Whether you’re walking down the aisle of a supermarket, driving across town, or just relaxing at home, the global network increasingly “knows” where you are and possibly, what you’re doing.

Obviously, this could be either a positive or a negative development, depending on how it’s used. Before we delve into the implications, let’s discuss how the five major technological and cultural trends are
making this possible:

1. The widespread incorporation of RFID and GPS chips into consumer electronics devices.
2. The growing acceptance of personal tracking by the average American.
3. The refinement of context-sensitive communications.
4. The emergence of wearable technology.
5. The explosion in context-sensitive marketing.

Let’s examine each of these developments separately.

In the February 2004 issue of Trends, we presented an in-depth discussion of RFID technology. RFID is well-suited to identifying items traveling predictable routes, where stationary signal detectors can scan the RFID tags at close distance.

For example, we discussed Wal-Mart’s directive to its suppliers
to ship all merchandise on pallets outfitted with RFID tags, beginning in 2005. By scanning these tags as the pallets move across each store’s receiving dock, Wal-Mart updates its inventory systems in real time.

The beef industry is also investigating RFID tags. An RFID chip attached to a steer will enable continuous cattle tracing from the breeding farm to the slaughterhouse — important information given recent outbreaks of mad cow disease in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Large organizations such as the U.S. Social Security Administration are now attaching RFID tags to computer equipment, office furniture, and art to improve asset tracking and reduce pilferage. Brink’s even developed an innovative RFID-enabled money box that self-destructs when stolen.

For at least two decades, security systems have identified individuals by using early-generation RFID technology. For example, employees commonly carried RFID security badges permitting access to secure workplace areas. But these tags were costly and relatively bulky.

Today, firms are investigating less dubious RFID tags as a way to track certain subsections of the public. For...