February 6, 2009 79 Comments

Google Latitude is a Marker to Consider

cellphone The Official Google Mobile blog reports a new service: Google Latitude, which overlays Google maps with information about where your friends are, in real time. It’s opt-in, and there are privacy features already in place for it, so don’t get all crazy on us now. But I think this is a point in time to consider. I’ll explain in a moment.

First off, Google Latitude has the ability to spread ridiculously fast. In its mobile form (and that’s really the only version users should care about), they’ve got versions working for Android(naturally), Blackberry, Symbian S60, and Windows Mobile. Missing (and what the hell are you thinking?) is the iPhone version. It’s the right tool for our phones, and it’s a great tool for those of us who don’t have only two locations in our daily map: work, home.

map graphic And yes, for some of you (I’m looking at you, BrightKite), this announcement is a bit scary. If I’m a mobile map-like product, I’ve just been served notice.

But, where this gets interesting is that the applications between Google Local, with its voting features and its review features, and now with Google Latitude with the ability to annotate the world ( I’m a bit obsessed with the concept), we’re on to something. Do you see it?

Sidebar: If you haven’t read William Gibson’s Spook Country, now’s the time to pick that up. Laced into the plot are ideas for where this could be really interesting.

Data overlaying real space has been considered in many ways before. How could we put digital markers up? How will notation by friends (because really, throwing spammy ads all over a map just means I won’t read your map) change how I interact with businesses? When I get to Denver, will I check Latitude to see which of my friends has marked the map to where the best sushi is, the most fun of the three hotels over by the school?

That mix of local, of maps, and of annotation is powerful. Storytellers, marketers, journalists, and others who think about information as more than something to read while eating cereal, I’ve put you on alert.

Dream harder.

Want to see if it works for your phone yet? Go to http://google.com/latitude from your mobile device and see what happens. (This works on your desktop browser as well).

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Newer Comments →
  • http://bit.ly/gwalter gwalter

    I totally agree with you on this Chris!

    And yes, BrightKite, you may be finished – unless you got that BlackBerry app out yet!

  • http://bit.ly/gwalter gwalter

    I totally agree with you on this Chris!

    And yes, BrightKite, you may be finished – unless you got that BlackBerry app out yet!

  • http://daddytude.com Gary Walter

    I totally agree with you on this Chris!

    And yes, BrightKite, you may be finished – unless you got that BlackBerry app out yet!

  • http://lifestream.silverton.palo-alto.ca.us/ @silverton
  • http://lifestream.silverton.palo-alto.ca.us/ @silverton
  • http://michael.silverton.palo-alto.ca.us/ michael silverton
  • http://nathanwaddell.com Nathan

    Nice work. Watch out Brightkite. As a Palm user, this is “useless” to a point. But hey, hope everyone else with a phone that was developed post-1995 and is still being supported enjoys this.

  • http://nathanwaddell.com Nathan

    Nice work. Watch out Brightkite. As a Palm user, this is “useless” to a point. But hey, hope everyone else with a phone that was developed post-1995 and is still being supported enjoys this.

  • http://nathanwaddell.com Nathan

    Nice work. Watch out Brightkite. As a Palm user, this is “useless” to a point. But hey, hope everyone else with a phone that was developed post-1995 and is still being supported enjoys this.

  • http://www.virtualwayfarer.com Alex Berger

    I agree completely. It’s a fantastic piece of software – though I won’t be using it locally right now I’ve been hankering for something like this for my travel blogging for a long time. Especially if you could pull a lat/long dump and then plot the path of your entire trip onto a map. Add in lat/long tagged photos/video/blog posts and you’ve really got an amazing experience that you can truly share!

    Also, I think it has amazing implications for news media. With local newspapers in trouble – this poses interesting possibilities.

  • http://www.virtualwayfarer.com Alex Berger

    I agree completely. It’s a fantastic piece of software – though I won’t be using it locally right now I’ve been hankering for something like this for my travel blogging for a long time. Especially if you could pull a lat/long dump and then plot the path of your entire trip onto a map. Add in lat/long tagged photos/video/blog posts and you’ve really got an amazing experience that you can truly share!

    Also, I think it has amazing implications for news media. With local newspapers in trouble – this poses interesting possibilities.

  • http://jeremyvaught.com Jeremy Vaught

    I like the idea of Brightkite, but can’t stand having to remember all the txt commands for every mobile app out there. Thus, this is perfect. I installed it on my N95 the first night it was available.

    Indeed, Brightkite/Plazes etc…, be on notice.

  • http://jeremyvaught.com Jeremy Vaught

    I like the idea of Brightkite, but can’t stand having to remember all the txt commands for every mobile app out there. Thus, this is perfect. I installed it on my N95 the first night it was available.

