Global Mapper Software Origins featuring Mike Childs

You may know the Global Mapper software suite, but do you know how it was created? Mike Childs created Global Mapper — known then as dlgv32 — as an intern at the USGS in 1997. This version had a fraction of the power of the Global Mapper we know today, however, it boasted great GIS mapping functionality for the time. When Mike was granted the opportunity to commercialize the software in the early aughts, the success of this venture allowed him to focus solely on developing Global Mapper as both a product and a company.

Mike Childs joined the GEOTalks team to unpack Global Mapper’s origin story and discuss what has made it such a fulfilling project. Blue Marble Geographics CEO and President, Patrick Cunningham, joins us as a special co-host to share his perspective of Global Mapper’s origins and Mike’s impact on the company over the years.

Mike Childs and Developing Global Mapper

Mike Childs is known affectionately as the “Global Mapper Guru” for his work creating and developing Global Mapper, the powerful GIS mapping software. The Global Mapper software suite is a collection of geospatial tools that professionals use worldwide.

In this episode, Mike shares how user-driven software development has catalyzed Global Mapper’s growth. In early versions, users emailed him with requests for additional functionality. Mike had the power to research and directly implement changes to the software based on users’ needs. This user-driven software development method created a bond between him and Global Mapper users, which developed into Global Mapper’s original user base. This has become one of Blue Marble Geographics’ core business values because we know our users are the experts in GIS: the scientists with the know-how, the surveyors, and the software developers who know what they need. Through years of dedicated work, Mike and Blue Marble Geographics have developed and honed this geospatial software to evolve with the needs of our users and the world.

Impact on GIS Mapping and Software

Mike Childs’ dlgv32, and eventually Global Mapper, have been immensely valuable to the GIS mapping community. Over the years, the team developing Global Mapper has remained on the cutting edge, implementing functionality that our users need. This has been a great year for Global Mapper users, as a result. We kicked it off with our annual User Conference, and in February we accepted the Outstanding Innovation in Lidar Award from the team at Geo Week and LiDAR Magazine for Global Mapper Pro’s Custom Point Cloud Classification Training tool. This tool enables users to create custom point cloud classifications to identify unique features within point clouds. We’ve seen great uses of this tool since its release, and we can’t wait to see how others use it as it improves.

In that vein, GEOTalks has been another exciting aspect of our year. We’ve had the pleasure of speaking with users who employ Global Mapper to solve critical challenges and address crucial needs of communities in our world. In this episode, we discuss GEOTalks and the range of use cases Mike has seen over the years.

Global Mapper Resources

Creating valuable resources for Global Mapper software users is a vital part of what we do at Blue Marble Geographics. Our resources include:

• Instructor-led training courses
• Tutorials and webinars on YouTube
• Blogs
• Industry Showcases
• Annual User Conference
• Academic Programs
• The Global Mapper Master Contest for the opportunity to win a perpetual license of Global Mapper Pro. The deadline is September 30, 2024.
• The Blue Marble Geographics Academic Scholarship for the opportunity to receive a $1,000 scholarship and a Global Mapper Pro License. The deadline is December 13, 2024.

Tune in to the episode this Wednesday for Mike’s insights and experiences about developing Global Mapper from the ground up and to get a sneak peek at what’s to come!

How Can I Support GEOTalks?

Share your story about leveraging geospatial technology with us on GEOTalks! We want to share our users’ creative solutions. Get involved with GEOTalks by emailing us at marketing@bluemarblegeo.com and share your favorite moments with us on social media with #GEOTalksPod.