Subject: Re: Regarding geo-modeling on Google Earth |
From: Katya Kean |
Date: 03/08/2014 11:37 PM |
To: Lasse van den Bosch Christensen |
Hi Lasse. I wrote a lot about my feelings on the Forums, so I don't know what else to add. The ending of detailed 3D modeling will eventually create room for competition, probably from a more industry-specific platform like ESRI or other GIS-specific companies. What they lack, however, is the same thing Google should have excelled at but never really brought fully to the table, and that was advertising.
People spend money on storefronts because it is advertising. Location itself creates a form of advertising. A 3D model should be advertising a building and the occupying business just as much as the real building does. Google could have found a way to monetize that, but never did. They could have charged for higher-res 3D models and promotions, but they didn't. They could have opened the platform to game developers, thus creating platforms for models-as-advertisements, but they didn't. As a result, I'm guessing Google Earth modeling just wasn't making a good return on investment and was costing Google money instead of fulfilling its earning potential. Of course, I have no idea what their situation and considerations actually were. Ultimately, though, it's their money, their product, and their right to decide if it wasn't working for them. They are a business, after all. They made no promises.
As far as biased relationship, I don't know about that. I made money off their platform and they never asked for a cut. We used Google Earth. They didn't exactly take advantage of anyone. Modelers either modeled for money or fun. They shouldn't expect power over Google's policies as well.
I have no regrets. Technology will always be disrupted. I had fun, made thousands, and learned a lot. If a marketing or GIS company ever starts recreating a virtual earth in a more financially sustainable way, I'd probably start modeling for money again. I started waitressing this winter, after shutting down my modeling business. I'll work here for another few weeks until the season ends in this vacation town, and hopefully by then I'll have found a GIS/Marketing/Design job in another area.
There aren't many people who love and understand both GIS and marketing, though. A user-contributed, broadly popular platform would really need to be created at an intersection of both fields.
Also, the future of geo-modeling is in scanning devices and point-cloud interpretation. I anticipate that future geo-modelers will be people who want to clean up computer-collected data (sounds fun to me). SketchUp is great for designing and developing, but point-cloud conversion is more efficient for recreating reality. Also, since this year marks changes in web API standards, and WebGL is the next popular step, 3D Google Earth has likely had to adapt.
There are definitely opportunities for companies who can make 3D interactive geo web platforms, and let users load content.
Perhaps instead of seeing an entire planet on a website, towns will find a way to load just their own territory terrain and their own GIS data, and can charge their own commercial occupants a fee to display a detailed storefront and highlight a store in response to a search query. They could sell licensing for game companies to use the platform for games (Where in Detroit is Carmen Sandiego?)
Local governments are in a much better position to deal with the legal hurdles of geo-displays, also. They know what they want to show.
I could pretty much envision endlessly on this topic, but I'd rather hear more about you. Why are you researching this piece of old news? What do you hope to accomplish? What are your thoughts?
Katya
On 02/23/2014 05:55 PM, Lasse van den Bosch Christensen wrote:
Hi Katya,
I'm an art and design student researching the drastic changes happening to SketchUp, the 3D Warehouse and Google Earth over the past two years.
I started a discussion on the official forum, trying to find modelers who would like to share their experiences. I'm also trying to contact modelers directly. Currently I'm in contact with Kieth Lurie and Matthias Bassler, who both have been active members of the community.
I'm contacting you because of your relation to the platforms, seeing that you have a lot of models featured in the warehouse and on Google Earth, while also being an active participant in the forums. I first noticed your postings regarding the sale of Sketchup in 2012, where you expressed optimism for the future of the community. This was before Google made the decision to shut down the user-contribution-program.
Would you like to talk about your contribution to the platforms? I'm interested in the investments you made in building up the platforms, what you 'earned' from being a contributor and how you see yourself as a modeler in relation to the provider who makes the platform possible. Not only does the provider only make the platform possible, it is also in the position to disrupt the system entirely on a very short notice. This could be seen as a biased relationship. What do you think?
Furthermore I'm interested in what kind of future scenario you would like to see for the modelers, deemed that they no longer can participate in 'building' the earth, and that their content which already is in place on Google Earth, slowly is being replaced by auto-generated content.
I sincerely hope that you would like to share. Feel free to reply in any way.
All the best,
Lasse van den Bosch Christensen
Master Student at the Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Hi again Katya,
Sorry if you got this twice now, i just wanted to make sure that my mail did not just land in your spam-inbox.
Best of,
Lasse