Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Where in the world is....?? Google's got your answer.

Ever think that it would be great to alert someone you were running late without actually having to do or say anything? Ever wonder what it would be like if a credit card company could detect fraud without you having to realize and report it?

Well, you may just be in luck...

Today, Google announced its updates to Google Latitude, a feature that, if done right, could be a complete game changer in location-based tracking. Pending the successful resolution of privacy issues (similar to those for which Facebook is being currently challenged), it is possible that your phone will be able to identify your location at any point in time, ultimately leading to an infinite number of applications, some of which are described above. Personalized electronic experiences when searching for restaurants and automatically-created expense reports are just a few others.

While advancement in technology is beneficial for many reasons, some of these developments often force me to wonder, "how far is too far?" (no geographical pun intended). Will we ultimately lose touch with eachother and with reality in a society where electronics do everything for us? I think I'd rather call a friend and tell them I'm going to be late, but that's just me.

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