Map As Metaphor In a Location-Aware Mobile World

mattnyc99 writes "Two weeks after the launch of Google Latitude, your inbox is probably full of requests and privacy advocates probably have even more concerns than they did at first. But some tech pundits are already seeing the bigger picture of a digital lifestyle based around the always-on, GPS-based mobile map. The NYTimes's John Markoff has a great piece in today's Science Times about the map as metaphor for a time when 'future systems will probably begin to blur the boundaries between the display and the real world.' Over at Esquire.com's Tech Therapist, Erik Sofge talks to the geek behind Latitude and offers a similar reality check: 'Latitude will be precisely as annoying as e-mail and social networking sites and cell phones themselves — and just as useful. What won't stop Latitude, or the wider rollout of location-based tracking, is bitching about it. These are juggernauts of free, culture-reorienting technology. And you and me, we are but posts on the massive Facebook profile of history.'"

Wait a minute...

[Locke2005]

No, I haven't received any requests at all! But then, I don't have any friends that need to know my whereabouts, and nobody is currently stalking me. If my family needs to know where I am, they simply call me on my cell and ask. (Although I do frequently tell my wife when she asks that "I'm at the strip club" in the hope that someday when she calls me and I actually AM at the strip club, she won't believe and will respond with "Come On! Where are you, really?") If you are getting these requests, then perhaps you shouldn't have pointed out to your girlfriend(s) that they could be monitoring your whereabouts 24/7.

And of course the following joke is now obsolete: A doctor, a lawyer, and a mathematician are all hanging out at the bar. They all went got their undergraduate degrees from the same institution, so they have been good friends for quite while, but their interests were a bit divergent. Somehow or another, they get to talking about relationships. The lawyer proclaims that, while he is not married, he has a beautiful mistress.

"It is far better to have a mistress than a wife," he says. "A mistress is never going to divorce you and take your money, and if you get tired of her, you can dump her and find someone younger and more attractive. I don't understand why anyone would ever want to get married!"

The doctor responds, "I must say that I disagree. I have been happily married for 15 years, and I just can't see any other way to live. I have my wife's nearly unconditional love, and she is there for me whether I am healthy or not. She takes care of me, and I take care of her, and there is no chance that she is just going to leave me one day. I would much rather have the steady, warm relationship of a wife than the flash-in-the-pan mistress."

The mathematician comments, "You are both wrong. It is best to have both a wife and a mistress. Then you can tell your wife that you are with your mistress, tell your mistress that you are with your wife, and you can go into the office and get some work done."

Re:Hold on now

[NecroPuppy]

He didn't say friends. He said family.

There is an important difference.

Holy Garbage Disposal, Batman!

[__aaclcg7560]

We will now know where the "kitchen sink" is located. Our next metaphor mapping adventure is where the "other shoe drop" is located. :P

Re:Privacy

[greenguy]

People are so quick to forget: 9/11 changed everything.

Re:Wait a minute...

[onion2k]

nobody is currently stalking me

Oh, I beg to differ.