ArcMap Tutorial

This was my first in depth experience with ArcMap and it was challenging to say the least. At first, I was really excited to be working with ArcMap. It is an extremely useful tool, however it is intricate and somewhat tedious. I would say the hardest part for me was not ArcMap itself, but navigating through Virtual Labs and using a USB drive from home. The trickiest part is saving your map in same location as the data, due to the fact that if you don't, your map will come up pretty empty. This doesn't seem like a very difficult thing to do, but when you are using NetStorage and a USB drive, it can be quite confusing.

Perhaps it is because I am new to ArcMap, but it seems like one must do a thousand things to get the desired result - for instance a new road. Naturally, tutorials are confusing, however it felt like a lot of prep work had to be done to add a new feature or display data correctly. It was also confusing to be working with a tutorial for an older version of ArcMap, and more than once I had to look up on the internet how the differences played out. My skills with ArcMap are a work in progress, but I can see where there might disadvantage with having software that is not-so user friendly.

As stated in one of the readings provided for this class, privacy is a huge issue with GIS. With so much mapping technology and images available, one can wonder to what extent is my privacy inflicted upon? Or is it? Although GIS has been around for a little while now, and most companies and agencies use it, being able to map out trends and habits of people can seem to be an unfair disadvantage. Today, populations are being mapped out due to habits, opinions, and personal information. Maybe you don't want to be a part of that population being mapped out? Unless you're willing to do the research and digging to find such maps, you probably will never know how much of a statistic you are.

Another downfall to GIS is the ever evolving technology it uses. This can cost thousands for businesses to train and retrain their employees, but also a hassle for the employees themselves. Although the evolution can be positive, it can also be negative in this aspect. You may learn one version of a program and get to be fluent with it, and then have a new version come out that is mandatory to your line of work. Hopefully, the software and programs have base similarities, so it is not hard to learn new software.

Now that I have gotten my feet wet with ArcMap, it will be interesting to see what other perspectives and visions are possible to create.