geolocation and privacy

FYI (the article is longer, just a quote)

On Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT
In I Am Here: One Man's Experiment With the Location-Aware Lifestyle
At http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/17-02/lp_guineapig?currentPage=all

The trouble started right away. While my wife and
I were sipping stouts at our neighborhood pub in
San Francisco (37.770401 °N, 122.445154 °W), I
casually mentioned my plan. Her eyes narrowed.
"You're not going to announce to everyone that
you're leaving town without me, are you? A lot of
weirdos follow you online."

Sorry, weirdos—I love you, but she has a point.
Because of my work, many people—most of them
strangers—track my various Flickr, Twitter,
Tumblr, and blog feeds. And it's true; I was going
to be gone for a week on business. Did I really
want to tell the world that I was out of town? It
wasn't just leaving my wife home alone that
concerned me. Because the card in my camera
automatically added location data to my photos,
anyone who cared to look at my Flickr page could
see my computers, my spendy bicycle, and my large
flatscreen TV all pinpointed on an online photo
map. Hell, with a few clicks you could get driving
directions right to my place—and with a few more
you could get black gloves and a lock pick
delivered to your home.



-- 
Karl Dubost
Montréal, QC, Canada
http://twitter.com/karlpro

Received on Sunday, 25 January 2009 03:24:28 UTC