Newsletter March 2018
Spotzi Newsletter March 2018
Our new website and new and updated population data!
For Spotzi 2018 is the year of changes. In January we moved to our new office After months of hard work we can finally announce the new Spotzi website! Based on your feedback we have totally redesigned our website and made the following changes:
- Completely new and fresh design
- Online datashop catalogue where you can easily find your desired dataset
- Mobile-friendly interface
- Lots of new and interesting data sets with lots more to come.
Curious about our new website?
Which countries have the highest population growth?
We updated the population statistics of more than 100 countries
At Spotzi we see a big increase in the demand for cross-border data. Research shows that companies that operate internationally grow much faster. But which country to pick when you want to expand your business internationally? Spotzi did some research.
Europe is growing moderately, Africa knows the largest population growth
In our research we compared the population data of a large number of countries around the world. European countries like Belgium and Germany have a moderate population growth. Italy and Spain even show a population shrinkage. The largest population growth can be found on the African continent. Do you already have a business in a French speaking country? In that case we recommend to start researching new markets in Africa as quite a few countries speak French.
How about Asia? China has known an enormous increase in population and is therefore also a very interesting market. In recent years we actually see that the population isn’t growing that much anymore. We do see a strong migration from the countryside to the Chinese cities. Is there population data available in China I hear you wonder? Yes, there certainly is. The latest Chinese census dates is from 2010 and is only available as a printed book (!). After months of translating and analyzing Chinese satellite imagery we are able to provide a reliable picture of the Chinese population in 2017.
Are you curious about the results? Visit our datashop and browse through our free-to-view maps. If you are interested in the data, please contact us for a demo.
Newsletter January 2018
Spotzi Newsletter January 2018
A New Year, A New Office!
Veilingdreef 35 – Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands
Thanks to your continued support Spotzi is growing. Therefore our office in the Netherlands wasn’t able to accommodate all team members anymore. As of January, 1st this year we moved to a new location. We only moved 10 doors away but this new location is able to host the whole Spotzi family and even gives us room to grow.
The new Spotzi office in the Netherlands
Tip: Use our Postal Code data in your CRM or Google Adwords
Many of our datasets have a postal code. After performing your analytics you can simply export the relevant postal codes as an Excel sheet. Import it into your CRM or Google Adwords Account and start targeting the right audience. Your marketing campaign now becomes more efficient than ever! Learn more about the opportunities for your campaigns here.
Kind regards,
The Spotzi Team
Maps of the Month
This month: Postal codes and municipalities
A new year means new administrative boundaries. That is the reason why this month we would like to highlight some of our recently updated datasets with administrative boundaries. At the beginning of 2018 we have updated the5-digit ZIP code boundaries of the United States and the municipalities map of the Netherlands.
We also offer census and purchasing power data on these administrative levels. These are a valuable enrichtment to your CRM or marketing campaign. Please contact us for more information.
Newsletter December 2017
Spotzi Newsletter December 2017
In appreciation of your contribution we would like to offer you a very special Christmas deal. When you switch to an annual subscription (Basic, Premium or Enterprise) you will get 2 months for free plus free data!
Map of the Month
This month: Single Persons
The percentage of single living people increases every year. We analyzed the most recent Census statistics in our home countries (Canada and the Netherlands) and found some surprising results.
In the Netherlands single people are likely to be found in and around cities where a university is located. Not a real surprise. However if you are single and like to meet other singles prepare to live remote. You also must enjoy the tranquility of the sea because you need to hop on a 2 hour ferry ride to the island of Terschelling in the Northern part of the Netherlands.
If that is not challenging enough we would like to invite you to Mount Waddington in Canada. With 4019 meters this municipality owns the highest mountain in Canada. Not many people live there however the highest percentage of singles can be found there. Maybe you’ll find some romance there. If not you might run into Santa Claus.
Show map
Newsletter November 2017
Spotzi Newsletter November 2017
100 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1E1, Canada
The Smoking Left Wing Voter
The Smoking Left Wing Voters [Infographic]
Who are the Left Wing Voters of the Netherlands?
