Jump-start 2009 GIS Day Planning More ways to participate in this worldwide event GIS enthusiasts around the world unite! Each year a shared interest in GIS technology is the basis for a global celebration called GIS Day. This year, GIS Day will be held Wednesday, November 18. Since 1998, GIS users have been sharing their passion for this technology with people in their community who know little or nothing about it. Map galleries, product demonstrations, presentations, training sessions, school assemblies, and geocaching events are all GIS Day activities. Here are a few suggestions to jumpstart 2009 GIS Day planning whether this will be the first GIS Day celebration or the eleventh annual event. GIS Day Has Jumped on the Social Media Bandwagon Follow GIS Day on social networks for realtime information on new GIS Day materials, recently added events, or quick tips and tricks. Learn interesting facts, get ideas for events, and find new materials on Twitter. n To follow GIS Day, search Twitter for the hashtag #gisday (www.twitter.com). n GIS Day also has a community on Facebook. Supporters upload photos and videos, share ideas, and participate in group discussions. Become a fan today (www.facebook. com). n View the 2009 GIS Day video, videos from years past, and new footage posted by fellow GIS Day participants at the GIS Day YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/ gisdaytv). Celebrating Can Be Cost Efficient You can educate others about GIS with little to no budget if you are creative. The GIS Day Web site (www.gisday.com) offers many materials to help with GIS Day planning efforts. Get event ideas from reading success stories on the GIS Day Web site. Here are two suggestions: n Give a GIS demonstration at a lunchtime brownbag forum for coworkers. n Host a virtual GIS Day event so participants can attend without leaving their offices. Get an Early Start Start by registering your event on the GIS Day Web site to make your event searchable to site visitors. For more information about GIS Day, visit www.gisday.com or e-mail gisday@esri. com. Learn from the Best Last year, nearly 1,000 organizations from more than 75 countries celebrated GIS Day. The San Juan County, Washington, GIS Department organized a successful GIS Day event for other county employees and the public. Attendees learned about sources of ready-to-use GIS data as well as low-cost GIS applications that could improve their current business practices. This event provided the perfect opportunity for the county to get feedback about its new interactive mapping application and publicize the county's new map book. Following a presentation, GIS staff answered questions, provided technical support, and demonstrated GIS applications. The day concluded with a seminar specifically for county employees that provided tips for improving workflow efficiency and accessing data quickly and easily. 60 ArcUser Fall 2009 www.esri.com