Seems like all I’ve written about the last couple of days is Google, I would apologise but lets face it, at the moment – Google runs things.
The latest nugget of news is in regard to a new Google Mobile Maps feature called Google Latitude. The new feature lets you broadcast your current location to a select few people based on where on the GPS from your mobile phone.
As Techcrunch points out, the feature is an application in itself where you are able to keep track of people’s locations, call, email or instant message them at any given time. The application also offers a “list view” which reads like a friendfeed stream. Fret not however, you can fake your location or simply choose to not be shown at all.
iPhone users will need to wait before the application is released however Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Nokia S60 users can access it very shortly via google.com/latitude on their phone.
Its bad news for location based social networks such as Loopt, Whrrl and Brightkite all of which are doing their best to become THE mobile social network, yet as with many areas Google is able to gain a large foothold of the market with just one update to a product.
The ultimate question however lies in the notion of trust – do you trust your location with Google as well as nearly every other aspect of your online life?
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“Google runs things.”? I though Twitter ran things? well, maybe 45% of all post here are about Google and 45% about Twitter with 10% left for the rest of the world…
I’ve installed Latitide on My Nokia E61 and N95, latter of which has GPS), and it works perfectly.
The ability to invite friends to connect with just a simple email is built in to the mobile app. Along with this being built into iGoogle with a desktop app, this is a real killer application.
I can also see Google Local Business / offers becoming more important, and when coffee shops, entertainment venues, reastaurants, pubs and wifi hotspots start to become ‘social’ – and they can easily do so – then this will really ‘change the game’ for mobile usage – and tie so many people into Google even further.
Google did it again.
They’d better hurry with that iPhone app though, or the geeks will get upset.
bu why don’t hey embrace this for Business Networking?
Surely the Business Traveller is more interested in learning whozintown.com?
enough of the focus on social, let’s use this for its true potential in he Corp Travel arena – lowering ravel costs and carbon footprint – my 2 euro cents :)