My Curious Life

A number of weeks ago, Wired invited its readers to submit a photo for one of 5,000 individualized covers to be printed for the July 2007 issue of the magazine. Dumb luck had it that my submission got picked to be one of the 5,000.

After the initial glee and gloating (Glenn, na-na-na-na-na!), I had forgotten about the whole thing until the magazine arrived in Monday’s mail, with the photo of my wife and I on the cover.

Wired’s tie-in for all of this is the hyperlocal, totally personal geoweb. It’s an interesting read that does pose some complicated questions … questions that are already on the table as more devices become GPS-equipped, trackable and interactive. Just look at the security issues surrounding the new U.S. passports with RFID chips and you get a glimpse of how this new global geo-presence can be both a blessing and a curse. Pair it with something like OpenID, and, well, things get exponentially more interesting … sure, I can be found anywhere, but which part or parts of my identity do I disclose and to whom?

In all honesty, I’m more optimistic about the potential of these technologies than pessimistic … though I’m sure there will be bumps in the road. I think we’ll see some privacy issues come flying to the fore as we as a society become more aware of our movements, but it seems that the new generation is more willing to make their lives an open book and will simply push through the changes necessary to keep reaping the benefits of being hyperlocal.