The Semantic Earth

Dave Weinberger picks up JD "WorldBoard" Sophrer's thread, and calls lyrically for The Semantic Earth (abstract only). Grid the Earth! Great big cartographic science!

Thanks to the constellation of technology that enables digital networks to be laid over the places of the earth, wherever we are we will be able to hear the human conversation that has occurred about that place – the history that occurred there, the aesthetics to be savored, the commerce transpiring at that very moment, recommendations offered by strangers and friends. The mute places of the earth are being given voice, and the voices are, of course, ours. Meanwhile, the places themselves are becoming digitally alive and are noting our presence, too.

This is happening now. It is not just spawning innovative new businesses. It will change our most basic sense of what it means to be in a place.

Of course, given the crisis in metadata, one wonders what new information architectures will emerge, should we similarly fail to tag Terra.

Moreover, the copyright issues are immense. Remember ThirdVoice or eQuill?

(thanks to Howard Rheingold)

Comments

[piet]

"The mute places of the earth are being given voice, and the voices are, of course, ours."

Depends on what he means by 'ours'.

There are plenny organisms essential to ours that would loudly mourn and voice misgivings about pals and .. . eh . . .subsocial safetynets of theirs that we decided are good enough to dump on to the point of . . etcetera, if they had one.

This is where the meaning of democracy could be polished up a bit: speak up for the weak, feeble, damn near and already dead. VOTE = voice of the earth (thanks Jose, you old A-camp recoveree you). single cellers form an absolute majority and I speak for them best, that makes me a legitimate dictator as soon as most of the most powerful leaders would by miraculous means be blessed with insight concerning 'their' subjects.