Beyond Flock: Your PC=tireless personal assistant!
We have talked extensively about the aggregation of information and social networks, bringing together multiple streams of social media into a centralized browser a la Flock.
Well, what if your PC not only helped you gather info and act on it, (i.e. paying bills, buying airline tickets and checking up on friends) but did a lot of work for you while you were out LIVING YOUR LIFE.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
The first step towards a never tiring personal butler is here with a new aggregator called Pageonce.
Pageonce keeps track of your social networks, your Netflix que, your upcoming trips and most interestingly,Pageonce takes action for you while you are away, essentially acting on your behalf.
Once set up Pageonce will pay your bills, maximize your travel rewards, and keep tabs on your cell phone usage so you don’t go over in minutes.
Crazy eh?
TO me it sounds eminently useful. However we come back to the issues that separates the pre- and post- digital natives most clearly: Privacy!
Pageonce would essentially have access to your whole life.
A lot of people will balk at this, but really if you think about it you give out your personal information all the time to hundreds of vendors over the course of your life. Pageonce would centralize this and perhaps make it easier to see where and how your information is compromised.
I myself am not too hung up in privacy. But most people I know are. What kind of security promise would be required to get the majority to use a program such as Pageonce?
Encryption?
Money backed guarantees?
What does the crowd think?
-Kirk
(No Ratings Yet)
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3 Comments, Comment or Ping
hulln
Pageonce solves a real problem, especially for scatterbrained people like me. I signed up for the Pageonce beta a while back but then chickened out — I just didn’t know enough about the company and how they would use my info.
I’m starting to warm to the idea again. Check out Appscout’s article Pageonce Makes You Safer
Jun 3rd, 2008
Adriana
Interesting question you post Kirk… convenience or privacy? I have conducted studies regarding aggregation convenience and privacy concern and in general the convenience of aggregation always wins if the service truly saves time and it’s not too painful to set up.
I’m not too concern with privacy either… what are they going to do? try to sell me more stuff? the real concern I have sometimes is how are these companies protecting data, some of this data you give out is highly sensitive and not all start-ups can meet the security requirements of big companies. I’m talking dumb stuff like do the employees have access to the data and can they just take it when they leave the company.
final note: there are other aggregators like this out there like Yodlee.com that are capable of aggregating cell minutes, flight points, pay bills and manage your portfolio all in one (this is what powers Bank of America and many payment engines out there) but they have focused on licensing their platform to banks instead of a direct to consumer effort. You can still sign up for it, though. Curious how it to compares to pageonce.
Adri
Jun 3rd, 2008
webberm
It’s not the privacy issue that concerns me. Allowing the machine to do the thinking for us…??? Anybody else remember that scene in “2001 A Space Odyssey”
Dave: Hello, HAL do you read me, HAL?
HAL: Affirmative, Dave, I read you.
Dave: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.
Dave: What’s the problem?
HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Dave: What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
Dave: I don’t know what you’re talking about, HAL?
HAL: I know you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I’m afraid that’s something I cannot allow to happen.
Dave: Where the hell’d you get that idea, HAL?
HAL: Dave, although you took thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.
But I’m sure we’ll never get to that point right?
Maury
Jun 5th, 2008
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