Nick Franchino passed along links to this today.
Click for larger view
Today, Esri president Jack Dangermond announced the new website GovMaps.org during the plenary session of the Esri Federal User Conference in Washington, D.C. The prototype site offers a customized view into commonly used nationwide layers and maps in ArcGIS for a better understanding of national issues and trends. Quick access to this authoritative geospatial information supports visibility into federal data and better decision making across the country. Site visitors are encouraged to provide suggestions and comments on the prototype.
I took a look, and my initial impression is that the information can be useful, but I think that the interface, while it looks nice, is pretty confusing. Some icons lead to maps (the featured map list) – others to map services, others to layer packages. There needs to be some consistency in this website. As well, at a County level, I wonder how accurate the files are. It’s nice to have nationwide files, but this is much more a “federal govmaps” than useful for us on a micro-level. But it’s a good start.
Take a look – I’d love to get your feedback …
