Swimming Upstream: 5 Professions That Need LifeStream and Don't Even Know It

In the world of social networking, new ideas and concepts made into applications change the terrain of the internet daily. From file sharing to web-hosted personal pages to video streaming, social networking has been fueled by a constant influx of novelty.

And now, LifeStream, the latest concept in a long series of innovations is set to become the “next big thing.”



LifeStream is a site that enables users to provide full transparency of their daily life to other users. Whether you are going to the grocery store, surfing on the internet, eating a meal or doing nothing whatsoever, LifeStream provides you with the tools to quickly and conveniently notate anything and everything that is going on in your life. And, on the converse, you are given full access to the events and sentiments of others. What makes this different from social networking sites that already incorporate “user status” tools, is its cataloging of entries, allowing you and others to see changes from days, weeks, months and potentially years ago.

Yes, it would be easy to construe the curious social networking tool known as LifeStream into an Orwellian, Big Brother-esque invader of privacy. But, putting the naysaying to rest, I am strangely fascinated by this development, and more so by its potential applications.

Though, I would never want to engage in LifeStream, simply because I fear how mundane and, for lack of a better term, pathetic my life would appear to anyone willing to follow it. From the looks of it, there are thousands that lack my inhibition and have taken the plunge into transparency. But putting the oftentimes self-referential and, yes, self-aggrandizing nature of social networking sites aside, what other functions could such a tool serve?

After racking my internet-adddled brains for five focused minutes—which felt like eons by the way—I came up with a set of professions that could actually, well, use LifeStream for more than parading their self-interest to the probable indifference of millions.

In no particular order:

1. Parole Officers: Wouldn’t it be nice to get day-by-day, hour-by-hour, or, hell, even minute-by-minute status of your parolee? Sure, actually sifting through such updates might require the already-swollen penitentiary system to “hire” a few more “employees,” but really, parolees should already be doing this and maybe they’d even stop complaining about it if other LifeStream users threw in the occasional comment.


2. Parents: Does it feel like pulling teeth to get John and/or Jane to tell you that they spent the better part of the afternoon watching syndicated television and finishing off the canned whipped cream? With LifeStream, now you can track the unpunctuated leisure of your children, the afternoon snacks and cable television, from the embittered position of your office chair.


3. Politicians: How often do you see a politician outside of a self-congratulating television conference? Never? Me too. With LifeStream, maybe we could actually, you know, see the way our elected officials are actually representing us up at the State and National capitals, or just get a taste of the marathon meetings and catered benefits that, I assume, fill the day of many a politico.


4. The Memory Deficient: Do you have trouble remembering where you placed your wallet, keys, aspirations or any other figurative or physical object? Now, with LifeStream, you have the benefit of having self-directed meta-commentary to help you remember the hows, whys and wheres that fall between the cracks of soul-numbing commutes and 24 hour news.


5. Celebrities: Tired of being the object of endless libel, obfuscation and defamation? Set the record straight with LifeStream. Now followers can know all the details of your day-to-day, the fancy restaurants, the boutiques and salons, even when your star has run dry.

The list could go on for miles. But one thing is for sure: with the amount of imitators that are popping up, LifeStream and the LifeStream-like are probably here to stay.

As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. And don’t forget to update often.

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