Capturing Every Moment

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Carlson reports that some researchers see lifelogging as the way of the future and believe that it could eventually become as popular as blogging or MySpace. 'I fully believe that we will all be wearing this stuff all the time,' Mark T. Bolas, associate professor at the University of Southern California, tells Carlson.

Some of the benefits are tempting: reliable alibis for every situation, recordings of good memories and valuable ideas, history to pass on to one's children. But the creepiness of pathologically documenting one's words and actions might turn some people off. Carlson decided to conduct his own personal recording experiment. He hung a digital audio recorder around his neck with a sign that said, 'Warning: This conversation may be recorded.' He found that, not only were other people uncomfortable being recorded, but the device affected his own behavior and captured moments he wasn't sure he wanted to remember. 'One weekend I got tired of wearing the recorder and put it in a drawer,' he writes. 'I felt liberated in way that is hard to describe.'

Go there >> Enemy of the State

Go there, too >> On The Record, All the Time

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