More web nonsense I don't need but will probably sign-up for anyway

Google has recently announced Latitude. This service allows you to track your friend's location using Google Maps. At first blush, I would categorize this service much like Twitter, as one of the dumbest services on the Web.

I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to Twitter. I use it to update my Facebook status from my cell phone. As yet, though, I don't see how Latitude will provide a similar benefit and I don't think my friends will care about my exact location. Maybe my boss can use it to see how freely I come and go.

Latitude smacks a little like Big Brother. Google is famous for its' don't be evil mantra, but it this type of information will provide a lot of temptation for misuse. Privacy advocates will hate the service. In the end, joining and sharing the information will be voluntary, so I guess users will make their own trouble.

As for me, I'll kick the tires a bit, but you can bet that the service will be turned on my kids phones.

Twitter gives up on Instant Messaging (for now)

Twitter, one of Web 2.0's most pointless sites, is giving up on their Instant Messaging capability. According to their status page, Twitter is changing the classification of the feature from something needing a fix to something they will build. Apparently their implementation of the feature is neither scalable nor reliable.

Twitter's existence is based on their invention of "micro-blogging." Micro blogs are short notes posted in response to the question "what are you doing." Beyond the concept of a micro-blog Twitter makes it easy to submit updates through their web site or via an SMS message. Instant messaging is simply another way to post the tiny blogs.

The relevance of Twitter has to come into question. Certainly Facebook's news feed serves the same purpose, and is much more common. In fact, most of my Twitter posting are made through the Twitter Facebook application. Maybe it's me, but I believe the real value to Twitter is it's ability to post comments via several easy to use methods. Instant messaging is one of those sources and should be an urgent capability to add. Otherwise the company will lose any relevance to others providing a similar service as part of a greater offering.