Digital Ghosts
Continuing from my post about supernatural being the new futuristic I’d like to put this out there.
We’re developing ways for physical objects and locations to have data spaces. People can tag data they create with geographic locations so that it can be found by navigating both the physical and digital realms. For example when I’m in a particular place I can read Brightkite comments left by other users about that place or places nearby. I can see photos, videos and tweets. I can see traces of their life left by their actions. I can follow these and find their friends and other elements of their life.
The Wikipedia entry for ghost says:
A ghost has been defined as the disembodied spirit or soul of a deceased person, although in popular usage the term refers only to the apparition of such a person. Often described as immaterial and partly transparent, ghosts are reported to haunt particular locations or people that they were associated with in life or at time of death.
The data we leave attached to physical locations has no way of telling whether we’re alive or dead. In theory it remains there forever.
Are we creating our own digital ghosts?
