Most people have come to accept that by using the internet at all it is implicit you will leave behind a digital footprint.

Should that footprint merely note your online presence as an anonymous user, or should it give away the type of shoe you’re wearing, where you bought it and how much you paid?

Last month, in a session closed to the public, Wagga’s councillors discussed signing on to a Telstra service called Location Insights.

We don’t much about what transpired behind those closed doors, but we do know there were enough concerns raised by enough councillors for a decision to be deferred.

Through Location Insights, Telstra can collect data relating to a mobile phone user’s age, gender and movement.

Telstra insists the data is “aggregated and anonymised” before it is on-sold to clients such as, potentially, Wagga City Council.

There is absolutely no doubt this data would be of use to council.

Knowing how many people are travelling on a certain road at a certain time, or what age groups of people are attending a council-run event, is valuable stuff.

This data was once collected by old-fashioned methods like traffic counters and survey forms.

Is it time to embrace more high-tech methods, or a step too far for a council whose primary responsibilities remain roads, rates and rubbish? 

All the best, Ross.