Brightkite and privacy Apr29 '08
There is some concern that location-based services, like Brightkite, could be a haven for stalkers and ill-advised Google search results.
I can see the reason for the paranoia, but it's completely irrational. The arguments for publicly posting your location are the same arguments that arose when Twitter introduced publicly posting what you're doing. And that hasn't stopped hoards of people from using (and benefitting from) the service.
Brightkite makes it easy to update your location, but it's up to you how specific you make it.
For example, I never post the exact address of where I live or work. Instead, I just post the city, state, and zip.
For other places I visit, however, there is no reason why posting the exact address would come back and harm me. So Google knows where I work out, or where I have lunch. Big deal.
I want web services to know this information, in order to better inform me of people or places of interest.
In the government wanted, they could find out where you are anyway, with cell phones and GPS. This is a world where there's nowhere to hide. Get used to it.
Categories: Brightkite 
, Geotagging , Privacy , Twitter
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