Since we’re well into the Web 2.0 world, it seems everyone is past ready to boot up Web 3.0. There are a lot of different slants to this, but often, the gist is that next evolution of the Web will involve augmenting our current AJAX-y web goodness with a powerful network of sensors integrated into the Web. Web 3.0, Web of Sensors, Semantic Sensor Web…whatever you call it, it sounds pretty cool.

But for this new model to work, you’ve got to have sensors. And ideally, lots of ’em. If I’m really going to keep track of myself and my life, I need location data and activity data; I need quantitative and qualitative info…I need it all. And while sensors keep getting cheaper, I still don’t have them everywhere I need them.

But…I carry an uber-sensor almost everywhere I go. My cellphone. Modern smartphones (I have an Android Nexus S) have cameras, GPS sensors, accelerometers, and 3G data connections. I’m currently using an app to track my running time, distance, and location, I use my camera to photograph and record my meals, and I sync audio notes to cloud storage for backup and later review.

I’ve recently started taking my paper travel journal, and rather than trying to sync it up manually, I rip pages out (easier to write on anyway!), scribble down my thoughts, and photograph them with the phone. Sync it up to Picasa, and I can transcribe them at my leisure! It’s pretty awesome.

So while I too look forward to ubiquitous tiny sensorwebs, I’m making do now. It works great, and I’ve got more data than ever. Time to compile and analyze

One thought on “Web of Sensors here now; my phone is a great stand-in

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