Oh Crap! Can Google see through your eyes?
April 7, 2011 at 10:44 pm 2 comments
Just had a thought i cant put down! Just bought a new Android mobile phone. It 
took hours to connect to all online services I use. The possibilities! Whipped into a lustful technical frenzy and drowning in my own saliva, I naturally gave Google permission to know where i am at any time…I’ll know what shops are nearby, the local swimming pool… …then it hit me.
took hours to connect to all online services I use. The possibilities! Whipped into a lustful technical frenzy and drowning in my own saliva, I naturally gave Google permission to know where i am at any time…I’ll know what shops are nearby, the local swimming pool… …then it hit me.Google know where i am now; they could record my movements – the profiling opportunities! Could any business resist joining the information dots? If they know where i am (phone) they know what I am pausing to look at, (Google Street Map) and where everyone else is too, isn’t that looking through my eyes? If i deviate from my normal movement profile can i get a text to remind me I’m not making the best use of my time? I hope so. I need that service. Finally I’ll know just where I fritter away all those hours!
But this is not a stupid anti-Google rant: I like Google and what they give me. I’m only speculating and maybe that says more about me than it does about one of the cleverest companies on planet earth. Would I want to go back to a world without Google? Not a chance! It’s an ineviatble direction of travel Besides, …I could just untick the “my location” box. . .
You know my suit’s at cleaners – when should i pick it up?
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Entry filed under: Interoperability, semantic web, web. Tags: .
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1.
dkernohan | April 8, 2011 at 10:26 am
I agree – it’s an interesting service, and I think we’ll see uses emerge over the next few years. I ticked the box too (technophile that I am) and I primarily use it for three purposes
#1 tracking and replaying my history movements, to help me claim T&S expenses and mileage.
#2 meeting up with people i know in strange cities
#3 streaming to a widget on the JISC intranet (fuzzed) so people know approximately where I am every day if they want to talk to or meet me.
I’d love:
proximity based coupons: “you appear to be near the Ale Wagon. Here’s a coupon for a £1.50 pint”
links to calendar reminders (add a calendar entry and choose a location, option to remind us early if we are nearby)
frequently visited places appear as quick links for google navigation.
auto-sharing specific locations with friends “Rob is in the pub”.
2.
icesculpture | April 8, 2011 at 2:47 pm
All good David – great to know I’ll be amongst friends in the Google collective!