just imagine...

Google has used its wit to outsmart the world once again. Google Latitude (being released today) enables users to locate their friends and vice versa via their location on Google Maps Mobile.

This is such a dumb idea.

of course, I don't mean dumb in the sense that it should not have been done, but dumb in the sense that someone should have already released this by now as it is not a result of some break-through technological advance, but rather, this is what happens when the technology is available for long enough and people begin to think.

"What else can we do with this?"

Bruce Mau's Massive Change discusses the power we as humans (specifically as designers) now have. Technology has facilitated an array of options which seem to be endless. In effect, since we have yet to discover the full range of what may be accomplished through existing technology, we are not yet fully aware of our capabilities.

"Now that we can make anything, what will we make?"

Just imagine how many lives might have been save had someone thought of this application years ago? Take, for example, James Kim, an editor of C-Net.com (a web site which provides expert reviews of modern technology), who died from exposure and hypothermia while trying to retrieve help for his family after their car was buried in snow during a road trip. Kim’s death could have certainly been prevented had he received a signal on his cellular phone and been able to contact the appropriate local authorities for help. Furthermore, had his cell phone been equipped with Google Latitude, certainly his death would not have occurred from being lost in the cold.

Ironically, only a few weeks after Kim’s death, C-Net.com released survey results that indicated the general public’s distrust of location based software in cellular phones largely due to the pervasive fear of being watched by “Big Brother” regardless of the palpable dangers that surfaced during Kim’s disappearance and death. Also, most cellular phones are already equipped with software enabling users to be located during emergencies while the device is turned on (even if there is no service signal available). This indicates that the fear of being located by a mobile communication device is merely perceptual; users have been located by their cellular phones before this feature was advertised as a technological breakthrough.

Design can save lives...

Technology provides us with possibilities and allows us to imagine; design utilizes both possibilities and imagination so that we may make our lives easier through new ways of navigating, communicating, interacting, sharing, learning, teaching, dating, and expressing emotion. My only hope is that this technology becomes more affordable and lasts longer than a year or so. This new era brings forth positive change and maturation... dream.