László Kozma

GPS + online maps + blogging ?= 'lifelines' [more ideas]

An idea for a new online service.
Does it solve a valid need? No.
Would it make the world a better place? No.
Would I be happy using it? Absolutely not.
Would it be a blatant violation of privacy, human dignity and common sense? Yes.
Would many people start using it? (Almost certainly) yes.

This idea is the logical consequence of the current trends in social networking, services such as Twitter, mobile presence apps such as Loopt, gps-based applications, reality shows, blogging, and 'buy-an-acre-on-the-moon', 'buy-a-pixel-in-a-picture', 'buy-a-moment-in-time' type fads.

Give users a small device (mobile phone, wrist-watch, iPod, fingerprint-implant) that contains a GPS and records their position every minute, day and night. This way you have a lifeline of the person's (or rather the device's) movement in space and time. Make some nice visualization of it on an online map. (Special visualization techniques needed for long segments where the user is in roughly the same position, and in parts where the device went offline(the line is temporarily broken)). Let the user attach pictures, videos, comments, links, blog entries, to any point on the lifeline. Let users save it, view it, show it, share it with friends, brag about it, etc.

Note.1. Probably there will be some places (ex. airplanes), where the device needs to be turned off. No problem, collaborate with the air-companies, ask them to fill in the gaps with the airplane-routes.

Note.2. The difference from most current services is that it would be automatic (no effort needed to record your location), it would be honest (you can't tamper with previous locations, they are stored automatically somewhere out of your reach), and you can't escape from it ("he switched it off, why did he do it?, where was he last time?, what did he plan to do before that?", etc.), not unlike current mobile phones.