Monday, March 30, 2009

Real location based services

There is Google Lattitude and Plazes and a lot of other services. But what I am wondering about is, why there is still no app for Facebook or twitter (beside of L:) to see if there are friends around the place where are you right now?

Yes, I know, and I always pointed to privacy issues. Even I don't want to let the world know about every step I do. But I would like to switch on and off a service. Like I sit in a coffee shop in Saigon and want to know who is nearby.

The problem with the most LBS apps they are currently available is that they have nearly no market penetration. Google fails with Latidude like Plazes failed already.

Anyone with any idea what the obstacles are? Is it really privacy?

4 comments:

PK said...

It's a service that needs to be coined in the right way. Obviously, you need dynamic input of where users are in a seamless way, which is the hard part. Then granted that the user approves tracking - i.e, that they turn on the service like "I'm available"; but this latter concern is not the issue. Users simply toggle "I'm out to lunch", "invisible", etc, just as they would with messenger chat services. If they subscribe to the service, they must agree to the terms - so, I don't think it's a privacy issue, per se.

Luffemann said...

What do you think about this LBM tool ?

http://bit.ly/mRGoY & http://bit.ly/12kJw & http://bit.ly/CtcSS

Unknown said...

seen dopplr?

re: your question - probably to much fuzz to update all the time for to small a network to really work - no incentive for users to keep doing it.

Quirinius said...

Even my friends don't need to know where I am all the time. So I see no reason to share my location with anybody. Even not with myself.

The only thing I would like to have, is the GPS location inserted into the meta files of pictures I thake with my Nokia 95. However, locking GPS takes to much time, and only works in an reasonably open area. Not in a bar or building. So too much fuzz.

Even the automatic Gmail signature "Sent from Amsterdam, NH, Netherlands" is almost over the limit for me. The only reason I leave it on, is that the location is so inaccurate (it's based on the ISP registrar address, I think), it's acceptable for me. It's inaccurate enough, and I can always blame gmail / the ISP. ;-)

FWIW: I've used GPSed a few times. Just for fun, and just for one other person.