The future is now. You are here.

Google has a new product that it is rolling out to mobile devices today, as well as personal computers in the near future. They call it Latitude, and it will give you the ability to google people in ways straight out of a science fiction novel.

The technology has been out there for a while. iPhone users were quick to discover apps like Loopt, which essentially does the same thing as Google's new application. Loopt worked on a small scale though, allowing you to see other iPhone user's physical map location as long as they gave you permission. But with Google involved the difference is in scope. Soon this won't be a novelty app, but will be something very real. Your friends and family can track you, sure. But what happens when your employer has you sign an agreement to be tracked as a condition of employment? And when this gets in the hands of a jealous lover?

It's all about control. The future is here, and to a large extent you can decide how much you want to participate in it. But people become conditioned. They post things to the internet for all to see that might have previously found its home only in a well-hidden diary. Is a location finder going to be any different?

Sure, this could be a lot of fun. Exploring a new city with a group and friends that all have their location finder turned on could provide a sense of security, as well as autonomy. You could feel free to do your own thing, but know precisely where a friend is if you need to find them. Bar hopping, wedding receptions, vacations, etc would be a blast. It would also be great if you were going on a long road trip. I drove from Minneapolis to Bowling Green, Kentucky recently and would have gladly turned this on so the people I was visiting could see where I was at and adjust their schedules. Sure, using a cell phone to call and say that you're an hour or two away really that hard to do, but this type of tracking could be provide an added sense of security. You go missing and your friends can see where you're at.

I don't know. I have over 100 friends on Facebook and have probably talked to less than 10 of them in the last month outside of Facebook. With this, I can't imagine I'd ever leave it on for long. But then, I'm sure I'll be conditioned by society like everyone else. "Todd is at the corner of West Lake Street and South Bryant Avenue. Here's a map."

Is now a good time to go off the grid? Ha. Could you do that even if you wanted to?