Wearable Location-Based Mobile Social Network

Wearable Location-Based Mobile Social Network

Let's see if I can do this justice.


The idea is that you carry a device that acts like a souped up active RFID tag. These devices communicate tag to tag using an IEEE 802.15.4 radio with a proprietary network stack. The contents of the tag is a social affinity list which characterizes the characteristics of the person you are most interested in meeting. The tag is also a Bluetooth device that you pair with your cell phone.

When the tags 'discover' each other they exchange affinity lists. If there is a match, your cell phones exchange brief text messages and you determine whether to meet or to check each other out on Facebook or whatever.

The marketing scenario is young people going about their daily business and meet serendipitously. It's hard to imagine adoption reaching the critical density required to make this particular scenario work although a helping hand from network operators might create the necessary volumes.

However, what if they handed out the tags as a party favor at something like The Lilith Fair or Lolapalooza? Or any other big festival that draws a large number of socially active individuals? Trade shows and conventions are other obvious opportunities, which to be fair are included in the marketing material.

One question is why a 2.4 GHz radio instead of one of the sub-Gig radios for longer range?

Another point is that the term 'Location-Based' is a bit of a misnomer given that your location or identity is not exchanged by the tags. A better term might be 'Proximity-Based' since this is what really triggers the activity.