Color me stupid: A privacy nightmare in the making. It's not like the world needs another social network, yet we keep churning them out.
The latest social media darling is named Color, a network designed for the "post-PC era. " If you thought Facebook or MySpace was a privacy nightmare, you ain't seen nothing yet. Color is a free iPhone or Android app that lets you share photos and videos with every Color user in the general vicinity, as well as comment on those shared by others. The app works only within a radius of approximately 150 feet, though, so whatever you're sharing isn't likely to surprise the folks you're sharing it with.
(Last time I checked, there was already a way to capture and share events happening directly in front of you with the people standing next to you, utilizing low-cost yet highly sophisticated eyes-brain-and-mouth technology. Color recently made a big splash, thanks in large part to $41 million in venture buck funding and its pedigree. The response from Color? Let's put this in perspective. Photo-sharing network says goodbye to privacy. How does a social network with no privacy settings at all sound?
Because that's the setup with Color, a new application from Bill Nguyen, the entrepreneur who sold Lala to Apple in 2009 for around $80 million. Color is essentially a photo-sharing application, but one which decides for itself who sees your pictures, based on your location and how often you've shared photos in the past. If two friends repeatedly use the app near each other, the app notes it and automatically bumps the other person up the dynamic 'elastic network' that it's created.
Users can also raise a friend's profile through a 'show more' button. In turn, the user sees pictures that have been posted recently from people who are nearby, regardless of whether they're friends or strangers. Everything that's posted is therefore completely public, delivering a stream of pictures from the user's phone to anybody within 100 feet. And it's pretty clear where the recenues will come from - advertisers. Color App Hack Lets You Spy On Anyone’s Photos Anywhere - Andy Greenberg - The Firewall.
Color photo-sharing app takes social networking to an amazing, terrifying new place. CHART OF THE DAY: Look At How Much More Money Color Has Than Its Rivals. Color introduces location-based photo-sharing app. A new photo-sharing app is attempting to redefine the “social networking” experience, moving away from far-flung communities that you choose to other smartphone users whom who may or may not know—but who are probably standing just a few feet away.
Color, the new app from Color Labs promises to let you create and share photos and video albums with other people who have iPhone or Android phones—equipped with the app, obviously—within 150 feet of your own. (There are no privacy settings in the app, so you'll be sharing with every other Color user in proximity.) The app is being pitched for use at parties, play dates, and other social events. Links to the albums can be shared via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, or SMS—though recipients of links to those albums won't be able to modify or participate in the photo conversation from their browser.
Aside from that, Color Labs is offering little description of the app, apparently banking on users to figure out how to use it through trial and error. New Photo-Sharing App Color Has No Shades of Privacy - Kashmir Hill - The Not-So Private Parts.