ArcGIS Ideas



ArcGIS Ideas is an Esri web portal in which users can participate in and contribute to the development of new features and enhancements to ArcGIS software. The site provides a collaborative platform for Esri customers to engage in dialog with Esri teams and allows Esri developers to have direct access to customer suggestions. ArcGIS Ideas is accessed via the Esri Support website.

Ideas


All ideas on the ArcGIS website are categorized by Products, Service, or Industry for quick access. Once an idea category is chosen, ideas in the category can be sorted by popularity, all-time top, by most recent or by Comments. Ideas can also be sorted by their deferred, implemented, or under consideration status. Users can also request for access to a workspace if they wish to collaborate on an idea. Participants can then vote on ideas, add comments or share these ideas via email or on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and other social media sites.

To collaborate on ArcGIS Ideas, users need an Esri Global Account ID. Users can register for an account on the Esri support site. Once users have registered and logged in to the ArcGIS Ideas website, they can:


 * Submit new ideas
 * View ideas that have been implemented
 * Vote or comment on ideas submitted by other members
 * View ideas that are under consideration or development
 * Collaborate on an idea and take it to the next level with trusted community members
 * Share resources such as documents, presentations, designs and codes

Posting an Idea
Before submitting an idea, users must do a quick search via the search box to see if similar ideas have already been posted. To submit an idea, users must provide a title, description, tags and choose a category. Users can preview the article and edit it before submitting. Submitted ideas can be viewed under My Ideas.



My Ideas
My Ideas offers a private space to view all ideas that were submitted by the user and ideas that they voted on, which have now been implemented or are under consideration. Users can also view their recent activity and replies. The page also provides statistics on the number of ideas submitted or voted on by the user as well as by the community in total.

ArcGIS Workspaces
ArcGIS Workspaces is a library of collaborative workspaces that provides users an avenue to work closely with GIS community members in refining their idea and taking it to the next level. Using ArcGIS workspaces, users can share resources, suggestions, documents, presentations, designs, and codes with the community.

With ArcGIS Workspaces, users can:
 * Access a central repository of ideas that are being collaborated on by the GIS community
 * Create a dedicated workspace to work on a new idea
 * Contribute to ideas submitted by other community members
 * Upload and share resources, where most file types are supported
 * Sort and view all ideas submitted by others or themselves

Users need to request access for new or existing workspaces by submitting a workspace title and request justification. Once a request is submitted, the product team reviews it and grants access based on the details provided. Users can then view their approved workspaces and proceed to collaborate with the community.

This ArcGIS Workspaces video from the Esri workspaces page provides an interactive introduction to Workspaces.

Keeping track of ideas
On the top right corner of any page is an RSS icon. Click on this to subscribe to any part of the site, including Comments or Popular Ideas. You can receive the latest updates on your personal or company website, an iGoogle homepage, a web browser, an email client, or a standalone feed-reader application.

Other quick features of the ArcGIS Ideas website include:
 * A quick view of recent ideas, ideas under consideration, and ideas that have been recently implemented
 * Short and quick updates on recent activities like new posts, votes, and comments
 * A search box that allows users to quickly search for topics, ideas, and suggestions that have already been posted

History

 * ArcGIS Ideas was launched in April 2010
 * In the first six months, almost 1,500 ideas were logged, over 21,000 votes were cast, and over 45 ideas were implemented
 * The website has since been upgraded to enhance a better user experience
 * At the end of the first quarter of 2013, it has 6,019 submitted ideas with 103,792 votes cast