Joe Francica at Directions Magazine posts an editorial about Google Earth’s contribution to making GIS more accessible to the layman.

His observations are buttressed by an announcement at the end of his article that Directions Magazine will be shifting focus slightly, to take into account this burgeoning consumer market and the moneymaking opportunities it brings:

Next week, Directions Magazine unveils a new publication to follow the trends in “profiting” from location technology and the applications of how geospatial information and technology become more embedded in enterprise systems. Location Intelligence Magazine will be a window into not only how businesses will deploy these tools for B2B solutions but also how these “consumer” applications of GE and MS VE might affect how the business world leverage “location” for a competitive advantage. I hope you will subscribe.

Done. Of course, one way to “profit” off Google Earth is to start up a magazine about it:-)