Cyber Culture: Sorry TomTom, I would like to update you, but I can't be bothered
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Last week, my TomTom satnav app kept trying to send me the wrong way down a one-way street in Peckham, south London. This was mildly annoying – although fortunately I've got sufficient sense of direction to successfully execute emergency procedures.
The app does regularly update its maps, but it inevitably depends to some extent on users flagging up the appearance of no-entry signs, speed limits and roadblocks. Sadly, we often can't be bothered. I certainly know that as I navigated my way through the back streets of Nunhead, the last thing I wanted to do was contact TomTom to advise them of the error.
By their very nature, some apps depend on crowdsourced feedback to improve, and it seems that the key is making the information-gathering process as hassle-free for us as possible.
Take Streetbump, an initiative in Boston, Massachusetts, where potholes are located by sensing speed and accelerometer data from participating vehicles. It requires you to install the app, and it requires you to knacker your suspension by driving over the pothole, but all the rest is automated.
Music recommendation apps quietly pool our listening habits to make "if you like that, you'll like this" suggestions to others. Apps such as Weathersignal transform advanced Android phones into mini-weather stations, sensing temperatures and pressures, and feeding that information back for other users to benefit from – but again, this requires minimal involvement from us.
One exception to the rule is the free satnav app, Waze. Just purchased by Google, Waze has somehow managed to create a devoted network of users who seem incredibly keen to actively report traffic jams, road accidents, even cheap fuel prices, creating a rich, ever-changing corpus of useful data that's worth, according to the Google purchase price, close to $1bn.
If TomTom made me care as much as Waze makes its users care, I'd be reporting that no-entry sign in Peckham right now. But how to actually achieve that, I've no idea.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments