GeoExperience

I’ve been overcome lately with the proliferation of affordable gadgets that make GPS data readily available. I’ve begun thinking about what GPS might offer with such an accurate timestamp and global positioning: the ability to better capture experiences by using time as the unique identifier.

GeoExperience, as I’m currently thinking of it, is form of geoblogging on steroids. Each entry might include a combination of appropriate media formats such as digital video, an audio recording or digital photography. There is a lot of discussion currently about mining geospatially tagged information for social purposes, but this is more personal in nature. First we had photo albums, then we had home videos; this would form some sort of next generation picture book of memories except the memories aren’t static. Instead, they’re community accessible to be shared with and commented on by friends, families and complete strangers who somehow share a common interest with the experiences being documented.

At least that might be the publically accessible portion of a GeoExperience. Protected by passwords or other means of restricting access, my personal GeoExperience might also cross-reference my email and RSS feeds to which I subscribe all by the master token of uniqueness: time and location. My private GeoExperience might also keep track of my daily workout routine that I record with a datalogging heart rate monitor providing another insight into my daily patterns.

I have begun collecting COTS hardware that will allow me to track my global position for weeks at a time and then map it dynamically. The initial phase will be to work out the kinks in the hardware and learn how to best use the equipment I acquire and automate the presentation process. Subsequent phases will focus on integrating more data streams and making my GeoExperience a more complete personal recording device.

GeoExperience: Is it Tivo for your life?