Blue Marble Project

Google recently updated the Embed Code that users can copy from a 3D Warehouse model page which enables you to post an interactive 3D View of the model on any site (or blog).

Here’s a model we created recently for Dacor that includes installation information - could be a nice thing to have handy on the job site.

We’re certainly excited about this update as we think it only helps improve upon the many ways in which SketchUp models can be re-purposed as portable online media content.

Another exciting aspect to this recent update is the ability to quickly snatch the Google Earth Embed code for Geo Located models. This is a model of the Renaissance Montura LAX Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

For more information about this 3D Warehouse feature you can check out this post on the Google SketchUp blog.

We were honored to be recently selected by the good folks at O’Reilly to deliver a pair of presentations at the upcoming Where 2.0 Conference in San Jose, CA. The conference, which focuses on “Becoming Location Aware”, will take place May 19-21.

Our first presentation will take place at 11am on May 19th. Our CEO Alex Oliver will be giving a talk titled Translating Geo-Web Efficiency into Real-World Sustainability. In the presentation, Alex plans to cover some case study projects where technologists can leverage digital data sets to give architects, builders and designers better tools and education for building a more environmentally friendly world.

Our second presentation will take place later that day at 4:30pm. Our President Mike Tadros will conduct a 1 hour class titled Building Our World With Sketchup. During the class, attendees will learn more about how to leverage location inside and outside of SketchUp, including importing and exporting location-based data from Google Earth.

Come see us for one or both of our presentations. We’ve arranged for you to get  25% off your Where 2.0 registration when you enter this code: WHR09FSP. Sign up here. If you plan to come, we’d love to meet you! Email us at info@bluemarbleproject.com and we’ll plan to catch-up at the show.

Perhaps this notion is best described by someone who’s been thinking about the web a bit longer than we have. In this video, Kevin Kelly describes the evolution of the web over the past 5,000 days, and talks about where we’re headed over the course of the next 5,000. One of the key points for web developers - create portable content for the web. This is a concept that is perfectly well suited to 3D SketchUp models and the Google 3D Warehouse. From a marketers perspective, web 3.0 shifts the focus away from the notion of having to force people to your website by creating ’special’ content that can only be viewed on your site. Rather, sites like Facebook, YouTube, etc. and even the 3D Warehouse, allow companies to invite traffic to their own sites by distributing content and information about their brands via platforms where people feel comfortable consuming media on their own terms.

The 3D Warehouse is a distribution platform that hosts 3D Computer Models of Buildings which plug into Google Earth, making it a perfect location based media solution for marketers who are interested in improving their visibility amidst the sea of GeoWeb platforms and data.

More broadly, the 3D Warehouse hosts 3D models of ‘places + things’. The ‘things’ part of that equation means that product manufacturers, distributers, and retailers can use the 3D Warehouse as marketing/advertising platform to distribute information via 3D product models. Architects, Designers, and consumers all then have access to freely download and interact with the 3D models on their own terms, by incorporating 3D products into their projects.

Google recently launched an update to the 3D Warehouse which allows visitors to view the models in 3D right on the website, without having to download the model first. The 3D view of the model is automatically generated when the model is uploaded to the Warehouse. Under the hood, the 3D View is a simple set of rendered images of the model that are taken at intervals to simulate a 360 degree spin view.

This update will allow us to deliver more accurate data to our clients about the use and popularity of their 3D content. Having a 3D View of the model on the website means that people may be less likely to download a 3D Model out of mere curiosity. Chances are greater that if you’re model is being downloaded, it’s because someone actually wants to use it for something.

To test the ‘3D View’, click on the tab in top right corner of the image below.

View the object above on Google’s 3D Warehouse

For more information check out this post on the Official SketchUp Blog.

A big congratulations to all of the modelers and photographers putting Los Angeles on the map!

Wouldn’t it be nice to know where to park if you wanted to shop at Macy’s? Well now you can plan those kind of details a little easier by visiting the 3D Shopping Centers in California that we’ve modeled for Westfield, Corp. The Shopping Centers are available for download in SketchUp format from the Google 3D Warehouse, or you can view the models in Google Earth.

Ever been frustrated trying to find the hotel you are looking for? If pictures speak a thousand words, then we’re hoping our 3D models of selected Marriott Hotels speak a million.

What… You’ve never heard of Hagerstown? One of our offices sits on Main Street, so we couldn’t help but start modeling our surroundings.

The Blue Marble Project is a worldwide effort. One of our teams working in Harare has been spearheading the effort to re-create the city on Google Earth.