This post is a response to Dylan’s post about the potential security concerns of UrtheCast.
UrtheCast, created by Sauder alumni Wade Larson and his brother, will be the first streaming HD video camera installed on the International Space Station (ISS); it is also a platform that allows users to playback the video. Larson has termed UrtheCast to be “like Google Earth, but better”. There is also a function that allows users to also see in realtime social media interactions from sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Dylan argues that this social media layer is an invasion of privacy, which I disagree with. The posts that UrtheCast shows are ones that social meda users have placed on a “public” setting. By having public settings, users already acknowledged that their posts can be seen by anyone with an internet connection. If one’s Twitter is private to followers or Facebook has higher security settings, that person’s posts will not show on the site in realtime.
I agree with Dylan that this social media layer will be off-putting to the general public. People with higher security settings will still feel unsafe about their information floating around the internet, and may dislike UrtheCast because of it. I sincerely hope they don’t, though, because UrtheCast is amazing and I can’t wait to see it take off.