Related link: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2005/11/17/ubiquitous-findable-objects.h…

Long ago (in my serial-dating twenties), I recall a chick chat about relationships and dating. Someone in the conversation remarked that the solution to bad dates and failed relationships is for each person to bring their resume to the first date–the resume should include not just your cv but a list of all your finer points as well as your flaws. You’d exchange resumes, and if you’re the sort of person who just can’t stand it when the cap is left off the toothpaste, you could walk out right then and there–saving both of you a lot of head- and heart-ache.

I was reminded of this conversation when I read Peter Morville’s excellent article, Ubiquitous Findable Objects. Among the many topics on findability he covers, Peter talks about “a world of UFOs, [where] personal metadata that describes our interests, histories, possessions, and relationships will be very important.” This personal metadata–in the form of body tags–would create a “bibliographic record” of each of us.

Issues of privacy and security aside, the idea that, via body tags, we’d someday be able to walk up to someone and ‘read’ all their descriptive metadata (their personality traits, politics, and so on), certainly shoots down the old bring-your-resume-on-the-first-date plan as a means for finding out about people of interest, romantically or otherwise.

Then again, my partner often leaves the cap off the toothpaste (heck, sometimes it disappears completely!), and we’re still together, so maybe too much information on that first date–no matter how you’d come by it–isn’t such a good thing.

If you haven’t checked out Peter’s article, give it a spin–it makes for great sci-fi, if it weren’t for the fact we’re well on our way there already.

What’d you like about Peter’s article? Add your comments here.