Location & Proximity

Yes, I'm finally back...and I mean it this time!

I've been thinking a lot about the difference and similarity of Location and Proximity. Most of what I've been doing in the last couple of years has focused on Location...latitude, longitude, altitude, place -- a named, specific space. Something that creates a binding with the world.

Pondering the difference between Location and Proximity makes me really want to illustrate the distinction. It is true that you can be in proximity of a Place, but you can also be in proximity of something that is less permanent, something ephemeral - temporary in time or space such as another person or a vehicle or another device.

Sometimes they run hand in hand -- for example when I drive on Mass Pike (and have that angry look in my eye) I come within proximity of the toll booth. For me to use my infamously misnamed FastLane transponder, I need to be in proximity of the toll booth...but we also now know that I was at that Location.

Sometimes location isn't necessary to have interactions. For example while driving around, I notice somebody sharing a song over their (still to come) auto-share audio system, I only really care that I am within proximity. Now, it might be interesting to add location to that so we can create some more social verve and track what songs are shared at what location and what times are most interesting for fellow listeners.

In fact we use proximity information every day to infer location on our system -- by knowing what signals are proximal to your device, we can infer that you are located near to the signal source -- whether it be a cell tower or a WiFi access point. By knowing that your device is proximal to multiple beacons, we can further refine the device's possible locations. We also use the proximal information to understand when and where beacons themselves are. By understanding proximity, location can be improved, refined, and corrected over time.

But how and when is proximity useful in and of itself? Certainly the NFC activity is very deeply tied with proximity. But location is nearly always an important part of this as well. Proximity is often used when talking about things -- where is the closest X (where X could be pen, defibrillator, beer, etc.). It's also interesting to think about proximity in activities like shopping. I always think of a geiger counter or the 'hotter-colder' game -- I want my phone to start beeping faster as I'm getting closer to my target. When hunting for my favorite toothpaste at the store, I want to know my proximity to my brand for example. Now, perhaps this is just a matter of computing the distance between two locations, or it might be using the signal strength to measure proximity, nonetheless, I don't really care that I'm in aisle 7 and looking at shelf 3...I care that I am near my goal.

But it seems in social activities, proximity could be quite useful. When checking in someplace, I don't necessarily only want to see all of the people in Starbucks (especially since I never go there), but perhaps to see friends or possible friends that are within some proximity of me.

So, while these two concepts of Location and Proximity do have a strong affinity to each other, they are not one and the same and should be treated as distinct entities.

Cheers,

Kipp