Land Surveyor Blogs

This is a recap on the message that I sent to everyone earlier today.  Because of harsh weather in many parts of the country and many surveyors switching companies or losing their previous email accounts altogether, I figured I should post this here for you to see.

First, I wish you all a happy new year and chose to purposely wait a few days into the year to send you this wish, as it is genuine.  Last year was the toughest that many can remember ever living through in their lives, including myself, yet as a group, yet despite the suffering due to job loss, economic challenges and the unfortunate fold of many surveying companies, surveyors somehow found the time and energy to help one another on Land Surveyors United.  I anticipate 2011 to be a better year than any of us can imagine at this point in time.  In 2010, our traffic doubled, our membership soared and our toolbox grew into a mountain of support.  I am excited for what is to come and I hope that with a little bit of exploration and contribution you will all begin to see (if you haven't already) that this is YOUR network.  This is the year to put your surveying business on the map.  This is the year to share your expertise with the world and finally get a little bit of recognition for all of your hard work.  This is the year that you all become an expert in your field, in the eyes of the world.   As far as I am concerned you are already the expert- It is my job to provide the tools for you to put yourself out there.

For those of you who have been with us for a while, this one is for you.

A New Testimonials Page

Land Surveyors United is undergoing some major changes.  We are pushing hard to become a certified non-profit organization so that we can initiate efforts in third world countries to teach surveying students the fundamentals needed to work in road construction projects and renewable energy efforts.  The testimonials that you place on this page will go a long way in helping LSU achieve the kind of recognition that we need in respect to this effort.   Simply head over to the new testimonials page and leave a testimonial by signing into your Gmail account.  If you do not have Gmail, simply use the comments box on the page to do the same.  I cannot tell you how important this will be to the future of LSU, but I can tell you that it is the most important thing that you can do today.  If you have ever discovered something useful while networking on LSU, please tell us about it.

For those of you who are new to the network or maybe even just feel a little overwhelmed with the amount of activity running through LSU, this one is for you.

Daily Digest

A LOT of activity happens on this network everyday.  Photos and videos are shared by surveyors all across the globe, discussions are started and conversations grow in both importance and size.  New members join and new pages get added.  If you'd like to receive a daily digest of all activity for the day, simply head over to the Welcome Center and scroll to the bottom.  There is a secret form to enter your email.  This will subscribe you to the daily digest and will allow the LSU activity to come to you only once per day.

For those of you who would like to give back to LSU and make the network even better, this is for you.

Donate to LSU and Help Us Grow

This network is exclusively driven by your donations. For lack of a better word, all of the information that you find on this network which has not been added by your peers is in a sense "Donationware."  Donationware is software for which only you set the price. You give what you think this network is worth. I would welcome whatever donation you feel is appropriate. However keep in mind that this network is not free to me.  I pay a couple hundred dollars every month (details here) to maintain this network and that is not cheap to a graduate student who comes out of pocket.   It is thrilling to me to recieve a donation from a member because that means I am less stressed at bill time.  Rest assure that 100% of your hard earned donated money will go towards maintaining this network and helping it grow!

So why should I donate something?

Just a few reasons:

1. You want to encourage me. I spend countless hours developing a faster and more intuitive network for surveyors to use and find useful. If you would like for the speed to increase and the reach to grow, making a small donation is the way to do it.  Read more...
2. You think it's fair that I get some money for my work.
3. As I said, I have expenses for developing and distributing all this: backup, domain maintenance, internet access, servers, etc.
4. You use the information on this network professionally. So essentially I help you make money
5. A one-time donation to participate forever is ok. I didn't require it at sign-up because I want it to be your choice.
6. Instead of a donation you could also become a SPONSOR on LSU and increase the visibility of your company or products.
7. You can also support my work by clicking the "Share" buttons on all content found within the network and recommend this website on Twitter, Facebook and more. 

Looking forward to the most exciting year yet for land surveyors.   Stay tuned for an announcement later this week about an outstanding partnership that has been made between Land Surveyors United and a well known name in the surveying industry.  As always I am here if you need me for any reason.