JotYou: SMS, Only Creepier, and A Deadpool Candidate
Why would I find a service that sends you (or someone you know) an SMS creepy? Well, because it has to use GPS to know where you are!
Leo Blanco over at The Mobile Weblog (a blog I occasionally write on) discovers a service called JotYou that allows you to send SMSes to people when they get to a specific location. Sounds like a neat idea–until I see that it requires GPS in order to work unless you have a Windows Mobile device with WiFi.
As much as I spew my thoughts into the blogosphere or even on Jaiku and Twitter, where I do announce my location, I draw the line at announcing where I am down to within 100 feet, or whatever the non-military GPS satellites give me in terms of accuracy. That’s not something I’m willing to give to just anyone.
Privacy issues aside, the battery on my Nokia N95 with GPS enabled won’t last the day–it can barely do it as it is. Given that this service relies on GPS–something that just isn’t in all that many phones yet, and the fact there’s basically asking to broadcast their GPS coordinates at all times–I can’t see this idea lasting. Of course, I could be wrong.
P.S. — If you try and visit jotyou.com without Javascript enabled, you’ll end up on some other site. This link will work if you, like me, run NoScript and/or disable Javascript by default.
