I recently installed Google Latitude on my Blackberry. My wife thought that the fact that people can now follow me in real-time was very creepy. She already thinks that Twitter is a bit like stalking. I decided to ask my Twitter followers (this includes anyone that reads my status updates in various other locations) if they thought it was creepy. I received five responses to my tweet: Google Latitude Cool or Creepy? All responders said it was creepy yet none of them actually use Google Latitude so their opinion is not based on the practical application of the technology. It is clear that the notion of someone, anyone, being able to see where you are unnerves a certain portion of the population.
As a user of Gooble Latitude I don’t think it’s Creepy because:
- only people you invite get to see your location
- you can turn it off at any time
- you can turn off or limit by user (exact location, city level only, or no location)
- you can “specify” a location.
Could this technology be abused, absolutely. Any technology is only as benign as the person using it. Look at email. It’s a great technology but I’m sure there is more than a little hate out there for spammers!
My take on Google Latitude is that it’s worth a look. You can sort out for yourself whether you think it’s creepy or not.
