First let me offer a disclaimer: I don’t work for Google. Neither do members of my immediate or extended family. In fact I don’t personally know anyone who works for Google. Nor did Google offer to pay me or at least improve my SEO or my Q score,* even though I could use some assistance in those departments. I admit Google Chrome is my default browser, although its ranking methodology (most familiar, most searched, pays us the most money) sometimes leads me to other browsers that might yield more arcane or less commerce-dependent results. And yes, I retain several G-mail accounts.
But I am not in their debt and they’re clearly not in mine, which is why I feel free to declare to the world at large that I am over the moon when it comes to Google Earth.
Google Earth, for anyone left on said planet who may not know, is “a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funded company acquired by Google in 2004.” This bit of information brought to us by Wikipedia and clearly public 
knowledge, nevertheless sent a shiver up my spine. Just because spy organizations sell divisions to private companies doesn’t mean we’re safer from prying eyes. Forget the NSA; Google probably owns more satellites, or it soon will. Ever since those adorable little camera mounted cars started patrolling our streets in order to keep Google Maps updated, privacy became a quaint notion associated with a time of horse-drawn buggies and night-time skies that were filled with actual stars.
Google Earth is nothing if not democratic. We’re all spies now, capable of looking down at a house in Uzbekistan or a swimming pool in Melbourne. While much of the imaging is still 2-D, Google Earth is now able to use data provided by NASA to give us 3-D views of many parts of the world. Pretty cool.
The coolest thing, though, is how Google Earth is helping me write my novel.
Sure, I have to do things like develop character and plot. I have to sit down and write, which some days means a couple of thousand words and some days means I fritter away my time in meaningless research. One area of investigation that isn’t insignificant, however, is locale. My novel is set in New Orleans, a place I visited for a few days about seven months ago. I’ve been unable to schedule another visit but I’m writing away. Reading about it, even looking at YouTube videos, takes me only so far. That’s where Google Earth comes in.
Without giving too much away, I wrote a scene that takes place on Bourbon Street during the busiest time of year: Mardi Gras. A crime is committed; one I imagined would be outside yet out of sight of the most of the huge numbers of revelers. How, or rather, where could this happen?
Using Google Earth, I took a virtual stroll up and down Bourbon. I had already mapped a route for my characters and noted the places they passed and what they might see as they looked around. Then I moved to the side streets, looking for alleys or back lots. A food market looked promising but swooping in, I saw no street access to the back. A left turn down another side street revealed a recessed driveway with a gate that was sometimes locked, sometimes unlocked. My crime could take place behind that gate. The perpetrator could then either walk back to Bourbon or choose a parallel street and make his way down to one of two streetcar lines.
As I continue to locate my action in this or that part of New Orleans, I visit via Google 
Earth. Don’t misunderstand me; I don’t think it’s a substitute for a real visit. I plan to return soon, to walk the streets my characters walk, peek into doorways and stop into shops, ride the streetcar again and sit in Jackson Square on a sultry afternoon eating a beignet. I need to smell the velvety air, feel the humidity settle on me like a sweater and absorb the uniquely mystical, magical, musical atmosphere that is the Big Easy. When the schedule clears and the airfare drops, I’ll be there. In the meantime, Earth to Google: let’s go for a walk.
I’ve been nominated for a Liebster Award. The award is given to bloggers by other bloggers. The nomination might be the award or at least the point. It’s a “pay it forward” chain letter to promote other bloggers. The blog I visited to read about it suggested that everyone who blogs knows about the award unless he or she is a newbie. I’ve been blogging for at least a decade, even before web log morphed into blog and I didn’t know about the Liebster Award. I lead an insular life.
I’m at that awkward stage. You know; the one where you realize that while you were growing old, you may not have grown up.
Mind you, I’ve had decades to get to a peaceful place. My agitation and my awareness that I was prone to agitation began early. I had plenty of opportunities to get 