las consultas, análisis, gráficos e informes relativos a los datos espaciales.

Consider GIS as sophisticated digital mapping tools, comparable to an interactive simulation where you navigate through different locations to obtain specific information or solve spatial problems. This technology enables the integration of multiple layers of data, such as the application of overlays on a map to represent features such as waterways, infrastructure or educational establishments. It facilitates understanding of geographical positions and their interconnections, and supports critical decision-making processes such as urban development or utility network management, improving spatial analysis and planning efficiency.

GIS works based on these 4 things: Capturing of data, Storing of data, Analyzing the data and displaying the data in the form of maps or a graph. The map or graph can be interactive and can also be customised using different colours, symbols, legends and labels to highlight information of interest. GIS can also be used to perform complex calculations, such as measuring distance, finding alternative routes and many more. It is used to analyze the entire situation and guide us on what next steps to take to solve this situation. There are lot of sectors in which GIS is useful like, marketing and business, tourism, health, oil and gas, astronomy, etc.

GIS works with what you feed the system with(data) . Without data there isn't GIS. The more accurate your data , the more accurate your analysis.

GIS is the science behind the location of things. It can be small things such a pin ?? or big things such as a mountain. GIS allows to you document their position, movement, features and changes over time, etc. UBER is a GIS enabled business monitoring the movement of passengers and vehicles and the associated relationship.

The simplest example would be; the framework behind the navigation systems. We use GIS systems to move from one space to another given distance and directions and more often time as well (spatial relationships)

GIS can be implemented in several areas. Some of them are listed below as an application: 1. Coastline analysis (changing in the coastline over decades) 2. Appropriate Agent-Customer allocation for all insurance and banking sector industry 3. Forest fire analysis (over decades) 4. Flood analysis (using the satellite data at any instant of time) I have personally worked on point 1 and point 2 where the data can be gathered from client or satellite image and analysis can be done on any paid or open source software.

Um exemplo de aplica??o de um SIG é a análise e identifica??o dos melhores locais para iniciar ou abrir uma determinada empresa, de acordo com o público alvo do empreendimento, atividade essa demominada Geomarketing.

Some examples of GIS applications are as follows: 1. GIS can help to enhance tourism and the experience of tourists. It can create a list of attractions and services that can be provided to them. GIS can also help to create interactive maps to help the tourists understand and plan their trips and discover new places. 2. GIS can help understand the universe. It can help collect astronomical data from satellites. It can aid in visualising and analysing spatial patterns of astronomical objects and their behaviours. It can create a 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy and show its composition to find out how it is behaving. 3. It can help prevent natural disasters. It can provide us with data on floods, earthquakes, wildfires, etc to analyse.

One should know the basics of ArcGIS and QGIS software if you want to do a career in GIS. As a tool there are tons of tools but most used and favorite tools are below: 1. Cartography 2. Buffer 3. Select by location/ attributes 4. Projection 5. Point Clustering 6. Interpolation 7. Raster Calculator 8. Reclassification 9. Zonal Statistics 10. Overlay Analysis tools Still there are many tools that are used on a frequent basis in GIS depending on the project and domain you are working on.

As ferramentas do ArcGIS online s?o muito úteis para os nossos projetos de campo e de escritório. Elas nos permitem coletar e analisar dados de forma eficiente e confiável, além de gerar relatórios e mapas de qualidade para os nossos clientes. No entanto, n?o basta apenas usar as ferramentas, é preciso saber como elas funcionam. Por isso, o profissional que trabalha com GIS deve ter conhecimento amplo, principalmente em banco de dados.

Technical Proficiency: Mastery of GIS software such as ArcGIS, QGIS, or Google Earth Engine. Analytical Skill: The ability to interpret spatial data and extract meaningful insights. Cartographic Expertise: Understanding map design principles for clear and effective communication.

