Google Latitude - Three Degrees

February 4, 2009
by Alex Hoye

I currently have 3 takes on this move by Google:

The Google angle

“So now you can do things like see if your spouse is stuck in traffic on the way home from work, notice that a buddy is in town for the weekend, or take comfort in knowing that a loved one’s flight landed safely, despite bad weather.

And with Latitude, not only can you see your friends’ locations on a map, but you can also be in touch directly via SMS, Google Talk, Gmail, or by updating your status message; you can even upload a new profile photo on the fly. It’s a fun way to feel close to the people you care about.”

Is this Google’s way of selling it to consumers for their own benefit? I will discuss this later. However, I can genuinely see the benefits as a platform for impromptu social gatherings, in a similar vein to ‘tweet-ups’ on Twitter. This brings me to my next point.

First signs of Google planning a Twitter acquisition?

We have suggested already on this blog that 2009 will be the year Twitter gets acquired by a major media player. The increasingly mainstream nature of Twitter has done nothing to discourage such suggestions.

Google Latitude will incorporate status updates. So friends near your location are able to see what you’re up to and whether to join you. Match this up with the Twitter micro blogging platform and user base… there you have it, the potential for a seriously powerful social media tool.

I will leave your imaginations to fill in the rest, while I let my imagination go for the next point.

Sci-Fi advertising

We all know Google can gather a lot of data to create targeted advertising. Be it scraping keywords from an email in Gmail or gathering data from IP’s on search queries, they have proven they can gather data and generate well targeted advertising as a result.

So, my questions: Qui bene Google? What data will Google gather from Google Latitude? And how can they use it? Well to answer the first question, status updates will include keywords that can be used to generate targeted advertising and also indicate what brands you’re an advocate of. Also the bars, restaurants, shops and clubs that you visit will indicate interests and again what brands you’re an advocate of.

Now to answer the last question, take yourself back to the moment in Minority Report where Tom Cruise walks into a shop and, via a chip behind his eye, is fed targeted advertising and offers based upon his interests and previous buying habits. Then imagine yourself walking along Oxford Street with iPhone in hand and Google Latitude installed. As you walk along, the data Google have acquired will mean billboards on bus stops broadcast messages matched to your interests. Then when you walk into Marks & Spencer your phone will be bombarded with adverts and offers related to your interests and previous buying habits.

Snap out of that advertiser’s dream and get back to work!

But this is potentially the start of the road towards such advertising, so I look forward to seeing how it pans out.

I can also look forward to Latitude becoming a customer support line for Google Latitude!

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