Very funny and very realistic. Thanks. I immediately blogged about it at 7thmassmedia.com

Tomi Ahonen

Very funny and very realistic. Thanks. I immediately blogged about it at 7thmassmedia.com

Tomi Ahonen

I think you can cloak your location if you do not want others to see your location, i.e.. if you are studying for an exam or on a date with someone else! Bad!

I think you can cloak your location if you do not want others to see your location, i.e.. if you are studying for an exam or on a date with someone else! Bad!

“network signalling service with no commercial viability” – how times change when you let Normbs use a service they work out how they want to use it.

Technology alway changed our perception of privacy and Latitude – or LBS in general – will not differ in this case. The problem is, that not everybody is bein affected by technology at the same time and in the same way. That’s why there is always a group of early adopters who are facing scrutiny of their sanity. Then, gradually, technology gets adopted in to the masses and the cycle starts again.

Comparing Latitude to SMS is pointless, one is a network signalling service, the other is an opt-in service which currently has no commercial viability.

If you are stupid enough to share your location and lie about whilst not covering your tracks, it's your fault surely?

Now…when you receive a “Private number” call – do you think twice before answering it – compared to the “Hi Ewan how are you”?

Walking past normobs in the street, the most often asked question is always “where are you?”. The answer then helps the caller define the rest of the conversation.

If you call me and ask me where I am – I'll probably tell you – why would I not?

The latitude function WILL take a while for people to get used to, but just as SMS and caller-ID had to find their feet – latitude type location products will eventually come into their own.

When this becomes really mass market (which is the reason behind Google launching it) is so that instead of having to ask where someone is in the first part of the call, those with whom we have shared our number and our location will know instantly where we are before they call – quite a foreign concept now but I predict it will catch on – just like that SMS thingy concept.

PS: Latitude has a wide range of privacy settings built in. If I don't want someone to know where I am – I can set it manually.

i suspect the scare is that if it gets universally popular it will be suspicious if people didn't have it. some how i can't see it happening, majority of society is not interested, just as they are not interested in facebook.

to be fair any relationship in which you'd check up on your significant other whether they actually are with friends is doomed in the first place. i really don't think it's google's place to teach any one honesty. or any other virtues for that matter.

let's please not lose the perspective here.