There are quite a few blog posts popping up on Google’s Latitude service (http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html) and so I thought I would comment on the user experience aspects.
First thing to say is it isn’t exactly new. There is precious little difference with existing services such as Brightkite or Loopt. It is only that Google is the enemy of the hour which has made everyone go crazy about it. As a result it, like the others, doesn’t work unless your browser is open. For many people that is not very often at all and so this is not an application that is going to change the world overnight. It’s time may come, but not until mobile devices use the browser to access more services as a matter of course.
The blog hype has all been about big brother and stalking, which is a little wide of the mark. Google is so paranoid about its public image they have even supplied a video to show how the privacy settings work. In essence you chose who can see your location on a person by person basis and when a contact requests your location information you can accept or deny each individual request.
The main advantage Google has over its rivals is the integration of other Google services like Gmail that allow you not only to see where contacts are but also communicate with them. A concern is the impact this will have on battery life.
Of all I have read my favourite comment about Latitude was from a momoLondon member. He was concerned about how he was going to explain to his girlfriend that he didn’t want her to know where he was. Not a problem that can be solved with technology but as it happened he then revealed that he didn’t actually have a girlfriend anyway. I wonder why!
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