Archive - A Closer Look with Joe Morrison

How to Change an Industry

(Slowly, then all at once)

Mar 15, 2023 •

January 2023

How “Internet in Space” Will Transform the Satellite Imagery Industry: Part II

(Second, Some Predictions)

Jan 3, 2023 •

December 2022

How “Internet in Space” Will Transform the Satellite Imagery Industry: Part I

(First, Some Background)

Dec 30, 2022 •

November 2022

A Simple Mental Model for Understanding the Satellite Imagery Industry

Disclaimer: my saucy prose and cocksure opinions do not represent the views of my employer. Nor do they represent my own views should they become even…

Nov 29, 2022 •

May 2022

Open All of the Satellite Imagery Archives

A moral and economic argument for ushering in the global monitoring revolution that the world urgently needs

May 23, 2022 •

April 2022

Nobody wants your fancy algorithm

The satellite imagery industry still has no idea what customers actually want

Apr 18, 2022 •

December 2021

Tomorrow.io and the Future of Weather Prediction

One startup is boldly asking, "What if we could predict the weather?"

Dec 8, 2021 •

June 2021

Mapping's Future Looks Like Gaming's Past

I have a new job, and it’s keeping me pretty busy. Don’t get too excited—you’re the goober that signed up for this newsletter, and I will not let you…

Jun 22, 2021 •

April 2021

The Wireless Network That Will Connect Everything to Everything

Helium is one of the most exciting companies I’ve come across in recent memory. They are building a peer-to-peer network of wireless hotspots around the…

Apr 12, 2021 •

March 2021

Satellite Imagery is Not Becoming a Commodity

Disclaimer: I work at Umbra, a satellite imagery company. I’m hopelessly biased on this topic. As Upton Sinclair famously quipped, “It is difficult to…

Mar 29, 2021 •

February 2021

Autonomous Vehicles Won't Revolutionize Maps

A lot of folks don’t realize that Elon Musk got his first big break as an entrepreneur building mapping software. He and his brother Kimbal started Zip2…

Feb 8, 2021 •

January 2021

Why I'm Leaving Azavea to Join Umbra

TL;DR I’m starting a new job at a satellite startup this month. Think of this like a poor man’s “Why I left Google to Join Grab.” After a little over…

Jan 15, 2021 •

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