Google Lifeline

[ni...@bailes.co.uk]

I'm currently feeling the need to record my life events (birth,
graduation etc.) somewhere but what I'm picturing in my mind is an
extremely useable interface that can easily give me an quick
perspective of my complete timeline aswell as being able to zoom into
any detail along the way.

Of course it is possible to do this on a spreadsheet on my computer
but having things on a Google database seems so much more secure and
permanent, which is comforting for such important data. Also it is
quite a usability challenge which Google is probably best placed to
solve (I'm imagining an interface similar to Google Maps). Therefore
it may not surprise you that Google is the first place I thought of
that might have a nice little application for the job. I can't see
one.

This has occurred to me by talking to people who can remember what
they did when they were 10 and how old they were when they first had
their own bedroom etc. I feel I am missing out on some perspective of
my own life by not being able to recollect all these earlier
memories. When put in perspective by surrounding events (started
school, won swimming award etc.), the memory can be jogged very
effectively and past states of mind brought back. I think there is a
profound and remarkably universal need for this.

I think it's an idea that can be endlessly expanded upon by recording
more and more data against your timeline, having links to family trees
etc. In this way I think it is very suited to the Google culture and
aim of collecting and sorting the world's information. However, lots
of people may think of their timeline as an intensely personal thing
and perhaps even a security risk so privacy would need to be carefully
managed.

I would hope that it would be a lovely, clear, easy to use application
which would evoke positive perspective feelings in people, similar to
those you get when looking back at a your body of work, or through a
photo album. I am sure that Google are the people who are best placed
to implement this.

Nicholas Bailes

[qaq....@gmail.com]

My suggest is a bit different... but the principle is the same...
google time... history timeline with wiki links... thats probably can
be customized to work with personal events... even linking then to
history periods.

[ni...@bailes.co.uk]

It seems we both had similar thoughts, with mine being personal and
yours being more communal.

It makes so much sense to me that is has the feeling of being
inevitable that Google are working on it. Google Earth is excellent
at giving us a perspective of where we are in space. These ideas are
about giving us a perspective of where we are in time.

Is it possible to have too much perpsective? I think not. That
Spinal Tap scene by Elvis' grave springs to mind.