Google Maps enjoy their Second Life

Google Maps enjoy their Second Life

Ever since I attended "Beyond Broadcast '08--Mapping Public Media" I got interested in cyber cartography and online mapping applications. After exploring this new social media genre--map mashup, I realized that collaborative mapping is a powerful tool for the Web-based PR, marketing, and advertising initiatives, among others.

A large number of interesting examples of geo mashups can be found at an informative site called Google Maps Mania, "an unofficial Google Maps blog tracking the websites, mashups and tools being influenced by Google Maps."


However, organizations willing to experiment and promote their products and services through map mashups in virtual worlds, can do that effectively in Second Life. These virtual map mashups are often called slashups.

I recently became a SL resident and my adventurous avatar PRometeus Magic began exploring this new world. What he discovered is an exciting place called the Virtual Briefing Hub (226, 19, 399), a part of the Daden Prime (128, 128, 22) and a fascinating example of a slashup.



This is a creation of an U.K. based organization--Daden Limited. PRometeus spent almost a whole weekend exploring their place. Luckily, he met a Virtual Hub host Corro Moseley aka David Burden and asked him a few questions about the project. Here is a transcript of their chat:

• Could you please tell me something about the Daden Limited?

We are a virtual worlds consultancy, based in Birmingham UK. We have a core UK team, but we work with sub-contractors across the globe to deliver client projects.

• What is the Virtual Briefing Hub and how can SL residents use it?

The hub has been designed for Birmingham City Council to use to help show stakeholders in the city how virtual worlds technology can be used--particularly for planning, regeneration, infrastructure management, education, and health. It uses our Google maps interface, and as such any residentcan use it to view Google Maps. We'll also be making the hub available at a couple of other locations, including the Teen Grid, and we're also working on a consumer version. You can pan and zoom your way across the globe down to individual street and building level, and can also use a find command to jump to a specific location--if it's in the gazateer. You can also bring up any RSS feed or KML feed and have the system plot the data for you across the map.

• What elements are mashed together in this application?

Google Maps, RSS and KML feeds and a geo-coding service.

• How important are geo mashups in SL and what's their role/potential?

We think that SL is an ideal collaborative environment, and a great place to visualize data. Using something like the hub people/scientists/engineers/planners from across the city, country or the globe can get together to view data and discuss implications in a way which is far more visceral than all looking at different PCs and trying to discuss it on the phone.

• What virtual projects are you working on right now?

We are working on a training system for care home managers using artificial avatars, and another for paramedics using the Medbiquitous Virtual Patient standard to drive training exercises in Second Life.
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I just want to add that this virtual mashup is a wonderful PR/Marketing tool that promotes Birmingham, UK in an innovative and creative way. I was amazed when I clicked on the commands and found myself on the streets of a 3D city, among 3D people and buildings, or mashed in a video clip emerging from the mapped layers of data. Thanks to this wonderful slashup, I discovered Birmingham is a cool city, worth visiting in both the real and Second Life.

What do you think?