El manejo de GIS implica la utilización de habilidades y herramientas específicas para capturar, analizar, visualizar y gestionar datos geoespaciales: 1.Comprensión Geoespacial, familiaridad con conceptos geográficos como coordenadas, proyecciones y topología. 2.Análisis Espacial, uso de herramientas para modelar y analizar fenómenos geográficos. 3.Gestión de Bases de Datos Espaciales, competencia en el manejo de bases de datos espaciales (Sistemas de Gestión de Bases de Datos Geográficos - SGBD-G) como PostgreSQL/PostGIS. 4. Programación (Opcional), conocimiento de lenguajes de programación como Python o R para automatizar procesos y personalizar análisis. No es obligatorio pero sin duda saber programar te evitara perder tiempo.

Some skills and tools for GIS are cartography, spatial analysis, data management, programming and scripting, visualisation and communication, remote sensing, web GIS, Geostatistics, Geovisualization, Spatial Database Management Systems and many more.

Learning GIS involves various avenues. Enroll in online or in-person courses, certifications, or workshops. Read books, articles, and blogs on GIS concepts and best practices. Join online communities, forums, or local groups of GIS enthusiasts. Participate in events like webinars, conferences, and hackathons. Hands-on exploration of GIS projects and data further enhances your understanding.

The best way to introduce the field of GIS to an unfamiliar person is firstly: 1. By introducing the Definition of terms of what GIS is all about. 2. providing a practical session of what GIS can do or performs and 3. given a demo of the application of GIS to study area or field. In summary: it include Learning with peers, join a community/ community engagement and networking with GIS experts.

A practical way to start is by tackling a personal project. For instance, I am interested in addressing an issue like the risk of flooding caused by a river near the city. Even without prior experience in GIS, I can develop a structured learning plan, identifying the topics and tools needed to approach the project and attempt to find a solution to the stated problem. Even if I don't manage to find a solution, working on a project that interests me will allow me to easily adapt to GIS during the process and avoid the frustration of following video tutorials without understanding their practical application.

There are many options to learn more about GIS technology: 1/ Websites and blogs (Esri, Geography realm) 2/ YouTube 3/ Books 4/ Newsletters 5/ Online courses and MOOCs 6/ Webinars 7/ Conferences In the process of learning, we have to stay updated because there are always novelties to discover in GIS

Take first an on site course. Meet people with same ambitions. Then go to online courses, certifications. Take part in conferences as it will expand your vision.

The power of GIS comes from the power of Geography. Geography is an integrative science - it borrows from other sciences (e.g. geology, biology, history, sociology) and looks at problems through this compound lens of knowledge. Likewise, a GIS is a fantastic integrative system. It combines capabilities found in analytics, visualization, data science and many others and provides a unique perspective that organizations can apply to solving virtually all of their operational challenges. This is why when other types of systems "add a map" they're not truly a GIS. Just adding a spatial data type to a database is not GIS. Just adding a map chart to a dashboard is not GIS. It's a GIS when you apply a multi-faceted geographic approach.

GIS is like a high-tech map puzzle, where each piece represents real-world data, helping us solve complex spatial problems. Imagine a digital canvas where we paint with data, revealing patterns and stories about our world through geography. Think of GIS as a time machine, visualizing the past, analyzing the present, and predicting future spatial trends. GIS combines the art of mapping with the power of data analysis, turning abstract numbers into visual, easy-to-understand stories. It's a tool that layers information about places, like a sandwich, to uncover hidden connections and insights about our world.

It has always been a struggle for friends and family to fully understand my career. The most success I have found is sharing the Esri User Conference Planery Session - within the first hour, numerous projects across various industries and throughout the world are briefly shown. It gives great insight to the capabilities and use-cases of GIS software.

In my opinion, we need to try and error with the application process during analysis in GIS. At the same time, we can familiarise with the function in GIS; learn and improvise our hands on skills to solve those problems.

1. Keep exploring: GIS is like a treasure hunt. The more you explore, the more you discover. 2. Try it out: Apply GIS to things you're interested in. It's the best way to learn and have fun. 3. Connect with others: Share your GIS adventures and connect with people who love maps and data as much as you do.