Wednesday, 29 June 2005
Successor to “Degree Confluence Project” to Photograph 4,554,000 Geographic Intersection Points in the U.S., Creating Unique Picture of America.
San Francisco, CA — June 29, 2005— Zoto, an online photo site, announced today at the Where 2.0 conference that it will sponsor and host Geo Project USA, the first initiative to index and photograph each of the more than 4,554,000 “minute confluence points” in the United States.
“Confluence points” are where whole-numbered lines of latitude intersect with whole-numbered line of longitude (e.g., 43°00’00”N, 109°00’00”W). A “minute” in geographic terms is 1/60 of a “degree,” or one mile. “Minute confluence points” form a one-mile by one-mile grid across the United States.
Participants will visit and photograph “minute confluence points,” then post their pictures and notes on a dedicated section of the Zoto website, at http://www.GeoProjectUSA.com. Once posted, photos will be plotted on a display map, allowing visitors to zoom in on any state, region, city or neighborhood. “This project will create a view of America unlike anything before it,” said Kord Campbell, Zoto’s founder and CEO. “There’s satellite mapping technology today that lets you zoom in and see your house from space. However, Geo Project USA will give us ground level photos from millions of locations just one mile apart. For the first time, you’ll be able to see literally every square mile of America.”
Geo Project USA is inspired by the successful “Degree Confluence Project” (www.Confluence.org). More than 7,000 participants have visited, photographed and written about 5,000 degree confluence points in 166 countries, including 872 of the 1265 degree confluence points in the U.S. “People have been asking me for something like this for a long time,” said Alex Jarrett who founded the Degree Confluence Project in 1996. “Geo Project USA takes our original vision to an extreme level.”
Zoto is a natural home for Geo Project USA. Kord Campbell owned the Oklahoma internet service provider (ISP) where the Degree Confluence Project was originally housed and has been involved in the project ever since, personally contributing several degree confluence visits in Oklahoma and Texas.
HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE? Since minute confluence points are one mile apart vs. 60 miles apart for degree confluences, Campbell believes enthusiasts will be able to cover a much larger number in a shorter period of time: “Geo Project USA is an ambitious, long-term project,” he said. “However we’re optimistic that in two-to-three years, we’ll have enough photos that a fascinating tapestry of America will begin to emerge.”
HOW TO GET INVOLVED To participate in Geo Project USA, all you need is a standard GPS device (available from Garmin, Magellan and other manufacturers and sold through sporting goods stores and online retailers including Amazon.com), a compass and a digital camera. To learn how to locate minute confluence points, or for any other information on the project, visit www.GeoProjectUSA.com.
ABOUT ZOTO Zoto is a Web-based photo hosting, organizing, sharing and publishing site. Zoto was founded in 2004 by Kord Campbell, Rick Dunning and Trey Stout and is privately funded. Zoto is based in Oklahoma City, OK, with a business development office in Berkeley, CA. For more information, visit www.Zoto.com.
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