Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Geo tagging is one of my favorite Web 2.0 trends. With the proliferation of APIs from google and others, the mashup world of geo based tools and enterainment has taken off. Not sure what I am talking about? Here are a few examples:

•  Mappr -combines user contributed photos with location data (a la Flickr) with a map so that you can see user provided snapshots from a specific location in the world.
  
• Chicago Crime - mashes crime stats and info from the Chicago Police Department with geo data so you can virtually explore neighborhood crime using an online map interface. 
  
• Doolittle on MySpace - idoler Melinda Doolittle's MySpace page includes a map-based fan book that incorporate fan messages, their localities and photos.
  

The real question is if this Web trend will impact how we view our communitiies and how we interact with others in the physical world. The potential is certainly there and in some cases its already happening. 

For instance, assume I, by happenstance, find photos of a neighbor's backyard landscaping project posted online. Since they've opened this up to the "world" online by posting the image, I assume they're somewhat approachable and go meet them and check it out. A friendship is born.

Or imagine how geo based content could identify opportunities for special interest groups or even new business opportunities. 

What's your favorite geo based Web experience and does it compel to you behave any differently in the real world? 

Early in the network premiere week, it looks like the sitcom writers have discovered social media. Prime time characters are now talking about blogs, their MySpace pages and Google alerts.
 
You’d think this would open up interesting new plot lines or story angles. Not so.
 
Instead, we’re getting flat-footed jokes followed by canned laugh tracks.  “I’m putting that in my blog!” is the new comeback.
 
In primetime, social networks are now the domain of nerds. “I have a 112 friends in MySpace,” says one geek in Big Bang Theory. “Yeah, but have you actually met any of them?” quips his equally geeky friend.
 
I read today that Microsoft is considering taking a stake in MySpace. If MySpace is now the joke of primetime television, I think Microsoft missed the window.