Can you imagine if you could instantly recall anything anyone ever said or thought about you?
Suppose there was a giant database encompassing every thought in the world. In an instant you could run through a catalogue of thoughts and things that were said about you. People you've never heard of talking about you because they know someone who knows you.
In any social situation, you could instantly get an accurate feel for what the room was thinking, as long as it was about you. Say you meet a good looking girl and you want to know what she really thinks about you. There it is, right there in the database. Just a quick thought in your own mind to link to the database and check the records. No muss, no fuss.
You wouldn't even need to ask her name. You'd know, because it would be there in the database, with her thoughts. Every so often during your conversation, you could refer to the database to make sure she's having a good time.
Of course, this forces the question "could you do away with the need for one-on-one conversation permanently?"
The answer is, yes. You could walk up to a person and just stare them in the eye for a second, and get a definitive look back, to make the database reference. Then just access their first thought in the database. Then you can think something about them, like "Hello."
So, naturally, they access your thoughts about them, and get the "Hello." From there you can banter back and forth and carry on a conversation without ever having to open your mouth.
Just think of the possibilities. Let's say you just finished football practice and want a snack. Just think "mom", and then your snack time preference, and when you get home she can have it waiting for you. Nobody would be able to talk about you behind your back, because their thoughts would end up in your database.
There are some downsides to this. You could be in a meeting, about to seal the fate of your company by signing the largest merger ever known to man, and you accidentally think about what a nice ass the lady in the powersuit from the other company has. That's a deal breaker right there kiddies. And I think it goes without saying that the other people in the room will constantly be accessing their database to see what you're thinking.
This assumes several things about the database though. It assumes that you don't need to actually know the person you're thinking about or that's thinking about you. If records were created by a visual stimulation, i.e. when you see someone, the database is automatically searched for their likeness and the record is created, then the mere thought of how much money you think is in a persons wallet could be construed as a crime. You would never be able to lie again. You wouldn't be able to look at your neighbor and think dirty thoughts without them knowing. The term "Thought Police" would take on a very literal meaning.
And since this is esentially software we're talking about, someone's going to hack it eventually. They'll be able to implant false thoughts about you. You could check your database one day and discover that Bob over in accounting really wants to get in your pants. But all Bob was really thinking was how much he wants a steak sandwich for lunch.
People would pay someone to modify their front-end to allow them to block thoughts. Then you could think about how nice the lady in the powersuit from the other company's ass is, and nobody will be the wiser. You could lie, cheat, steal, fuck, fight, and play, and nobody will ever know.
In other words, it would be just like modern society, just more complicated.