Topic: Social Geo-location sharing.
Innovation: Geo-location Technology
Proposed Paper Outline:
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction/Background/Historical Perspective
What is geo-location technology?
-Geo-location: Identification of the real-world geographic location of people via Internet-enabled devices, determining a meaningful address. Geo-location technology is used to determine the geo-location of the other party.
Rationale behind choosing this topic:
-Rise of mobile social networking. Increasing trend of people sharing their location through geo-location technology on social networking platforms wherever they go.
-Geo-location software has become an issue of concern recently with Google and Apple being in the news for their location tracking apps.
-The controversy is something worth addressing as I feel that the geo-location technology will impact us even greatly so in the future.
-Examples of social networking sites using geo-location technology: Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook, Twitter, iPhone apps
Historical perspective:
-Geo-location technology first existed with the introduction of GPS on handsets. It was used mainly for maps, routing and assisted navigation as well as tracking services like traffic and vehicle tracking.
Current situation:
-Recent uptakes of such technology include social media platforms and pervasiveness of 3G networks + GPS enabled smart phones. This resulted in an increasing trend of social networking platforms using such technology (geo-location check-in) -> evolving usage of geo-location software
3. Issues/Challenges
-Threat to privacy:
Privacy is the quality or state of being free from disturbance or observation in one’s private life or affairs; freedom from unauthorized intrusion
Location data are available to a whole web of people if privacy settings are not in place. Companies like Google and Apple have been storing the location data of their users and this means that anyone who steals the phone can discover details about the owner’s movements.
-Threat to personal safety:
Gives rise to opportunities for crimes/stalking/burglary to happen.
Smart phones are more prevalent now, especially among preteens and teens, and social networking sites target that demographic by using geo-location data as part of a game. Preteens and teens tend to overlook the dangers that come with sharing their location.
Pleaserobme website to raise awareness about over-sharing
-Help with criminal investigations:
Help track down criminals, thwart terrorism
4. Discussion and Analysis
-We grumble about prying eyes, yet we love to publish our locations onto the Web for all to see.
Social geo-location sharing, is there a balance between privacy and social sharing?
-“We live in a world where every swipe of a credit card tells someone, somewhere, more than we might want them to know. But until now, the information trails we left behind had always seem more incidental than intentional”.
Now there seems to be a increasing trend of people volunteering information about their location on social networking sites without any concern over how the data may be used. A seeming paradox in media culture which is becoming a globally networked game of show-and-tell.
5. Taking Things Forward
-A need for users to realize the dangers of social geo-location sharing
-Privacy settings need to be enhanced
-Prudent usage of geo-location services is advisable
-Possible opportunities for social geo-location sharing?
Positive commercial impacts: marketers can effectively target customers based on location. People also tend to check out the places liked by the people they trust (shown when they check-in to a particular place).
6. Conclusion
Hey. Ok let me start with the good. I think that you are very thorough with your classification and explanation of geo-location technology. That is really good. It shows that you have done your research and know your field well. Ok now time for the bad stuff. Please don't slap me in class ok?! ;) I feel that you didn't mention much about your personal opinion on the topic. You didn't classify if it is a revolutionary or evolutionary change. I think that if you add in your own 2 cents worth to the picture, it becomes even more insightful. Lastly, perhaps you could explain how things were like before this trend emerged. Just briefly.. Yups! Other than that, KUDOS!
ReplyDeleteHello friend!
ReplyDeleteYour outline is very clear, and I have no problem following the flow of it at all. (: Your examples are all very concrete, and I understand the paradox of this whole geo-location technology thing and I understand where you are coming from. Good job! However, I feel that your outline is a bit "stating the obvious" (sorry it sounds very harsh but I don't know how to phrase it in another way and yet retain the meaning. Sorry!). Because all these points you stated are very straight-forward, and maybe because I am a "victim" of such a technology, I would have assumed the impacts of this technology as such. A suggestion would be to look at this topic from a different angle, for instance, in the part that mentions about taking things forward, you can come up with more revolutionary ideas, or put in your own personal opinions (: But overall, I really get the flow of this, and i think it's awesome! (:
Pearlyn