Can You See Me Now? Well…that’s ok.
I’ve talked about before that we are in an information age that many sites like Facebook and Google are pushing us to think of our lives as transparent information tunnels were we filter our everyday activities for the world to see. “Today, I danced with a Banana” “I wish birds would stop pooing on my car” “I want a cookie” are all things I have willingly said (on Facebook) for the world to see. The information age gives us an opportunity to be truly transparent even to the point that our friends know where we are. I’m not really one of these people since when I write for my LiveJournal blog my location is either In My Bed or On My Couch meaning I become both specific and vague about current location for the reason that I don’t like being tracked (since whatever you input will be made into a searchable link for Google Maps). For others this isn’t necessarily the case, they don’t mind people knowing their exact location.
On January 7th I know what Hasan Elahi ate.
Artist Hasan Elahi has been willing giving his location since 2001 when he was investigated by the FBI after 9/11 (he was mistakenly suspected terrorism because of his race). The Orwell Project is a interesting and ironic piece that works much like twitter and facebook work today. Elahi is continuously wired to his website and everything from the gas station he visits to the food he eats is meticulously documented for anyone to see. The only things different is that Elahi doesn’t comment on his location like most Facebook users do it’s a work of art that’s meant to be ironic. But it says something when a practice that was meant to be a “helpful” tool to the government is now an everyday practice for a large percentage of the population (and still a helpful tool to the government).
Also does anyone remember the Where You At? commercials?
“Well you know where I’m at, and I know where you’re at so lets leave it at that.” Doesn’t that sound both creepy and utterly convenient at the same time?! I remember when these commercials first aired and my initial thought was, “I DON’T WANT YOU KNOWING WHERE I’M AT!!!” And really, I still think like this but it has more to do with my own complexes on people knowing too much about me without my consent rather than my unwillingness to share. So a company like Boost Mobile trying to sell me what was essentially is a tracking device back in 2006 bothered me. But today, GPS and being tracked through your phone are almost standard and even I partake in a little LAN (Location Awareness Narcissism) when I take pictures on my phone and randomly send them out to people without explination.
What says contemporary sex worker better than uncomfortable shoes?
Finally I want to say that we often are told we should give up our privacy for safety. I don’t know if I agree with this our not but situations have proved that being able to be tracked has worked in someone’s favor. Whether it was to find a missing child, or a locate a stolen car, and even get a person to the hospital, location awareness has led to some fascinating stories of people being saved by tracking (and general nosiness). A GPS product that’s proving to be an interesting tool for sex workers is the Aphrodite Project. Named after the god of love (and sex) the Aphrodite Project sells GPS enabled platforms that not only include GPS but alarms and signals that call for help to police (if sex work is legal in that area) to ward off attackers. Helping to keep sex workers safe, these stylish pumps do more than just elongate you leg and give you height.
In today’s world we give out a lot more information then we suspect and I just want to point out examples in location awareness that go beyond commercialism and game play and how really…we’re ok with that.