    Indeed, Brightkite/Plazes etc…, be on notice.

  • http://jeremyvaught.com Jeremy Vaught

    I like the idea of Brightkite, but can’t stand having to remember all the txt commands for every mobile app out there. Thus, this is perfect. I installed it on my N95 the first night it was available.

    Indeed, Brightkite/Plazes etc…, be on notice.

  • http://www.nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    not sure how I feel about this yet, but it looks like I won’t have a choice but to accept it. The world is getting smaller by the day.

  • http://www.nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    not sure how I feel about this yet, but it looks like I won’t have a choice but to accept it. The world is getting smaller by the day.

  • John Reddish Get Results

    Really neat – crisp. Am adding favorites now. Thanks, Chris, for the head’s up on this. Very cool.

  • http://www.nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    not sure how I feel about this yet, but it looks like I won’t have a choice but to accept it. The world is getting smaller by the day.

  • http://www.getresults.com,or,www.thesuccessionplanner.com John Reddish Get Results

    Really neat – crisp. Am adding favorites now. Thanks, Chris, for the head’s up on this. Very cool.

  • http://twitter.com/davidtcarson David Carson

    iPhone and iPod touch devices (coming soon)

    I hope iPhone support for Latitude comes faster than Mac support for Chrome.

  • http://twitter.com/davidtcarson David Carson

    iPhone and iPod touch devices (coming soon)

    I hope iPhone support for Latitude comes faster than Mac support for Chrome.

  • http://twitter.com/davidtcarson David Carson

    iPhone and iPod touch devices (coming soon)

    I hope iPhone support for Latitude comes faster than Mac support for Chrome.

  • http://vanelsas.wordpress.com Alexander van Elsas

    Chris,
    Sorry but I do not see the advantages other than having another cool app on my mobile. I’m probably not being imaginative but there is no real value yet to be found. This technology has a “coolness” factor to it, but that will wear off as we start using this. Location Based services have been around for a long time. If we get past the “Hey I can watch my friends”, or the idea that Retail can spam the hell out of me to bring me an offer when I walk by the store, we currently do not have a clue yet how to make this useful.
    As for your story telling or friends annotation example. That will surely be valuable to a specific group of people. But for mainstream users to start changing their daily habits and incorporate this service more value will have to be found.The First Use experience is simply not valuable enough at this point.
    We tend to get excited over new technology and Google releasing great things, but forget that the rest of the world doesn’t care at this point. The simple question at this point would be if a user would be willing to pay to get access to such a service. I doubt it in its current form.
    This could be the start of something new, but that is up to the market to decide. For now, it is just another cool app.

    • Supersubra

      Here in India I have used google latitude in Nokia E63 and I have lost my phone a week ago. Person who has taken the mobile has switched the sim but he didnt have enough knowledge about latitude. so my position was getting updated even after changing sim. with the help of local police i have approximated the building and with door to door enquiry we recovered the phone. so this is really a cool application

  • http://vanelsas.wordpress.com Alexander van Elsas

    Chris,
    Sorry but I do not see the advantages other than having another cool app on my mobile. I’m probably not being imaginative but there is no real value yet to be found. This technology has a “coolness” factor to it, but that will wear off as we start using this. Location Based services have been around for a long time. If we get past the “Hey I can watch my friends”, or the idea that Retail can spam the hell out of me to bring me an offer when I walk by the store, we currently do not have a clue yet how to make this useful.
    As for your story telling or friends annotation example. That will surely be valuable to a specific group of people. But for mainstream users to start changing their daily habits and incorporate this service more value will have to be found.The First Use experience is simply not valuable enough at this point.
    We tend to get excited over new technology and Google releasing great things, but forget that the rest of the world doesn’t care at this point. The simple question at this point would be if a user would be willing to pay to get access to such a service. I doubt it in its current form.
    This could be the start of something new, but that is up to the market to decide. For now, it is just another cool app.

  • http://vanelsas.wordpress.com Alexander van Elsas

    Chris,
    Sorry but I do not see the advantages other than having another cool app on my mobile. I’m probably not being imaginative but there is no real value yet to be found. This technology has a “coolness” factor to it, but that will wear off as we start using this. Location Based services have been around for a long time. If we get past the “Hey I can watch my friends”, or the idea that Retail can spam the hell out of me to bring me an offer when I walk by the store, we currently do not have a clue yet how to make this useful.
    As for your story telling or friends annotation example. That will surely be valuable to a specific group of people. But for mainstream users to start changing their daily habits and incorporate this service more value will have to be found.The First Use experience is simply not valuable enough at this point.
    We tend to get excited over new technology and Google releasing great things, but forget that the rest of the world doesn’t care at this point. The simple question at this point would be if a user would be willing to pay to get access to such a service. I doubt it in its current form.
    This could be the start of something new, but that is up to the market to decide. For now, it is just another cool app.