The Dutch elections for the Parliament in the Netherlands took place last month. The votes were counted. The formation of the Parliament is taking place and the Dutch political parties are more divided than ever. Spotzi analyzed the voting- and spending behaviour of voters in Amsterdam. The results were surprising!
The results: Left Wing Political parties are popular in Amsterdam
After an extensive research per neighbourhood we concluded the following: neighbourhoods where left wing parties (Groen Links) gained the most votes also had an above-average spending on tobacco. In one particular neighbourhood in Amsterdam the spending on tobacco was even 57% above the Dutch average. Furthermore we saw that Center-Right Wing (D66) was also the biggest political party in a lot of neighbourhoods where the spending on tobacco was above average.
Interested in the spending behaviour of other cities or countries? Or perhaps other products? Take a look at out purchasing power data or contact us.
Is open data really that open?
Is open data really that open?
The importance of open data
More countries open up their government data. That’s good news. Governments are therefore more transparent, it thrives commercial initiatives and creates new insights which makes our world a better place. However I notice a trend where Open Data is not that open.
Crime map Toronto
Toronto police offers a crime Indicator Map which includes crimes like robbery and theft. Valuable information for decision makers and insurance companies to improve the safety of the city of Toronto. However the data provided doesn’t stimulate this at all. First of all the data can only be accessed as a viewer. In order to perform analytics and discover trends you need to have access to the raw data. Secondly the map only shows crimes of the past week. This makes this tool practically worthless. You need trends over several years in order to know whether parts of the city are getting more safe or just less safe.
The Dutch Police
The national police of the Netherlands handed us their crime statistics of the past year. Way better than the crime data of Toronto but it also doesn’t tell the whole story. Only a few crimes were being reported and postal code 4 level zones with less than a 1,000 people were left out. Car thefts were only reported at postal code 2 level. I know the data is available at neighborhood level because in the past we received the data at this detailed level. We analyzed and processed this data for an insurance companies. They didn’t use the data to increase their premium. No. They started crime awareness campaigns. With the current data restrictions these campaigns become less effective.
What is happening? First of all I notice it is fear. The crime data for instance is far from perfect. We have seen that ourselves when processing the data. Police agents on duty make mistakes when entering crimes into police databases. Wrong addresses for instance can make crimes disappear in a database. When making data public these mistakes can be discovered. Many years ago we were being discussed in the Dutch Parliament. Sounds flattering. Doesn’t it? Several chiefs of Police didn’t like that we showed police crimes to the public. They believed that the chief of Police and the Mayor should decide on whether to declare a neighborhood safe or not. Based on what. A hunch? Statistics aren’t perfect but they don’t lie. Every data analyst knows data isn’t flawless. However it is far better than a hunch.
I like data analytics and the enormous possibilities big data has. We can really change things for the good. We can better understand patterns so we know how to make neighborhoods more safe, improve traffics flows in cities and better understand diseases. However when you don’t tell the whole story things can go horribly wrong. Wasn’t it former president Bush who invaded Iraq because he thought Iraq had nuclear weapons? Data analytics and satellite images showed no proof. Islamic State (IS) is a bad result of that decision.
Don’t be afraid and let’s make sure governments and commercial companies work together in making this world an awesome place to live and work by being transparent and open! This way we can act upon intelligence and not a hunch.
Searching for new applications of sensor technology at construction sites
Searching for new applications of sensor technology at construction sites
Sensor technology and real-time monitoring of the environment is increasing in popularity. Companies are trying to find smart ways to integrate this technology into their existing business processes. Spotzi is continuously working together with companies to gain more insights in how sensor technology can make business processes more efficient. One of these companies is BAM Infra. One of the biggest construction companies in the Netherlands. Lately, Spotzi presented their sensor technology at BAM Infra, where we discussed the possibilities of sensor technology at construction sites. This led to some interesting insights and new perspectives.
During this interactive presentation, Spotzi and BAM Infra discussed the application of sensor technology at construction sites with BAM experts. A discussion that led to some interesting perspectives on how sensor technology can increase the efficiency of existing business procedures at BAM Infra. Especially the monitoring with temperature sensors and noise (dB) level meters at (busy) construction projects can avoid a lot of complaints at an early stage. Like noise complaints of residents, but also the pouring of concrete at certain temperatures.
