You can find a Google Earth mashup I created here. (The picture on the left is a screen shot). The height and color represents the population of each submarket and the different layers correspond to census data from 1990, 2000, as well as current population estimates (2006) as well as 5 year projections (2011 & 2016).
This information would normally be contained in a table or a chart but I feel that actually moving around and being immersed in the information has merit. If your presentation is digital vs. printed, interactive vs. single perspective, responsive vs. static and acts as a stepping stone rather than an end in itself, then you have stepped into the realm of "new media" (Which is the point of this blog).
All new products begin with false hopes (I.E. Segway) as well as a lot of unrealized potential. I think Google Earth will fall into the later category. It has not hit its stride yet, most people acknowledge its existence but don't know what it is for or how to bring it into their everyday lives. It is a visual curio and it seems that Google has created it just for the sake of creating it.
Until it hits the mainstream where everybody has Google Earth installed on their computer, and .kml files are as common as .doc or .xls, it will reside for the exclusive use of information hobbyists and technology geeks. It will happen though, I don't think this product will go the way of the Betamax.
No comments:
Post a Comment