Geobop:
About Geobop
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Geobop is a nickname for Geobopological Survey, which is essentially a series of websites created by David Blomstrom, a Seattle-based naturalist, educator and political activist. Geobop was originally established to market two self-published books that illustrate the variety of Blomstrom’s experiences, interests and ideas. (IR)Rational Parks is a slightly irreverent look at America’s national parks through the eyes of naive tourists. Teacher With an Attitude was written as an attack on public education, which has sadly since been swallowed up by Corporate America. Below are brief descriptions of Geobop’s five primary general audience websites. GeobopFirst there was Geobopological Survey, a jazz band in the beautiful city of Bellingham, Washington. Then there was David Blomstrom, a fan who appropriated the name. He created the website Geobop.com, which focused on a wild variety of topics, from facts about the 50 states to political reform. Eventually, Geobop.com was split into two main projects — educational sites for a general audience and adult political activism sites. Geobop.org now serves as headquarters for the former. Geobop.org’s primary children are GeoWorld, GeoZoo, GeoSymbols and Kids’ Politix. GeoWorld
While GeoZoo, Geobop and Kids’ Politix are relatively unique, GeoWorld faces some stiff competition. After all, websites that offer information on the world’s nations and the 50 states are a dime a dozen. Thus, GeoWorld will probably never be #1 in its category. Nevertheless, it has carved out a lofty niche, aided in part by its association with the other Geobop websites. GeoWorld’s more unique features include Prehistoric America and information on biogeography and the world’s ecoregions. PaleoZoo
Closely associated with GeoWorld, PaleoZoo focuses on prehistory and geology. If you want to know what Delaware’s state fossil is, or if you want to know why there are so few dinosaur fossils on the East Coast, this is a good place to begin your search. GeoZoo
David Blomstrom’s first love has always been animals, yet GeoZoo has been one of Geobop’s most neglected websites, largely because it’s such a daunting project. Merely classifying the more than 50,000 vertebrates is a formidable task. GeoZoo currently serves primarily as a taxonomic guide (primarily to vertebrates) and advanced zoological search function. Several new features are being developed, and information, articles and pictures are being added. GeoZoo is associated with GeoWorld, which includes information on biogeography and ecoregions, and with GeoSymbols, which focuses largely on plants and animals that serve as national or state symbols. GeoSymbols
GeoSymbols was Geobop’s flagship website, even when it was just a subweb on the website Geobop.com. Today it is an independent website that once again gets more traffic than any other Geobop site. This is partly because the webmaster is an authority on national and state symbols, especially “ecosymbols,” and partly because GeoSymbols covers its topic in such exhaustive detail, with a variety of special features. Though GeoWorld and GeoZoo could eventually surpass it in popularity, GeoSymbols will likely remain Geobop’s flagship site. Kids’ Politix
Kids’ Politix best lives up to Geobop’s motto: Nurturing fearless thinkers. There are a number of websites that offer information about government and “civics” for children. But the idea of introducing children to politics is regarded as practically heresy in many circles. Kids’ Politix pushes the envelope, exploring topics like conspiracy science, corruption, hate and name calling in politics. Thus, Kids’ Politix will likely be the most controversial of Geobop’s general audience websites. In fact, politics is like sex; if children don’t learn about it from a reputable and caring source, they’ll learn about it on the streets...or not at all. The consequences of political ignorance can be seen all around us (here in the U.S., that is). David Blomstrom, WebRanger |
