Google Earth Adding Immersive Travel Content

On August 22, 2006, I wrote an article titled 'Terrorism, Oil, Globalization, and the Impact of Computing', in which I illustrate how four factors are converging to cause radical change in the nature of business travel and tourism.  One paragraph in particular was :

Google Earth and WikiMapia are very limited substitutes for traveling in person to a vacation locale.  However, as these technologies continue to layer more detail onto the simulated Earth, combined with millions of attached photos, movies, and blogs inserted by readers into associated locations, a whole new dimension of tourism emerges. 

Sure enough, today we learn that Google Earth is adding significantly more travelogue content into its application, which can even include individual blogs and video clips.  Users will continuously be contributing new content in a Wikipedia-like manner, as Google Earth and WikiMapia continually force mutual enhancement.  Suddenly, the extent that you can experience a remote, exotic, or dangerous location has just increased substantially.  It still does not replace being there, of course, but this is free of cost and of the hassles of going to an airport, flying, taking taxis, worrying about political correctness compromising airport security, etc.

Go on, and check out a place you are never likely to visit in person.  Then tell us how it felt and if it was more fun than you initially expected.

Comments

[Assistant Village Idiot]

Time for another post, mate, even if it's just to let us know you're still up and taking nourishment.

[On behalf of GK]

Haha AVI,

I am the Futurist's sister, so can personally vouch that he's def up and taking nourishment... he just had to leave the country on business on short notice. But we will hear from him soon enough, don't worry.

GK - thankfully I do have access to this and other sites from Shanghai. Only 4 TV channels though.

[GK]

AVI,

Thanks for asking. I am on a business trip across many countries at the moment, and have been struggling to finish a half-written post that I have. For some reason, writing well from a hotel room while living out of a suitcase is surprisingly hard.

I do owe 2-3 good posts to catch up for lost time.

[Juno888]

Wow owesome thats great idea to the other business man, or make much better.