MaptimeDC Pitch

Hi, my name is Andrew Wiseman and I'm one of the organizers of MaptimeDC, the DC chapter of Maptime (http://maptime.io), a nonprofit that aims to teach anyone, regardless of skill level, about maps and mapping tools & techniques. MaptimeDC is free and we meet monthly, usually at the MLK Library downtown, and we've done tutorials on all kinds of things -- web mapping, cartography, hand-drawn maps, DC Government's open data, mapping for humanitarian and disaster response, OpenStreetMap, basic Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, and a lot more. 

I was wondering if you'd like to talk to us and write an article for the Hilltop about the group, I think it would be a great way for Howard students and the community to learn new skills, meet others who are interested in mapping and who work in the field, and have fun too.

Maptime is a nonprofit with almost 100 chapters around the world, and we formed the DC chapter about a year and a half ago. We've had about 20 events so far, and our goal is to bring in as many people who are interested in maps and mapping as possible from any background, and for it to be an open, collaborative and friendly place to learn together. Some people who come are professionals and experts in the field, some people have dabbled and some have no experience but like maps and want to learn more.

Here's an article with the background and history of Maptime, and a blog post about why it's useful! http://lyzidiamond.com/posts/why-maptime/ http://www.xyht.com/spatial-itgis/maptime/

Thanks!