KML has moved beyond its use in Google Earth alone. For instance, you can display KML files and export search results and one of your "my maps" from Google Maps in KML. Other applications are beginning to support KML: For instance, you can get KML coming out of Yahoo! Pipes. There is support for KML in Feed Validator KML is being shepherded through a standards process: Paul Ramsey: KML @ OGC. Google is advising people to use KML so that its geo--search can index KML -- in KML 2.2, there is an attribution element. Google apparently will also index GeoRSS.

I currently have an example of how to use Yahoo! Pipes in Chapter 4 of my book. Pipes continues to advance quickly beyond the point I last took a close look. At the start of its life, Pipes dealt only with acepting inputs and creating outputs that are RSS or Atom feeds. Now, it seems to be able handle a broader range of inputs: XML documents in general (I think) but also JSON. When I last looked, the output is still primarily feeds -- though KML is now one of the outputs of Pipes, allowing for the generation of mapping data that can be plotted directly on Google Earth and Google Maps. I'm looking forward to being able to produce a broader range of outputs as well as being able to plug in third party filters and transforms.

For an engaging talk on the subject by the creator of Pipes, see it on Google Video.