Spotzi and the BAM were very pleased with the outcomes of this interactive presentation and we, Spotzi. Sensor technology definitely shows great promise for an Internet of Things future.
Do want to know more about the benefits of sensor technology for your business? Please contact us and we are happy to discuss the possibilities of sensor technology with you.
Building a mapping platform for dummies
Building a mapping platform for Dummies
Building a mapping platform for dummies. That is the challenge we at Spotzi have taken upon ourselves. There are some great products and tools out there. But they either aim at Mapping (GIS) Professionals or Developers. There is however a large group of people in need of geospatial data. They usually work at small and medium enterprises but have no time to join a Training or learn the development skills needed for some mapping tools out there. All great powerful tools with impressive functionalities but not suited for the average person.
In January this year (2016) we silently launched a Datashop and a basic map editor. This is the result of years of exploration, working with non GIS-clients and hard work. We learned that our clients need content to start with and easy tools to map their own data. Currently our main focus is offering Postal Code and Census Data. For the average GIS professional not really exciting datasets. However for many people out there hard to reach and very needed data.
We were proven to be right. Immediately after the launch of our datashop small and medium enterprises started mapping their own rich and intelligent business data at postal code or census level. Mapping campaigns, managing the location of trainers and exploring new areas for trampoline parks. These are just a few examples of clients who joined us the last months. However large companies like a Telecommunication company in Canada and a Real Estate website in the Netherlands use our tools. What do they have in common? The people working with Spotzi are no GIS professionals and have no development skills.
Today (9 May 2016) we have taken the simplicity of mapping again one step further. The geocoding of data will now automatically take place during the import of Excel sheets or CSV files. Geocoding will always have its challenges but it is a great step ahead in easily mapping your own location data.
As of now each month we will release interesting tools and data which will change the way we used to do mapping. Our road-map looks very interesting and we are kind of proud of the results. Therefore we will start shouting a little bit harder. We are confident that Spotzi will start to appeal GIS and non-GIS professionals all over the world.
Spotzi presents A Spatial Data Platform for Municipalities and Civilians
Spotzi presents during Geo4Web
A Usable Spatial Data Publication Platform to enhance the communication between Municipalities and Citizens
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In November 2015, Spotzi won a testbed of Geonovum, named “A Usable Spatial Data Publication Platform”. Geonovum is a Dutch governmental organization that is specialized in the standardization of public data and provides standards that are needed for this purpose. Geonovum started this testbed to increase the sharing of public data between municipalities and citizens. Something that has much similarities with the mission and vision of Spotzi.
The goal of this testbed was to make public spatial data better findable. Spotzi was assigned to create a platform, where both citizens and governments/municipalities can not only visualize the public data, but also edit the data in a controlled way, so governments and municipalities can maintain the quality of the public data. A completely new way of communication between citizens and municipalities with the help of a map.
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On March 17, Spotzi presented their demo of the platform for municipalities, governments and GIS-professionals on the basis of two user cases, where a citizen could change the location of a bicycle stand and After 3 months of hard work, Spotzi created a very new platform that enables citizens to see what their municipality is planning to build in the public environment, but also enables citizens to make suggestions to adapt these plans. Spotzi is very proud of the final product. Where both functionality and usability was our key focus.
Here is a example of a user cases we have showed during the presentation:
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A completely new way of communication between citizens and municipalities with the help of a map.
The Open Spatial Data Platform that Spotzi created are the first steps of a more transparent way in which open spatial data is used/edited by governments, municipalities and citizens. However, there are still some challenges:
- Challenge 1: The data and the usability of the tool should be as understandable as possible for both citizens and municipal / government.
- Challenge 2: Retention of data quality if the citizen is going to interfere with the public data.
- Challenge 3: Linking data.
These challenges need more input from the different industries. Do you want to know more about this testbed, do you want to join the discussion or are you a developer that want to take the development to another level. Please join the Geo4Web Github or visit the Geo4Web page at Geonovum.