  • http://www.twitter.com/mvermut Marc Vermut

    Chris, great post that got to the meat of the possibilities. What’s really interesting is that the service was launched outside of any specific social network or platform, but tied specifically to Google IDs. This is a consistent and clear extension of their apparent business model of being the platform/tools that people use while online and, now, more importantly, mobile.

    Google wants people to integrate their tools into other services, create mashups, become the underlying mesh of a connected web. Why? Because they (a) collect tremendous amounts of information about who people are and what they do, and (b) gain more and more places to serve ads and transaction facilitation opportunities. Oh, and, what better way to jump beyond Facebook Connect than to put their OpenID status, Google Friend Connect and OpenSocial platform to a demonstrably/powerful good use?

  • http://www.twitter.com/mvermut Marc Vermut

    Chris, great post that got to the meat of the possibilities. What’s really interesting is that the service was launched outside of any specific social network or platform, but tied specifically to Google IDs. This is a consistent and clear extension of their apparent business model of being the platform/tools that people use while online and, now, more importantly, mobile.

    Google wants people to integrate their tools into other services, create mashups, become the underlying mesh of a connected web. Why? Because they (a) collect tremendous amounts of information about who people are and what they do, and (b) gain more and more places to serve ads and transaction facilitation opportunities. Oh, and, what better way to jump beyond Facebook Connect than to put their OpenID status, Google Friend Connect and OpenSocial platform to a demonstrably/powerful good use?

  • http://www.twitter.com/mvermut Marc Vermut

    Chris, great post that got to the meat of the possibilities. What’s really interesting is that the service was launched outside of any specific social network or platform, but tied specifically to Google IDs. This is a consistent and clear extension of their apparent business model of being the platform/tools that people use while online and, now, more importantly, mobile.

    Google wants people to integrate their tools into other services, create mashups, become the underlying mesh of a connected web. Why? Because they (a) collect tremendous amounts of information about who people are and what they do, and (b) gain more and more places to serve ads and transaction facilitation opportunities. Oh, and, what better way to jump beyond Facebook Connect than to put their OpenID status, Google Friend Connect and OpenSocial platform to a demonstrably/powerful good use?

  • Pingback: Google Latitude, another way to experience the world « From the Wet West with Love

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    @Alexander – 5 things you could do with this right now:

    * Sales team uses this to show positions at a larger event like CES in Las Vegas.
    * Nonprofit builds a map of elderly people who opt in for friendly companion visits.
    * Library uses it to annotate historical markers out in the public space.
    * Runners use it to mark favorite paths or trailheads.
    * Fundraisers or politicians use it to map out a campaign trail.

    I could keep listing these, but it’s 2:23AM and it’s your turn to stretch your head.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    @Alexander – 5 things you could do with this right now:

    * Sales team uses this to show positions at a larger event like CES in Las Vegas.
    * Nonprofit builds a map of elderly people who opt in for friendly companion visits.
    * Library uses it to annotate historical markers out in the public space.
    * Runners use it to mark favorite paths or trailheads.
    * Fundraisers or politicians use it to map out a campaign trail.

    I could keep listing these, but it’s 2:23AM and it’s your turn to stretch your head.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    One more thing: not everyone’s a futurist, and that’s okay. I make my money by figuring out the jump move instead of the obvious here and now.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    One more thing: not everyone’s a futurist, and that’s okay. I make my money by figuring out the jump move instead of the obvious here and now.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    One more thing: not everyone’s a futurist, and that’s okay. I make my money by figuring out the jump move instead of the obvious here and now.

  • http://vanelsas.wordpress.com Alexander van Elsas

    Chris,

    I do not consider myself a futurist or an early adopter. My passion lies with First Use. I follow and think about new technologies and I can get excited over the capabilities. But for mass adoption it boils down to a simple question :

    Is a user willing to put in the effort to learn about this new technology and incorporate it in his current habits?

    The answer to this is that we need a whole lot of perceived value before this will happen. The examples you provide may become true at some point, but right now there isn’t any clear indication that it will be the case. The market will decide. I write bout First use a lot, and didn’t want to plug a post on it here, but this one fits the topic so to say.

    http://vanelsas.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/just-because-google-can-track-your-friends-doesnt-make-it-valuable/

    Sleep well :-)

  • http://vanelsas.wordpress.com Alexander van Elsas

    Chris,

    I do not consider myself a futurist or an early adopter. My passion lies with First Use. I follow and think about new technologies and I can get excited over the capabilities. But for mass adoption it boils down to a simple question :

    Is a user willing to put in the effort to learn about this new technology and incorporate it in his current habits?

