Mobile Location Analytics (MLA)

Mobile Location Analytics (MLA) also known as Mobile Web Analytics (MWA)

MLA seems to be the dominant term however it broadcasts in the clear that it is all about "Location" whereas MWA just relates analytics to the web and is a stealth term more appropriate for disguising with a pseudonym what it is all about.  MWA appears to be a much broader data collection system that connects many pieces of information gained from mobile devices through active as well as passive detection.  MLA could and probably does the same beyond narrow focus on MAC addresses

There is an MLA code of conduct which is an industry sector self policing statement which is of course designed to provide the window dressing that an industry that seeks to gain privacy information can take care of keeping itself honest just like the banking industry or any other that establishes its own guidelines in preference to government laws.

MLA or MWA or whatever other letter combo they want to call a rose ---whatever.  I am mainly, initially concerned mostly with MAC address being the physical identity of the device that is transmitting its physical identity.  Then any amount of conceptual data information related to the physical identity can be associated to it for whatever purpose.  The physical identity of the device correlates substantially with an individual person identity.  That correlation becomes even greater with one or two other cross referencing physical data elements or conceptual data base elements.

The fundamental relationship of one unique person to one unique physical device broadcasting a MAC code is what I focus on because mandatory unique exclusive one to one relationships is the best foundation for any information system.  The most definitive and unbreakable one to one exclusive mandatory human identity is the relationship between the physical being and its conceptual soul which has for all intents and purposes a celestial, eternal unique serial number that is that identifies that individual.  It is known only to Saint Peter.  On earth we are headed for the same earthly conceptual unique identity.  Maybe we will call it our Saint Peter number.  I am sure that the NSA has already assigned us one that is unknown to us.  This is the key data base number to which all information about a person is related.  Probably a hash of some of our most important numbers.  Who knows?  We don't.  It is our NSA name and there should be law that requires the NSA to disclose it to us upon request.

A MAC address of a personal device is our "Internet of Things" name.  Pretty much.

My MAC name?  Hmmm.....well, it is available to anyone because my iPhone will shout it out for any wifi device to hear.   I guess it will not give anyone the keys to my house or car but maybe to my secret files on the internet?  There is no connection from it to passwords?  Yes, of course there is.  I am sure the MLA code of conduct says that anyone that subscribes to the code would not record my passwords or conversations, either voice or data.

My Mac address:  (Wifi address) 54:EA:A8:DC:C5:B9  it is a permanent number assigned to my iphone.  I don't think that I can change it.  It is locked somewhere in the firmware but I think that there may be some way to spoof a MAC address.

I expect that some day spoofing a MAC address will be in the same category with counterfeiting dollar bills.  It will be difficult to do and there will be severe criminal punishment for those that do it.  The MAC address will therefore be unchangeable.  The next step is to register the MAC address to the person that uses it on a personal device.  Like a license plate on a car related to a drivers license number.

Is the internet a privilege like driving?  Will it become regulated like that?  A personal license to use the internet and a registered device to go somewhere on it?

Enough discussion of the MAC address.  It is our primary code identified to us and the choke point of personal information association that opens the door to all sorts of information relationships about us in real time.  It is a powerful number and an alias of our given name that identifies us even more than a given name does.

We walk around and broadcast this number to everyone and anyone that wants to hear it and connect it to us for any reason.  Maybe just to record that 54:EA:A8:DC:C5:B9 was at a given place at a given time and going in a given direction (or just sitting there).

Interesting possibility:  Just like the telephone keypad can be used to produce words representing numbers I would think that my 54:EA:A8:DC:C5:B9 could be translated to a grammatically correct word of some sort given a matrix by which to translate it to a meaningful word consisting of consonants and vowels.  Maybe there is an app for that.  If not, then it might be an amusing one to write.  Then we could walk around and have the speaker on our device repeat it over and over so everyone around us would know who we are then look us up on the internet or their personal database.  Or, have sex with our Avatar. 

Now that is a very disturbing thought but the point here is that once we, individually and personally are connected via our broadcast number to all information about us then we are totally exposed to everyone and anyone that wants to do anything they wish with that information that is fast becoming our conceptual persona in cyberspace.  An even more disturbing thought is that who that persona is in cycberspace could also be manipulated to make that cyber individual anything that the manipulator wanted it to be.  When and if it comes to the point that our "true" identity is our cyber identity then the world will be a much different place that I do not like to even think about......but it is becoming increasingly like that place, I think as well as intuitively feel.