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Google’s acquisition of Jaiku, a small Finnish start-up active in the obscure and geeky field of microblogging - a word most often associated with the better-known company Twitter - might not appear to be an earth-shaking event.But the deal, announced in October, has much of the tech-tracking blogosphere buzzing with excitement. Some claim it is the harbinger of a brave, new and truly interconnected world, where a large chunk of our existence will migrate online.

Jaiku’s mobile application allows users to broadcast not only their whereabouts, but how the phone is being used, even what kind of music it is playing. This information is then published online as a “lifestream.”

Speculation is rife on precisely what Google’s mobile strategy will be. The company may introduce its own phone, but most observers think it will focus on advanced applications for its information services, like Google Maps. And most agree that Google will offer services that mobile companies will be hard-pressed to match.

“To date, many people still maintain their illusion of privacy,” he said in an e-mail message. But “as more and more services migrate off the desktop and to the Web, it will be necessary for people to be able to identify themselves consistently between the various Web services” they use.

Adapting to this will take time, Messina said, but it will happen.

“For iPhone users who use the Google Maps application, it’s already a pain to have to type in your current location,” he said. ” ‘Why doesn’t my phone just tell Google where I am?’ you invariably ask,” Messina said. When the time is right and frustrations like this are unpalatable enough, “Google will have a ready answer to the problem.”

source: Herald Tribune