    The answer to this is that we need a whole lot of perceived value before this will happen. The examples you provide may become true at some point, but right now there isn’t any clear indication that it will be the case. The market will decide. I write bout First use a lot, and didn’t want to plug a post on it here, but this one fits the topic so to say.

    http://vanelsas.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/just-because-google-can-track-your-friends-doesnt-make-it-valuable/

    Sleep well :-)

  • http://vanelsas.wordpress.com Alexander van Elsas

    Chris,

    I do not consider myself a futurist or an early adopter. My passion lies with First Use. I follow and think about new technologies and I can get excited over the capabilities. But for mass adoption it boils down to a simple question :

    Is a user willing to put in the effort to learn about this new technology and incorporate it in his current habits?

    The answer to this is that we need a whole lot of perceived value before this will happen. The examples you provide may become true at some point, but right now there isn’t any clear indication that it will be the case. The market will decide. I write bout First use a lot, and didn’t want to plug a post on it here, but this one fits the topic so to say.

    http://vanelsas.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/just-because-google-can-track-your-friends-doesnt-make-it-valuable/

    Sleep well :-)

  • Pingback: It’s ok not to be a futurist « Alexander van Elsas’s Weblog on new media & technologies and their effect on social behavior

  • Matt B

    I’ve always been a map junkie, and I find Latitude interesting (in theory at this point, because I have an iPhone).

    Some of the items Chris points out @ 2:21 AM can already be accomplished with your own Google maps.

    I’m curious to see where it goes (other than my wife wanting to track me) and I’ve begun playing to see what I might be able to fold into my daily activities.

  • Matt B

    I’ve always been a map junkie, and I find Latitude interesting (in theory at this point, because I have an iPhone).

    Some of the items Chris points out @ 2:21 AM can already be accomplished with your own Google maps.

    I’m curious to see where it goes (other than my wife wanting to track me) and I’ve begun playing to see what I might be able to fold into my daily activities.

  • Matt B

    I’ve always been a map junkie, and I find Latitude interesting (in theory at this point, because I have an iPhone).

    Some of the items Chris points out @ 2:21 AM can already be accomplished with your own Google maps.

    I’m curious to see where it goes (other than my wife wanting to track me) and I’ve begun playing to see what I might be able to fold into my daily activities.

  • Raul

    I see great possibility for this type of application. And, actually, I think the idea of knowing where my friends are is not really that valuable to me – perhaps if I lived in a high density location I would be interested just in case I am 25 feet from a friend and neither of us know it. I see a lot of potential applications of the concept in the relief and development non-profit sector and can also picture benefits from a commercial standpoint.

    Having said that, the latitude website has some issue and the software would not download to my Blackberry. Perhaps they have missed a few things?

  • Raul

    I see great possibility for this type of application. And, actually, I think the idea of knowing where my friends are is not really that valuable to me – perhaps if I lived in a high density location I would be interested just in case I am 25 feet from a friend and neither of us know it. I see a lot of potential applications of the concept in the relief and development non-profit sector and can also picture benefits from a commercial standpoint.

    Having said that, the latitude website has some issue and the software would not download to my Blackberry. Perhaps they have missed a few things?

  • Raul

    I see great possibility for this type of application. And, actually, I think the idea of knowing where my friends are is not really that valuable to me – perhaps if I lived in a high density location I would be interested just in case I am 25 feet from a friend and neither of us know it. I see a lot of potential applications of the concept in the relief and development non-profit sector and can also picture benefits from a commercial standpoint.

    Having said that, the latitude website has some issue and the software would not download to my Blackberry. Perhaps they have missed a few things?

  • Anonymous

    For the iPhone, Google Latitude is “coming soon.” Blog about this again in a month or two to remind me? :)

  • Anonymous

    For the iPhone, Google Latitude is “coming soon.” Blog about this again in a month or two to remind me? :)

  • http://www.BryanPerson.com Bryan Person

    For the iPhone, Google Latitude is “coming soon.” Blog about this again in a month or two to remind me? :)

  • http://www.eapprentice.net eapprentice

    It is not unusual for these types of companies to create these services. It makes complete sense. If you have a mobile phone, there is a good chance that they will do all they can do to keep up with the customers demands.

  • http://www.eapprentice.net eapprentice

    It is not unusual for these types of companies to create these services. It makes complete sense. If you have a mobile phone, there is a good chance that they will do all they can do to keep up with the customers demands.

  • http://www.eapprentice.net eapprentice

    It is not unusual for these types of companies to create these services. It makes complete sense. If you have a mobile phone, there is a good chance that they will do all they can do to keep up with the customers demands.

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