Having a stalker is generally seen as undesirable, right? However, if you want to sample the bane of rich Hollywood celebrities, there’s a new app-based art project just for you.
The Follower project is using a smartphone app to give New Yorkers their very own stalker for the day. The project invites people to apply for the experiment with successful applicants receiving a link to an iPhone app to download.
They’ll then be assigned a follower who will use GPS to track them for the entire day, remaining out of sight at all times.
“Don’t go unnoticed,” says the website of the project run by Lauren McCarthy an artist and faculty member at NYU (via Engadget).
“Follower is a service that grants you a real life Follower for a day. A no-hassle unseen companion, someone that watches, someone that sees you, someone who cares.”
Participants will be followed without interference and the assigned stalker will send them a photo at the end of the day to let them know they’re no longer being followed. Aside from this snap, there’ll be no contact with the follower throughout the day.
“You’ll be notified the morning of your following. Your Follower will be with you all day—within your consciousness but just beyond your sight—following, observing, appreciating each moment, without interfering,” the site explains.
Applicants are required to explain why they want to be followed, why they should be followed and provide a selection of dates they would be available to be followed on.
The Follower project is only available in the city that never sleeps (perhaps because it’s watching you sleep).
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.