the profile keepers remind me of email aliases and web domains. ten years ago, when a new email services started, everyone rushed to grab the alias they wanted. everyone rushed to register their last names, pet’s names, business names, societies, etc. if you didn’t grab them, someone else will, right?
in the same way, anytime a new network gains momentum, everyone is rushing to setup their profile there. afterall, their friends might be doing the same thing, and you can’t be somewhere else, right?
turns out people use their emails address for lasting and trusted relationships and use other means such as blogs, twitter and social networking presenses for semi-casual relationships.
i think people will form networks of casual/fleeting relationships to supplement the lasting networks (eg. linkedin) and the semi-casual networks. i think there is a tremendous opportunity for someone to provide enabling tools for such scenarios as
- hotdog fans sitting in a stadium. imagine them emitting establishing a relationship network that lasts the duration of the game
- people watching the movie in a theater. imagine them ‘twittering’ about it while it’s on
- commuters in a traffic jam. imagine them talking about alternative routes
- yuppies in cocktail party. imagine hooking up with the right gal/guy without the awkward pickup line
- moms in a park. shoppers at the mall. weekend warriors in home depot.
- the possibilities are endless.
the platform could be anything like GPS, or a WiFi, WiMax, SMS, even bluetooth, mainly to aid discovery and messaging. the enabling tools could be mobile phones. blackberry messenger is one such thing, alas it’s closed to the users of blackberrys.