Joe Morrison is perhaps best known for his Substack, where he covers the world of satellite imagery and mapping with a thoughtful and fact-based — but altogether surprising — point of view. He’s the kind of commentator that once argued (convincingly) that Google Maps’ advantage was fading. And that’s not the only insight he’s offered that flew in the face of common wisdom.

When I caught up with Morrison earlier this month, he brought his critical eye to our discussion of spatial computing. Among other topics, we talked about why you need satellite imagery to build virtual worlds, how video games are way ahead of the curve on 3D tech, and why taking it slow is the right way to go when you jump into a new technology like spatial computing. After all, says Morrison, there’s no gold medal for being first.

Links:

• Google Maps' Moat is Evaporating - Joe Morrison
• Avazea - Geospatial software
• Geotrellis - Geographical data processing engine
• Mapping's Future Looks like Gaming's Past - Joe Morrison
• Snap acquires Pixel8earth
• Airbus WorldDEM
• Tandem X - Earth capture mission