September 16, 2011
Rhiza’s CEO, Josh Knauer, will be giving the keynote address at the GeoTec 2011 Conference in Vancouver, Canada on September 29, 2011. Josh will speak about emerging technologies and how they are changing the way organizations are using maps and data for decision making.
If you’d like to meet with Josh while he’s in Vancouver, please let us know.
September 22, 2009
This Wednesday, September 23 at 3:00 PM (EST) URISA, the Urban Regional Information System Alliance will be hosting an exciting Webinar about the controlled crowdsourcing technology behind Rhiza’s popular FluTracker website.
FluTracker is able to make outbreak data available to the public 5-10 days ahead of the estimates provided by the CDC. This Webinar will explain how you can utilize controlled outsourcing and take advantage of the newly developed technology and the omnipresence of the public to inform people of flu outbreaks. This is just one example of how Community Participatory Mapping is being used to make information more readily available to the public. You will learn how to best utilize this tool and get the maximum amount of benefits from the developing technologies.
“Crowdsourcing and the H1N1 Virus” will be presented by Maryl Widdows and Andrew Macurak of Rhiza Labs, located in Pittsburgh, PA. For more information, visit http://www.urisa.org/webinars.
We have 10 free registrations available to companies and government agencies interested in learning more about the technology behind FluTracker. Please email widdows at www.rhiza.com to reserve your space ASAP.
May 12, 2009
Don’t miss the 2009 Pennsylvania GIS Conference on May 19 and 20 in Grantville, PA. From the conference’s organizers:
This year’s Pennsylvania GIS Conference will explore the essential connection between geospatial technology and the development and sustainability of our critical infrastructure. Presenters from industry, academia, and government will showcase applications that support critical infrastructures in water resources, energy and the environment, public safety and health, and economic development. In addition, the latest hardware, software, and database trends will be demonstrated by the geospatial industry. This year it’s all technology and applications – no policy, no politics! Just pure GIS.
Josh Knauer, CEO of Rhiza Labs, will deliver the keynote address, “Geospatial Data Sharing in the Information Commons World” at 9:15 AM on May 19. His presentation will use the Information Commons to explain how social entrepreneurship in the geospatial community can stimulate new and useful thinking about data sharing. Additionally, Rhiza Labs will host a breakout session entitled “Creating Incentives for Sharing Public GIS Data” at 3:15 on May 19.
The conference, an outreach service of the Center for Geospatial Information Services and the Institute for State and Regional Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg, runs May 19 and 20 at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Grantville, PA. Visit the Pennsylvania GIS Conference page to register and reserve a room at the conference rate. E-mail us at or tweet @rhiza if you’d like to meet with us at the conference.
April 6, 2009
In Sacramento this week for CalGIS„ Drop us a line ( by e-mail, @rhiza by Twitter) to learn more about Rhiza — or attend our session tomorrow (4/7) at 3:30 in Room 310.
March 25, 2009
Rhiza will be in DC from today, March 25, through Saturday, March 28 to visit our partners in the capital and to attend Government 2.0 Camp, an “unconference about using social media tools and Web 2.0 technologies to create a more effective, efficient and collaborative U.S. government on all levels (local, state, and federal).” We’re looking forward to continuing the conversation began at last month’s Transparency Camp.
Are you attending Gov 2.0 — or just in the DC area — and interested in learning more about Rhiza„ Tweet us @rhiza, or shoot an email to .
March 2, 2009
Josh Knauer, CEO of Rhiza Labs, will deliver the keynote address to attending GIS professionals, scholars, nonprofit and government staff at the 2009 Pennsylvania GIS Conference on May 19. His presentation will use the Information Commons to explain how social entrepreneurship in the geospatial community can stimulate new and useful thinking about data sharing.
The conference, an outreach service of the Center for Geospatial Information Services and the Institute for State and Regional Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg, runs May 19 and 20 at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Grantville, PA.
Visit the Pennsylvania GIS Conference page to register and reserve a room at the conference rate.
February 25, 2009
This weekend, the Rhiza team will be joining “a trans-partisan tribe of open government advocates from all walks” at Transparency Camp, an un-conference at George Washington University for sharing “knowledge on how to use new technologies to make our government transparent and meaningfully accessible to the public.”
We’re hoping to raise awareness of how sharing public data in the Information Commons promotes a positive feedback loop between government transparency, accountability, efficiency, and permanence. We’re also hoping to learn more about other folks’ efforts to promote government transparency with new technology.
Can’t make it yourself„ Check Josh and Andrew out on Twitter for live updates over the weekend, and read more about Rhiza’s open government solutions.
Planning to attend, or just planning to be in DC this weekend„ We’d love to meet you. Send an e-mail to before Friday; during the conference, get in touch with us via Josh’s Twitter. We can’t wait to hear your story.
October 12, 2008
Josh Knauer, CEO of Rhiza Labs, was invited as a featured speaker at the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) 2008 Annual Conference in New Orleans. The topic of the day at the conference was “Creating Collaborative Communities of Practice: Assessing the Impacts of Public Participation Work” and Josh presented Rhiza’s work with the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) using Insight to bridge the divide among scientists, policy makers and citizens. The talk was well received and led to a lot of follow up inquiries from those in attendance.
URISA is a nonprofit association of professionals using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other information technologies to solve challenges in state / provincial and local government agencies and departments. URISA is considered to be the premier organization for the use and integration of spatial information technology to improve the quality of life in urban and regional enviroments.
May 12, 2008
Rhiza Labs Launches Community Insight at Where 2.0, Bringing Online Collaborative GIS Tools to the Public Sector
BURLINGAME, CALIF. and PITTSBURGH, PA. — Rhiza Labs launches Community Insight, a web-based platform for mapping and analyzing multiple datasets that are shared by users with a common interest. Rated as one of the best of the dozen apps previewed on May 12th at Where 2.0, CNET’s Rafe Needleman called it “a very useful tool for any organization trying to make sense of its map-based data.”
Community Insight users range from organizations creating websites for the conservation science field to policymakers using Community Insight to better understand where social service needs and resources intersect. Read more »
April 19, 2008
Rhiza Labs will give NTEN NTC conference attendees a sneak preview of Databasin.org and the Community Insight application.