GeoGlobe: GeoRSS and KML meet Second Life

This is the mother of Google Earth/Second Life mashups: GeoGlobe. Writes Josh Knauer in this blog post:

The GeoGlobe takes feeds (currently KML, GeoRSS and RSS) as input and displays them as properly geolocated prims onto the GeoGlobe [in Second Life]. We undertook this project to experiment with how “real world” data can be visualized effectively within the immersive environment that is SL. Far too often, designers/builders in SL rely on old user interaction paradigms for displaying information. We wanted to push the boundaries a bit for how users can interact with feeds of data available on the web by bringing them into SL in the context of a Google Earth-like experience.

Josh is all too right about people often not using Second Life’s native advantages (such as object scripting) to the fullest. He was at SciFoo last year, where he gave an impressive demo of the Information Commons, a peer-to-peer model for updating GIS information. This here GeoGlobe is just as impressive, and just what I was looking for as a way of visualizing the locations of Swedish embassies around the world in our upcoming virtual embassy in Second Life. Here I am checking it out:

4 thoughts on “GeoGlobe: GeoRSS and KML meet Second Life”

  1. I tried it and it is really COOL ! Thanks to Josh Knauer and his friends for building it. It was also a good occasion for me to discover EnviroLink and the Common Wealth Island : it is a good feeling to see that people in the virtual world do care about our first and unique world !

    Keep the good work ! And I agree with Stefan, we are only starting to see all these geo-technologies coming together to provide always better tools to understanding our world !

  2. I tried it and it is really COOL ! Thanks to Josh Knauer and his friends for building it. It was also a good occasion for me to discover EnviroLink and the Common Wealth Island : it is a good feeling to see that people in the virtual world do care about our first and unique world !

    Keep the good work ! And I agree with Stefan, we are only starting to see all these geo-technologies coming together to provide always better tools to understanding our world !

  3. I tried it and it is really COOL ! Thanks to Josh Knauer and his friends for building it. It was also a good occasion for me to discover EnviroLink and the Common Wealth Island : it is a good feeling to see that people in the virtual world do care about our first and unique world !

    Keep the good work ! And I agree with Stefan, we are only starting to see all these geo-technologies coming together to provide always better tools to understanding our world !

  4. Thanks for finding this cooool 3x times around Jean-Francois!

    We’re just waiting fro the mozilla browser intake in SL to just serve the best possible Geobrosing experience to all souls, virtual or alive. We at GeoGames try to link up the sauce: make the virtual more real, make the real more virtual.

    SL and VW are blending!

    Jerome

    http://geo-games.eu

    Also try the free Globe Glider to get a taste: http://globeglider.net

Comments are closed.