The most recent shift occurred with location-based social-networking applications, in particular Gowalla and Foursquare. As originally designed, these applications were made to benefit an individual. But the vast logs of location-based data have proved to be fertile soil for many developments with societal benefits that were not part of the original design. She urged the participants to become aware of the power of social networks and be aware of new conflicts, such as the data wars over neighborhood labels.
During the Q&A, the main topics were privacy concerns and the generational gap between those under 20 who don’t seem to care about ‘Big Brother’ (sites like PleaseRobMe), and those over 20 who are more suspicious of being tracked.
