Re:See where your friends are with Google Latitude
by axod on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @06:56AM
(#465625)
I think there's a pretty solid trail of startups who have tried and failed to make a compelling use case for it so far.
Re:See where your friends are with Google Latitude
by ajju on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @10:37AM
(#465854)
Sharing your location is, at least right now, more of a feature than a product in users minds. If you have a google maps client on your phone already, you'll probably try it.
Users probably won't download an app that does just that as readily.
Google has the classic big company/large install base edge in this area.
Re:See where your friends are with Google Latitude
by wallflower on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @10:54AM
(#465874)
If sharing the location is not the neat feature - perhaps it's visualizing/mining that information accrued over your daily life/time. Here's some concepts from MIT
http://web.media.mit.edu/~orkan/projects/portraits/main.html
Re:See where your friends are with Google Latitude
by axod on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @10:44AM
(#465861)
Completely agree. It's a feature, and if it was a free add-on, it'd be useful.
eg if someone is going on a long journey, be able to track them to see they get there safely etc
But I don't think it's anything more than a feature.
Re:See where your friends are with Google Latitude
by riklomas on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @07:01AM
(#465632)
Yahoo has also tried too, not to much success though: http://fireeagle.yahoo.net/
Re:See where your friends are with Google Latitude
by ajju on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @10:34AM
(#465850)
Except fireeagle doesn't have a client with an install base as large as Google Maps' and is really more of a pipe/aggregator than a client in the first place.
Re:See where your friends are with Google Latitude
by brlewis on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @09:26AM
(#465758)
Live journalism is one use case: http://friendfeed.com/scobleizer?service=feed&servic...
That said, there is still a long way to go and this technology still has not found a compelling application. The only reason I would consider using it is to be one of the first people to actually figure it out on the ground and potentially find those compelling uses, if they exist.