Seems there's a new hip term making the rounds — the datasexual. Or, at least, that's what tech writer Dominic Basulto would have us believe. Datasexuals, as the name implies, is someone who can't get enough of data and finds it sexy.
These are folks who are prone to use apps that go beyond the freaky line, as Robert Scoble calls it. Apps like Highlight or Placeme.
What makes Placeme freaky is that it knows where you've been, how much time you spent there and even can retrace your steps more accurately than a trail of bread crumbs. Seems these datasexuals don't mind that Placeme uses their phones to collect that information.
Sure these freaky apps have just come on scene, but is the concept of a datasexual really new? Dominic seems to think they're just now going mainstream. Nah, datasexuals have already gone mainstream. They've been here awhile. Think about it, we have Facebook. Before that we had MySpace. Then there's Instagram. There's Foursquare. Remember Gowalla? Some of those things are pretty mainstream. We've been data junkies for awhile now, gladly giving up our whereabouts. However, these new freaky apps are just making it easier to share and give out that data.
Don't get us wrong. There's nothing inherently bad going on here. In fact, it may even be inevitable that we'll openly share even more and more of our information and whereabouts.
Getting Even More Plugged In
Consider our mobile devices. They've already made it easier for us to share our data. Without our smartphone's location sensors, apps like Highlight and Placeme would be pretty useless. These devices are quickly becoming extensions of self, a way to augment ourselves through technology. We're already attached to our smartphones, even sleeping with them under our pillow.
The day is going to come when we're going to be more plugged in. Consider Google's augmented-reality glasses. In the not-to-distant future, apps like Placeme and Highlight will be displayed directly in front of our eyes, telling us everything we need to know about everyone around us. And there'll be no end to the amount of data a datasexual can consume.