Wow -- my first custom Google Earth file works perfectly!

Ever since Google officially started offering a way to create customized maps within both their 2D Maps program and 3D Earth one, I've of course wanted to make one; and as regular readers know, last weekend I went out and finally shot a whole mess of photos for my first one, a four-mile tour of the southern two-thirds of Chicago's Lincoln Park. I got on a tear tonight and just finished, and the results are so stunning that I simply had to write up a quick blog entry about it, and post some screenshots.

Here is the 2D Maps version you're seeing above, which is impressive enough (click on any of these thumbnails today to see the larger versions); as you can see, I can plot quite the detailed paths, could've added shapes as well if I had wanted, can change colors along the way, and can even embed photos and videos into placemarks. (You don't have to host your photos and videos at Google's Picasa and YouTube respectively; but it doesn't hurt, and both are free, just as the ability to make these customized maps are.)

Where things get truly jaw-dropping and science-fictiony, though, is with the 3D Earth file also generated in the process; imagine this customized map but now with the ability to spin it in real time in all directions, and to have the placemarks' titles virtually displayed on the map itself. Google Earth is freaky enough, as habitues of the software will attest; but now imagine being able to add your own hyper-customized path to it, too, that you can spin around at any angle and at any altitude you want in real time.

But of course it's even better than that -- just like with the 2D Maps version, clicking on the placemarks will bring up the description and photo or video I've embedded to it, no matter what the direction or zoom level you're at in the file itself. It...is...amazing, and I can't stop playing with it.

In fact, one of my fun activities has turned out to have very serious benefits; and that's when you manage to line up the path in Earth with the angle the placemarked photo was taken at as well. I realized, this cool new thing one can  do in Google Maps and Earth, it could also be a profound and powerful research tool for anyone planning a trip as well, whether that's a local bicycle one or an international tourist one. I can't get across what a mind-jarring thing this customized 3D Earth file is, putting it together yourself out of your own cellphone photos and videos, suddenly having this hyperreal virtual version at your fingertips, ready to share with the world.

But hey, don't take my word for it; try it out for yourself. Here is the link to the 2D Maps version, for those who would simply like to check it out online quickly right now; and once you're there, you can just click on the "KML" link in the upper-right corner to download the 3D Google Earth file. (Of course, you'll need Google Earth downloaded and running on your computer for it to work; but you already knew that.) If you've got any suggestions regarding future maps, send them along to ilikejason [at] gmail.com; I hope to make lots more of these maps over the course of this summer and fall. Coming next: a detailed look at Montrose Harbor in my neighborhood, another eight-mile (13 km) round trip, photos of which have already been taken.