Introducing the Signal And Noise Blog – Topics Include Mapping, Spatial, Geocoding, Address Correction, Geographic Data

Welcome to Signal and Noise

The internet is obviously filled with information about mapping, spatial, geocoding, address correction, geographic data, etc.  One of our goals in communicating to you is to provide the most important information that helps you identify the signal and the noise. Think of listening to a radio station with static. The static is the noise and the voices or music are the signal. Our brains do a great job of filtering audio and there are tools to draw out the signal and suppress the noise. This blog is about focusing on the signal for various topics and, when possible, we’ll describe the noise. Unlike the radio static that is random, some of the noise in the marketplace may seem like signal, but it’s not.  Sometimes the noise is “old information” that has actually been replaced with new technology. There are old web pages that end up being noise. We’ll try to explicitly point out what was common knowledge that isn’t so anymore.  Some of the marketing noise around us actually interferes with the signal. We’ll include this in our writing.  Also, there is some signal that you don’t see because it’s not discussed much. Moreover, we’ll try to explain some assumptions and issues that that should be brought up.

In the world of spatial, there is a lot of noise to sift through.  Understanding the noise helps you decide on which signals are important for solving your problems – now and into the future.

Some of the topics coming are below. As we add them, we’ll hyperlink the descriptions below:

1. What is Geocoding? What is Reverse Geocoding?
2. Address Validation and Correction
3. Introduction to Geographic Data
4. Where is Quality Important In Geographic Data and Processes?
5. What is MapInfo?
6. Intersect Real-Time And Historical Weather With Your Data
7. What is Address Fabric and how can it help me?
8. More on Data Quality
9. What is Master Location Data For Geocoding?
10. Genealogy
11. A series of posts on specific data sets..
    • Deep-dive into ZIP Codes
    • Postal Carrier Routes
    • Neighborhood Boundaries
    • Parcel Data
12. How Taxing District Boundaries relate to ZIP Codes
13. New Points Of Interest (POI) Data
14. Modern Deployment Options
15. International Geocoding

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