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Thursday, 22 January 2009 |
While Pokens and E are getting hot, I’d be happy with just an improved and more usable way of sending v-cards once mobiles have Near Field Communication. Something like a native app, simple and fully customizable, which pops up for both parties when you hold 2 phones together: Imagine two people meeting in a bar or other fugacious social context. One of the parties might want to share a limited facebook profile, but doesn't feel comfortable yet swapping addresses or phone numbers. There are countless ways of meeting other people, and you can't really predict how the user feels about the social interaction. Point is that user needs are key and are ought to be respected in coming up with such privacy sensitive devices and services. Customization will therefore become more important, especially when users are on multiple social networks and meet within different social enviornments. While not much is known yet about E, it seems like they share this vision. They made the right decision by going for the NFC standard; making their service compatible with future mobile phones. On top of that, they also seem to have thought about a user’s context by offering profiles so they can somewhat control what info they share. I'm definitely keeping my eye on this service.
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