Mobile social networking is the next frontier in technology as companies race to adapt platforms like Facebook to our cell phones

Mobile social networking is the next frontier in technology as companies race to adapt platforms like Facebook to our cell phones. Marketers are not far behind, especially because there are 3.3 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide, a number that far exceeds the number of Internet users. One report says that about 2 percent of all mobile users already use their cell phones for social networking such as chat and multimedia sharing. It forecasts this proportion will zoom in a few years. Mobile social networks are appealing in part because companies can identify precisely where users are in the physical world. For example, the SpaceMe service from GyPSii displays a map that identifies your friends’ locations as well as photos, videos, and other information about them. A Dutch network called Bliin lets users update their location every 15 seconds. This enhanced credibility creates some fascinating marketing possibilities – but perhaps also raises some ethical red flags. What do you see as the opportunities and the threats as we inevitably move to a world where others know our whereabouts? Also discuss at least one privacy issue and one ethics issue.