Summary

Google Earth is one of the coolest Internet applications to come along since…well, Google. It’s simple to use, yet a very powerful tool for viewing satellite imagery that can show you enough detail to see the shadows people cast on the ground. Combine this high-resolution image data with other layers of information, such as road maps, business locations, terrain data, and a host of other information, and you can have hours of fun or one of the most powerful business tools of its kind.

Google Earth can be used for free, or you can pay a small license fee to use extra features that let you add polygons and trace your route manually or by importing GPS data. There are also several business versions that allow you to build applications with nearly an unlimited number of uses for geographically visualizing data. See where your customers live. Normal business data would never be able to show you that 87 percent of your customers live in valleys and at least 15 miles from the nearest road. Add this information with other business data and you learn that customers who live on hills watch Channel 9 and drive four-wheel drive vehicles and are most likely to try your product.

Most of all, Google Earth is fun and interesting. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t looked up his or her house on Google Earth and maybe even e-mailed me a copy of the picture. Now that you’ve seen what the Earth looks like, find out what’s happening there by reading the next chapter about Google News.