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[3]com’s clearinghouse for imagery, alsoexpand the use of geo-data. These examplesare only the beginning, assuming this newportal approach follows other industries; notonly will new applications emerge, but newbusiness models will, as well. For example,Terraserver has established relationshipswith most of the commercial satellite imageryproviders and allows users to choose thesource and date of the image. At this time,free imagery appears to be used by thegeneral public as simply a nifty new application—“agee-I-can-zoom-in-on-my-house” kindof thing—and as news information. However,we can expect MSN Virtual Earth to presentsomething new due to Microsoft’s acquisitionof Boulder, Colo.-based Vexcel (see featurearticle on page 20).As broadband adoption rates continue torise around the world, the online world is nowone in which users of every type—students,professionals, academics, researchers,techies, concerned citizens, and hobbyists—developcommunities of shared interestsand therefore of shared data applications.As these examples illustrate, the Internetprovides a platform for “connecting manydots” for the multi-layers of I/RS, GIS, GPS,and field data. As geo-data professionalsknow, an inevitable demand for locationbasedviews and analyses arises from theability to be connected 24/7. From thebeginning, I/RS depended on technologicalinnovation to advance geo-data aggregationand integration: ERTS-1, MSS, Telsat, SPOT;then “arcs and info” overlaid on satellitephotography; polygon analysis applied toremote sensing data; GPS enabling moreaccurate, efficient field data capture; and lastmonth’s Russian launch of a remote sensingsatellite. With each innovation, a new globalset of users has emerged.New virtual communities no longerconstrained by accepted business practicesnow have access to I/RS as they participatein environmental and community-basedprojects that span drought control, conservation,climate change, natural disasters, andrecreational use of nature, to name just afew. For example, scientists traditionallyrelied on armies of students or contractors togather field information. Today, with a GPS,a mobile device, and an Internet connection,w w w . i m a g i n g n o t e s . c o many concerned citizen has the ability toprovide scientists with local geo-coded datathat can reduce significantly field data acquisitioncosts. As GPS has become availablein cars, on cellphones and on PDAs, it haspassed from the hands of professionals tohikers, campers, hobbyists, and kids doingscience projects. Everyone can participate inand use location-based services that includedigital I/RS data: this is truly data withoutborders.As we at ITF provide strategy to innovation-drivenindustries, one of our offeringsincludes scenarios based on economic,political, and social assumptions that driveplausible futures. Many of these scenariosinclude location-based services that utilizeI/RS. New wireless applications, globalization,and security all have inherent needs forI/RS in the future. New location services,from personal questions such as “Where aremy kids and family?” to traffic and 911 alerts,are developed every week, but what wehave found to be key new media drivers arethe rapidly growing online communities andaffiliation groups.In some cases these communitieswithout borders will collaborate andinnovate on issues that extend beyondgovernment’s presumed authorityover certain pieces of information andprojects. Online sharing of data of alltypes has begun the unforeseen demandof geo-data and will fuel the “long tail”of unique users. These new users willcollaborate in ways that blur the lines oftraditional private, public, and individualdistribution of products.Figure 3 Google Earth 3D screen shotshows the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.1 Crosbie, Vin. 2002. What is New Media?,White Paper. www.digitaldeliverance.com/philosophy/definition/definition.htmlCraig Bachmann and NatashaLÉger are partners in ITF Advisors, LLC,an independent consulting firm with afocus on next-generation strategy and ontranslating the increasingly complex newmedia business environment’s impacton business models, markets, and users.Craig Bachmann was a pioneer in the useof GIS by utilities and communicationscompanies and has participated in manymilestones along the path of geo-dataaggregation. Craig Bachmann and NatashaLéger have combined their strategy andscenario planning expertise in the fields ofcommunications, utilities, mapping, publicpolicy, and international trade to providetheir clients with a dynamic, comprehensiveand innovative perspective on therisks and opportunities presented by thenew media environment. Natasha Léger isalso a published scenario-planning authorand an Adjunct Professor at the Universityof Denver’s Institute for Public PolicyStudies.s u m m e r 2 0 0 6 15