Yes, I’m still using Plazes (though less so since an ‘up’grade which removed some features which have not yet been re-implemented). Since writing this post, I’ve joined Twitter, OnXiam, Dopplr, Facebook, Pownce, and probably more. In fact, I’m living increasingly declaratively.

What value do I get from sharing all of this info? I’ll give just one example. I got on a train from Southampton to Waterloo, and Twittered the fact that I was on the train. It turned out that Rob was also on his way in (for a different meeting) and we ended up meeting up for lunch. I would never have sent a text message to everyone in my phonebook on the off-chance that one of them would be in the same place at the same time, but Twitter made it very easy to broadcast my location to my friends and anyone who cared, and without it I would probably have missed that opportunity.

In a world where it seems that there is often concern over invaision of privacy with any mention of a indenity cards in the UK causing outcry, that Declarative Living is taking off.

One question - what does it give you as a person? How does it enrich your life or aid you? I fully appreciate the desire to try out new things - I’m much the same.

What particularly appeals to me is the subversive element, the implication that aggregation beyond the immediate system you are using is taking place without you knowing for a purpose that moves the world toward your preferences by a process you are unaware of.

For example, a friend uses the flickr system for the benefits it gives him, reliable storage, easy sharing, but I aggregate this information into my rss reader, so whenever he takes a picture I know where he is in the world, what he’s doing and this informs the times I contact him, and the topics we discuss. All this happens without him even being aware that the information he puts into flickr is being used subversively to tell me his location and interests.

So, I keep following the concept further, and imagine a world where subtle timing differences in traffic flow miles away, and reconfigured paths through buildings ensure that you never meet anyone you don’t find fascinating. I imagine a world where a problem you’re struggling with is solved by a stranger in the same lift as you, who gives you inspiration with a stray comment on the art work displayed in the lift. All these things carefully orchestrated by he invisible optimiser. I imagine a world where serendipity is the norm. I imagine a world where the global optimisation problem of world happiness is solved every day by millions of sleepless agents. Serengents.

The imperative style is the style of micromanagement, it’s what you do when you don’t trust your agents. You give them exactly the data they need in the form they need it, and tell them what to do with it. In human organisations, when you trust your subordinates, you stop micromanaging - you describe yourself, the things you like, and your agent works out how to please you.

As we trust our software more and more, we’ll be able to let it leave behind the soft food of prepared data for the adult food of disparate data, and we’ll trust it to make life better for us without us evening knowing it’s doing it.