The End of an Era for a Special Land Surveyor Community

We received some genuinely sad news this week as POB begins the shutdown of the original RPLS network, started by pre-social media pioneer Mark Deal.  The RPLS Network began in the 1990's with Deal's vision of a land surveyor community meant to bring together land surveyors across the nation in order to share tips and insights into land surveying.  Countless hours have been…

Education both on and off the field is an integral part of being a land surveyor- you can't stop learning.  Everyday presents a new opportunity to both share your experiences and learn from examples left by others -become better surveyors, together.  We hope the next generation will improve the surveying profession but first we must help them understand what it is and its history.  Technical training and Scholarships might just be the key to gaining the attention of the next generation.…

Hi Everyone,

For years, there has been a lot of talk about 2 looming problems in the surveying profession;  Age Gap and Knowledge Gap

What is being done about it? 

Although these are monumentally…

Our good friends at Superior Surveyor Services in Tampa are extending a terrific discount to Land Surveyors United Members for the month of April! 

Give them a call and tell them you are a member of Land Surveyors United to receive this amazing discount!…

Below are a few special deals bundled for Land Surveyors United members for the end of February from our friends at Superior Surveyor Services in Tampa, Florida.   When you call, be sure to let Stan know that you are a member of Land Surveyors United for these specials..

Call …

Dear Surveyor, 

As we steadily grow towards 13,800 members worldwide, as a community it is important for us all to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the community members.  With that said, we'd like to invite you to…

As a global community with absolutely no budget, we have created quite a few milestones this year and that is all because of you and your undying commitment to your industry!  But don't take my word for it...check out our annual report!

A short video about our 2017 year together…

an early Gunter’s scale

photograph: Museum of the History of Science – Broad Street, Oxford

 …

There is a box or drawer full of old plats, blueprints and survey drawings that are collecting dust somewhere at your surveying company.  Why not scan them into a file archive and monetize them?  Imagine being able to sell access to those old surveys, retain the rights and permissions and make money twice with them.  This is exactly what America's Building Records is providing the construction industry- the ability to do just that.  Land…

Unlike most of the previous years, Survey Earth in a Day happens on a workday this year.  In previous years, surveyors needed to borrow RTK equipment for the weekend, but this year, we hope everyone will participate.

For Those Who Are New To Our Community…

For Recruiters

Last week a member who is currently seeking employment asked me how they could get in touch with a recruiter to find employment.  It dawned on me that although I had developed ways for recruiters to find job seekers, I…

This is a post that I have been meaning to put together for years and finally decided to sit down and get it going.  Today, we are going to talk about how to use the advanced profile customization options inside your Land Surveyors United Community Profile. 

Many of you have done brilliant work with your profiles by changing the properties inside your Design Studio but today, I am going to share some code for…

Bitter sweet accomplishments today. It was a dream of my dad's to have a place where he could easily and openly communicate with his customers (Land Surveyors) and help professionals solve problems from the field. In March of 2007, I began building Land Surveyors United Community during a time when Myspace was still the primary social network. Every single day since then, I scroll through applications to join at least 3 times a day and decline most due to lack of…

Land Surveying is Timeless:

Shared Experience is Education for those new to the field. There are no shortages on complaints around the internet about newbies relying too much on tech. However, the veteran land surveyors are just now- for the first time in history- sharing and documenting their expertise from the field. Students and new surveyors simply have never been exposed to the…

I just wanted to share a short but relevant story with you about my last day as a land surveyor.

After this day, I was destined to become an anthropologist.  My mission has been evolving, focused more and more on bringing public awareness to importance of surveying as…

Our process for gathering the data from thousands of points around the earth in a single day has changed a bit over the years. This year we are going to try something different. Instead of waiting until Survey Earth in a Day to release the magic button/form for data submission, this year we are going to roll it out early and allow you to test the system and become familiar…

Land Surveyors Have a Bright Future

This is something that I keep telling myself.  This is what my Dad (Skip Farrow) used to say whenever we hit a milestone with this community- and over the years, we hit a lot.  I've been putting off writing this post for almost a year.…

This was originally a paper I wrote for my Systems Thinking in Sustainability class which i believe converted nicely into a post.    It discusses the role of the land surveyor and the sustainability expert to society.  The general lack of public awareness about these important roles and how they are similar.  I value your feedback.  …

Happy Birthday Land Surveyors United…

Just a quick note to let you all know that as we start to say goodbye to this old platform, I have added one last awesome feature to the network, which you can find on the home page.  This should make it much simpler to post your burning questions, introductions and stories...  Enjoy!…