192.com published the ages of 27m people

192.com is getting into some interesting the areas. The portal that no-one knows what it’s for any more (Tagline: “Search for People, Businesses & Maps” – so that narrows it down, huh) has put up the approximate age (e.g. “25-29”) for 27 million UK residents. In addition they launched the most detailed aerial maps of London yet put online. They say this new feature makes it easier to find old friends because, even though a person’s address may change, their date of birth always stays the same. Hmnnn, comforting. 192’s data is normally taken from uploaded electoral records, but they say the age guides are not based on the actual date of birth of individuals but modeled on data from a broad sample of the population using “complex mathematical algorithms”. Exactly the business model for this move remains unknown.