Well, the “web” in it’s many variations is certainly an application, as are the massive Oracle/SQL/Whathaveyou databases that run corporations, these too require network connectivity. But what about the “killer app” something that everyone has got to have and has to use in some manner or be left behind. I think Google Earth is that app, especially after reading Roush’s TR article.
Google Earth is being used in the news (this went up from C|Net after I first posted – am I on a roll?) and even to sell home (a Re/Max commercial comes to mind). Roush mentions that Google Earth is replacing Rand McNally in many ways as a means to document the planet. And that is where I think the real power of the application sits – it gets people to look at the world again. Every great thrust forward in science and technology seems to have been preceeded by a new way or mapping the world around us. Now, the everyday person can access and tag to thier hearts delight, their neighbouhood, city and on up from there (I would think that you could also tag Google Moon).
If kids get interested in looking at thier world and understanding what happens where, then we have a ticket to get them going on the raod to bigger things. The globe is also something that can be used in every classroom (eg, again, and again, and once more), so there is no excuse for not having a GE exercise in every subject area.
One other thing is that this is also a manner of social networking – as it can be used for everything from geo-caching to “site swaping” so people can use geography as the root of their connections (eg Google Earth Community and the Google Earth Blog).
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