IM with a twist

aidan_walsh

Meetro | Chicago Tribune article

RIght now its still only in a low beta version, but as a concept I find this to be pretty damn interesting. Add your location details to your Meetro account, which will still let you use you AIM and ICQ profiles (MSN and Y! are coming in a later version) and the program will tell you where the person you're chatting to currently is, relative to your own location! Find whose within a quarter mile of you, whose within a mile, or whose within five miles.

Well, ok, right now the location system is pretty much limited to the US (you can change country, but the "State" description is all US).

OSX and Linux clients are in the pipeline, but the really interesting thing is the prospect of a mobile client. I'll be following this one.

secret_squirrel

So basically its an IM client with added stalking potential?

How is that good?

aidan_walsh

Like all social networking technologies, its opt in. You don't want to say where you are, fine. It's still a fully working IM client.

OfflerCrocGod

I like! - pretty cool; if you don't want this information shared then don't bother with it.

SolarNexus

I'm all for technological advancements that aid pedophiles..

what an awful idea, I would hope there is an adult age limit, though I can almost guarantee not.

Shrimp

deviant art already have something like that..

aidan_walsh

InternetNews are reporting that Google will apparently buy Meetro, and expect an announcement by the end of the week.

randomhuman

I agree. I think everybody should shut ourselves indoors and never have any contact with other human beings, for the sake of the children.

SolarNexus

randomhuman wrote:

I agree. I think everybody should shut ourselves indoors and never have any contact with other human beings, for the sake of the children.

exactly my thoughts! we should all lock ourselves away, in some deep dark bunker, some call it hell... we'll call it home

mr_angry

Doesn't seem like a particularly inventive idea. You're basically manually changing your location every time you move anywhere. You might aswell type "Ireland" to the person at the start of every conversation. Bring on RFID, and we might see some interesting applications.

The Wallop project that Microsoft were doing was pretty cool - integrated IM, homesite, blogs, and e-mail contacts all added into a browsable graphical tree interface filled with people. If they ever turn it into a marketable product, it'll be genius.

http://research.microsoft.com/scg/

pickarooney

I don't get it. The whole point of instant messenging is that you can talk to anyone anywhere in the world, so why would you want to talk to randomers who happen to live near you? You can do that in shops, pubs, schools...

secret_squirrel

pickarooney wrote:

so why would you want to talk to randomers who happen to live near you?

So you can stalk them without needed airfare and phone cards? [/lurking in bushes]

aidan_walsh

pickarooney wrote:

why would you want to talk to randomers who happen to live near you?

Well, given that you can list what your interests are, you will be able to see who might have some common interests, thus avoiding those moments of

"So did you see [some item of interest]"
"No, I hate that."
"Oh."
*awkward silence*

And secret_squirrel's way is good too...