Monday, October 6. 2008

What Google Learns About You via its Mapping Apps

Dr. Dobbs Portal (Journal) provides an article based on Googling Security: How Much Does Google Know About You? a book coming out later this month by Greg Conti. Conti is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the U.S. Military Academy (aka West Point). His premise in the article:

You face significant risks from both your use of these services and the content they contain. This article analyzes the information you disclose when using mapping and imagery services, including how your use of these tools discloses locations of your home, employer, family and friends, travel plans, and strategic intentions, and discusses how data mining can easily link seemingly disparate groups of people based on their interest in common locations. It also covers the risks inherent in the content itself, including camera-equipped cars capturing continuous streams of high-quality street-level photographs, collaborative analysis of satellite imagery, and your inability to trust the veracity of the images themselves.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Google at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Communication, not LBS, Solves Local Problem for Kawasaki

So, what do you do if you were on Coronado Island and realized you'd forgotten your MacBook charger? Guy Kawasaki twittered his need and location and within 8 minutes had a loaner from a follower or friend of a follower. Now, he's famous and has 20,000+ followers on Twitter, but there was no fancy GPS needed, "just" communication.

PistachioConsulting via FIR

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in LBS at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |