Privacy will definitely become a huge issue with many web-based platforms and mobile applications incorporating location into their platform. From a consumer perspective, I understand the value that location provides when it comes to "Search" because it's a filtering mechanism that helps bring additional relevance. But when it comes to tweeting, foursqaure and gowalla, school is still out on the value of location when it comes to these aps. All the benefits seem to be on the business and law enforcement side because you have millions of people "checking in" or "tweeting" from a business location that ultimately gets instant visibility within your network.  On the consumer side, the individual is leaving a public record of his/her whereabouts which seem kind of odd and voyeuristic to me. I'm in my early 30's and I just don't care to have my friends no where I am all the time unless I'm bragging.

There are a few other platforms that are handling location completely different from how it's currently done and in doing so, are able to provide high value to the consumer population. For example www.gotootie.com, which is currently in private Beta testing, uses location to allow people to acquire, disseminate and communicate information hyperlocally (within a small geographic proximity). Gotootie is fascinating because no matter where the user is, Gotootie lets them instantly explore the information that has been placed in that location by other users. They are free to explore all the information in that location or refine their experience by adjusting the radius of their local view, search between the points of past and future, use keywords or, search by Tootie ID (anonymous and unique ID given to every users, like a phone number). Also, Gotootie users can leave information right where they're standing for other nearby people to explore. Whether the posts are opinions, needs or just interesting content, people are free to post anywhere on the planet and can communicate, publicly or privately, within the post.

This is huge because the information is not limited to just social networks but can be seen by everyone who enters the area. A person looking for a job or housing could use Gotootie to see what's available around them. If someone is new to the area, they can use Gotootie to ask questions and receive local answers instantly. Think about it, someone loses their dog, they pop open Gotootie, post that they've lost their dog and instantly, everyone in the area can see and responded to their cry for help.

On the business end, if I'm a real estate agent, I could use Gotootie to place my ads in a highly targeted location where just those people see it. Or if I have a listing in a neighborhood, I could drop my post on the home I'm selling and when people open up Gotootie on their mobile phone or computer, they can see the listing if they are nearby, drop by the house and make an inquire right then and there. My guess is that this tool will be huge because it handles location much more delicately then other aps and platforms. Unfortunately, school is still out until they release it and people start using it but on the surface, it seems a lot more tolerable.

Gotootie is a great tool, like  many others. 

It seems that we have a choice between participating in the social interactions of the internet and not participating at all, but this is a fallacy.  There are inbetween options for privacy.   The power of the internet is hard to ignore.  We should have access to the power of the internet in our daily lives to bring knowledge to us.  The cost of doing so in terms of loss of privacy can be high:  subscribe to a sight and be forever tracked with cookies, pop-ups, malware, IP address, email and more.   Otherwise, don't subscribe and receive no access.  The intermediary option is to use a temporary email address, a pseudonym and an anonymous proxy server for browsing to set up your account and get information.  Seems reasonable that, if a book author writes under a pen name, performers use stage names, victims of violence use assumed names and attendees at historical recreation events use performance names, that the rest of society has an equal right to give out a pseudonym in order to maintain our privacy.

Too few people think to do so.  Others find the extra 20-seconds of button clicking to be an undue burden on their time, and opt for the ease of instant gratification (American "git 'er done" at its best). 

Sad, really.