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Google is Out of this World

In the marketplace section of today’s Wall Street Journal there is a fascinating article about the feasible of a space elevator. That’s right an elevator that would usher people and supplies 62,000 miles into geosynchronous orbit.  The article ends with a quote from a NASA official saying that the concept of a space elevator is really getting kids excited about space and, by extension, the physical sciences.

Well, just today, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) announced another application that holds great potential in getting kids excited about space. Dubbed “Sky in Google Earth,” the application allows users to explore the universe from the comfort of their chair. According to Google officials, “it’s like having a giant, virtual telescope at your command—your own personal planetarium.”

Now, at first glance, putting a personal planetarium into people’s homes might not seem like the ideal vehicle for generate advertising revenue, but I think this is a shortsighted view. It is well-known that schools all across the country are facing budget crunches. Under such tough financial straits, what is one of the first extracurricular activities to get whacked? Often it is things like the annual visit to the local planetarium.

To the extent that Sky Google allows teachers to continue to educate children in their classroom, I believe the company’s technology will continue to grow as a legitimate and welcomed addition to most classrooms. This strategy of introducing products into the classroom in order to better familiarize future consumer with their technology is one that Microsoft , Intel, and IBM, among others, have successfully employed in the past.

In Google’s case, though, as more teachers use the tool, the company is essentially getting an army of teachers to educate the next generation of its users to Google’s many other applications—applications, I might add, that do generate revenue.

I don’t mean to imply that Google has manufactured this application for entirely philanthropic purposes. I am sure that Sky Google can be used to pitch the legions of space enthusiasts who will undoubtedly spend a good deal of time on the site ogling the Crab Nebula and other assorted extraterrestrial wonders; but given its overriding educational value I think Google is probably comfortable bidding its time until it figures out how use the tool to drive future revenues out of this world. I also think it is a good example of exponential thinking.

Jack Uldrich is a writer, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequenter speaker on future trends, innovation, change management and executive leadership.

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