Social serendipity: mobilizing social software

Many mobile devices incorporate low-power wireless connectivity protocols, such as Bluetooth, that can be used to identify an individual to other people nearby. We have developed an architecture that leverages this functionality in mobile phones - originally designed for communication at a distance - to connect people across the room. Serendipity is an application of the architecture. It combines the existing communications infrastructure with online introduction systems' functionality to facilitate interactions between physically proximate people through a centralized server. A new mobile-phone-based system uses Bluetooth hardware addresses and a database of user profiles to cue informal, face-to-face interactions between nearby users who don't know each other, but probably should.

Bluetooth Proximity Detection

After years of hype, Bluetooth is finally seeing mass-market adoption in mobile electronics. According to the official Bluetooth Web site (www.bluetooth.com/news/releases.asp), more than three million Bluetooth devices are currently sold each week. The protocol's primary use is to connect items such as a wireless headset or laptop to a phone. As a by-product, Bluetooth devices can also discover other devices nearby. This “accidental” functionality enables mobile communication devices to act as a gateway to online introduction systems, such as Friendster, Monster, or Match.com. The difference is that mobile devices situate the introduction in an immediate social context, rather than asynchronously in front of a desktop computer.