Ever take an awful picture on a night out only to be tagged in it the next day? In the picture your mascara is running, your eyeliner is smudged, your hair is a mess and there’s a beer stain on your dry-clean-only dress. Most of us have been victims of bad photo tagging. When this has happened to me in the past, I merely cringe at the sight of the photo and untag myself; however, thanks to facial recognition, these awful photos may be seen one day by those I never suspected and may ultimately reveal my identity. Online facial recognition is the latest trend in technology used to distinguish features on a person’s face. Once a photograph has been taken, the technology searches the online world for possible identities. Although it is not completely reliable, the fact that someone can snap a photo of you and find you online thanks to facial recognition technology remains to be an issue of privacy invasion. Recently, Google published a patent in Europe to give visual search results through facial recognition and social networking. Currently, applications such as Google Goggles for mobile phones allow people to snap photos of anything and then run a search for the item through the application. This is an extremely convenient tool for the curious.
This online facial recognition technology symbolizes a double edged sword for many people. On one edge, the technology is amazing and can help marketers to build stronger connections with consumers. On the other edge, the technology may facilitate stalking and lead to a greater sense of overall fear within the general public.
This technology reminds me of this season’s maxi skirt. I am hesitant to embrace this trend; however, I respect those who can pull it off. Although I may never use this online facial recognition technology myself, I respect those who will use it responsibly.
My belief is that people, like fashion, will learn to adapt to this technology. There is no way to completely disconnect ourselves from the online world, but, for now we can use fashion to shield ourselves. Thank goodness for this season’s fedoras and oversized sunglasses! Add a printed scarf and you’ve got yourself a look that’s both chic and incognito. Sources:
http://www.truth-it.net/biometric_facial.html
http://blogs.computerworld.com/17871/google_face_search_to_use_social_network_photos
http://www.elle.com/Fashion/Street-Chic/New-York-Groove/(imageIndex)/15/(play)/false
http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/womens-sunglasses?brand=141&origin=accordion
Kelcy,
ReplyDeleteLike you, this new technology definitely has me wary of its capabilities. It's definitely an invasion of privacy when just about anyone with a random picture of you and whose a little curious can run you through a database and pull up your information. I don't want to know what happens when this type of technology gets into the wrong hands. Thankfully, such concerns have been raised and the release date has been pushed back but with the all-mighty Google we should all being seeing this new techonolgy very soon.Today the lind of personal privacy has become so blurred your are unable to hide, unless you are living as a hermit somewhere, we are always leaving a technological footprint. So as you say, I need to make sure that I'm always packing my oversized glasses and scarf to hide my identity :)
This capability can be a bit scary. You are right, people will always figure out how to adapt to "beat the system" so to speak. It does have powerful potential when used correctly. It could also be the next step in reconnecting with old friends. For example, if you have an old picture of a friend you've lost touch with, input it in the system and you might find something that can get you in touch with them. It could have its usefulness, but it is true that if not used responsibly it could upset a whole lot of people.
ReplyDeleteI admire your humor in this exciting yet scary situation of privacy invasion. Personally, I crave anything tech based but for some reason the facial recognition software issue has me with the chills. The fact that any random person could sneak a photo of me and use it to track my social media sites scares me a bit. Who knows maybe it will come bundled with a security package but for now I'm on edge about it.
ReplyDeleteI guess the only bad part would be when the season is over and we can no longer wear fedoras and oversized sunglasses, what other kooky styles will we have to come up with?
ReplyDeletethis use of facial recognition is definetely an interesting advance in technology, being able to search everything with the snap of a picture. Furthermore, since we're all human we all know that there's an innate curiosity that lives within all of us, but of course there's always the saying "curiosity killed the cat" and what I'm referring to is although there maybe a lot of us who might dabble in this new technology to find out about a cute girl or guy they saw at a store but what many could fail to realize is that if you are doing it to someone, someone may very well be doing it to you. You may innocently be looking up information about a cute stranger while a less favorable character is doing the same about you.
Obsviously this is a cause for concern and our privacies are put even further on the spot. What I also agree with you Kelcy, is the opportunity for marketers. Further development of similar technology may open up a chance for marketing to be more innovative. For example, if they could develop a technology to be able to take a picture of someone's outfit and find out where I can get it or similar looks from that picture, it would definitely open a whole new window to target consumers.
As of right now, I'll take your advice and invest in some glamorous big shades and a nice fedora. :}