11-21, 14:30–14:55 (Pacific/Auckland), WA220
Community: "This is broken, and WE'RE going to fix it"
Lone Wolf: "This is broken, and I'M going to fix it (alone)"
The Lone Wolf Trap
Many geospatial open source projects start with a brilliant developer saying "This is broken and I'm going to fix it." They build something amazing, gather users, and then... burn out. The project stagnates or dies with its creator. Sound familiar?
The Community Alternative
What if instead we built projects where the response to problems is "This is broken and WE'RE going to fix it"? Where multiple people can spot issues, propose solutions, and drive improvements? Where the project outlives any single contributor?
Daniel has spent 15 years wandering around the geospatial industry in various roles, which has given him plenty of opportunities to see what works (and what spectacularly doesn't).
For the past 5 years, he's been hosting the Mapscaping podcast, where he's had the privilege of chatting with hundreds of geospatial folks - from brilliant developers building the tools we all use, to researchers pushing boundaries, to the unsung heroes keeping projects alive. These conversations have given him a front-row seat to watch how communities form, flourish, and sometimes flame out.