Checking out on Brightkite Jul24 '08

Brightkite employee, Mike Collins, on requests for a "check out" feature on Brightkite, which also reflects the API idea I mentioned yesterday:

If we add the ability to check out, and assume that people are at the place they checked in at until they either check out or check in at another place, we put the burden on the end user to remember to check out every time they leave a place they were checked in at. My guess is that a lot of users may forget to check out when they leave a place, or simply find it tedious, and so the quality of that information degrades pretty quickly. We don't want to tell you "X number of friends are here right now" only for you to find out that they all left an hour ago and forgot to check out. Users would stop trusting the accuracy of that information and then it loses its value.

Not to mention the whole new can of privacy worms that would be opened. Do you really want everyone on Brightkite to know how much time you spend at home? At work? At the bar? We'll leave it to the government to track your whereabouts 24-7, that's not really what Brightkite is about ;-)

Case in point: I didn't check in at all this weekend ( didn't have cell service for most of the time), so my last checkin was Friday at Brightkite HQ. I didn't check in again until this morning, again at Brightkite HQ. This doesn't mean I spent my whole weekend at the office, all it means is that I was here on Friday afternoon and again on Monday morning.

Essentially "checking in" with Brightkite may include a timestamp, but from what Mike is saying, it seems like that's irrelevant information. Just because you checked in at 2 PM someplace, that doesn't mean you are A) there for a certain amount of time, or B) there until you check into another place. It simply means you were there at one instance of time. Therefore, "checking out" would only add to the complexity of aggregating people's whereabouts.

It seems there's a lot more involved than I initially thought. It makes sense, though. Brightkite is not trying to be a 24/7 tracking utility - it's simply meant to share your location.

Categories: API , Brightkite , Quotes

Add Feedback (view all)

Leave feedback

Feedback

Input format: The editor controls below will assist with Markdown syntax.

Status

Sub-status

Your info

But doesn't the information become just as stale if I don't remember to check in to my next location? There are plenty of times when I wan ... Read more.

Jeff, good points. I think the difference is if you forget to check-in, you are invisible to other visitors already checked-in, whom Brigh ... Read more.

Maybe I'm missing something in the way BrightKite works. If I check into a place, does it automatically check me out after awhile? Example: In the ... Read more.

You're still bound to your work check-in. So any photos or notes you post via Brightkite will be filed under your last check-in. A best pra ... Read more.

matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.

Contact Matt

Similar Entries

Stats

5 unique visits since August 2008

Syndicate

Advertisements