Tap the Data Stream

Ok, this whole database dilly-o is interesting. Thinking about the amount of product material that is incorporated, including quantities, manufacturer, spec information, etc., you have to wonder how this information cannot be tapped,  similarily to what Google is doing with Google Docs and Gmail?

Look at the comparisons:

1. Marketing Information - Every piece of equipment, finish, manufacturer will eventually, if not already, be specified in the model, and therefore in the database. Market usage, advance information, and advertising for new, relative products could be pushed exactly as Gmail is scanning and tracking our emails.
2. Specifications Attributing - Specifications are a pain in the ass. This information, however, could reside and be searched the same as Google Scholar or any of the other online, spidered indexes, and automatically be streamed into the database. Revenue could be generated from product suppliers enlisting into this service.
3. New Product Information - We currently wait for the major conferences or search through outdated architectural publications to find out about new products? Why can't their advertising dollars go directly to the company hosting and streaming our model, along with the model families for their new launches, and we can always stay up to date with the newest or most used/popular products??
4. Construction Tracking - Metrics on quantity, location, typologies, etc. for new and upcoming construction could be captured and sold. Real-time updates on new construction can be sourced to Google Earth and Google maps, supplementing satellite data w/more current information.
5. Web-Based Tools (the Gateway Drug!) - If my model is being hosted through Google, and my 100 person + team is using a Google tool, it would introduce me into the rest of the Google suite of products. Spreadsheets, Word docs, email, presentations, calendars? My IT department would need to come to terms with the externally hosted environment, and once that boundary is overcome these tools could become more legitimate, and migrate us from a Microsoft, firewalled world. It would also give Sketchup some street cred in an architect's world, word up.

Ok, now that I've vented this, time for some bbq with the family. Happy 2009!