The whole idea is a privacy minefield, so it would have to be very carefully designed and implemented, of course making it opt-in. But still, should we even pursue this idea?
So that, for example, even if I met someone just briefly, they can still later see the contact information that I am willing to provide.
Wouldn’t that make it much easier to connect with people who live close to you?
Are there any relevant projects or ideas that already exist?
I kinda can’t see many women wanting to share any contact information with the random creepy stranger sitting opposite them on the train.
It should also creep man out a lot. There are a lot of weirdos out there.
Oh, definitely. It’s just that in my experience, women are more likely to be immediately wary of this possible danger. Or maybe I’m biased because I’m a woman. But men definitely can (and should) be wary as well.
GRINDR used to have this feature;. Usually, it was just annoying with randos (who never read my profile and had nothing in common with me) messaging me simply because I’m in the vicinity. Occasionally, guys got creepy/stalky and randomly knocked on neighbours doors trying to find me.
I don’t recommend resurrecting it.
Are there any relevant projects or ideas that already exist?
Yes there is, it’s called a business card. It’s opt in, has all your relevant information, and best bit, no phones or proprietary software required.
Does using your mouth not work lol
I’m socially neurotic about bothering other people. I hate the idea of forcing myself into someone else’s day by talking at them.
An app would kind of solve that, because they’d have to have their phone set to accept my advances.
Then why are you wanting to exchange information if you don’t want to talk to them. Also that’d be weirder to do that, where it’s a lot more socially comfortable and acceptable to just talk in person if you can. It’s much better to get consent in person then through privacy settings through technology
I want to talk to them! I am afraid of ruining their day by being an unwanted intruder.
I won’t get consent in person, I’ll just never talk to anyone and die alone. 👍
How is creepily adding some stranger through an app any different lol. Like I said, having a random unknown person add you without seeing what they’re like is weird and already says a lot about the person that they’re probably creepy if they don’t want to talk to you in person instead. That’s something you kind of have to learn in life. Technology is not a replacement for that. Sorry to be blunt but you literally will die alone if you don’t learn to do this.
What’s creepy about it? They chose to leave their phone profile open for strangers, which means they have flagged themselves for introduction. Just a little becon that basically says "Hey! I’m here and available! This is who I am and what you can expect. Don’t be afraid 😊 "
If everyone who was open to friendly conversation with strangers had a way to signal to me that I won’t ruin their day by talking to them it would really help my anxiety.
It’s not a matter of learning. It’s a matter of mental illness. It is a fact that some people do not want to be bothered, and I’d basically rather kill myself than bother them and there’s no way to fucking know without bothering them first. I take medicine for it but it’s not magic - a tool to help my mental disability would be genuinely helpful.
That’s uhhh, you should definitely see a therapist. It’s not a fact. You need to adapt to the world, not have the world adapt to you, sorry to say it. It is very alarming to read that lol.
There is nothing wrong with using technology to cope with living with disability.
Do you think I’ve never seen a therapist? You can’t therapy away every mental illness, you learn to cope with it. It is a fact that some people do not want to talk to me. You can not deny this! There are people who would rather not be bothered than have me intrude into their life and try to be their friend, some of them would even hate it. Unarguable. Or do you expect me to believe that everyone on Earth wants to be my friend? 🙃
I and my therapist agree the only nontech solution is to accept that, sometimes, you’re going to annoy people by intruding on their day without invitation. That’s what everyone else does because that’s how you make friends. You can’t always wait for someone else to make the first move, sometimes you have to take initiative or you die alone because you never reach out in the first place. I understand this is an irrational and neurotic brainworm that is ruining my life.
I’d also rather die than do that, so yeah, a technological solution is preferable.
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Fuck no. If I fucking wanted to talk to those fucks I’d fucking talk to them. If I fucking wanted them to have fucking information about me, I’d fucking give it to them.
There is not enough fucking fucks to emphasis how fucking bad, how fucking stupid, and how fucking deranged this idea is.
fuck
Seriously fucking sounds fucking awful
This sounds like it would be of particular interest to creeps and stalkers, I can’t see how it would possibly be safe.
I am struggling to wrap my mind around how stupid of an idea this is
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Oh god no. I always keep gps/location/mobile internet turned off unless I actually need it. I don’t want to connect with people. Quite the opposite.
Have you, or are you planning to, stalk someone? Because that sounds like something a stalker would propose.
That’s a great way to attract stalkers.
Nintendo had a feature like this implemented in the 3DS called StreetPass. When you passed someone else with a 3DS it would share some information (like game data) that you could later review.
I may be alone in this, but rather than profiles, a pseudonymous ‘map chat’ would be really useful jn a number of ways.
Hahah that’s what yik yak used to be! Unfortunately it did not go terribly well…
The way Apple does this with Name Drop, where you have to bring your device very physically close to the other, sounds like a much better idea.
Nintendo StreetPass? Used to be super popular in big cities.
I’m a little sad I missed out on Yik Yak, tbh. I think the idea of interacting with people within your proximity has power. Whether it just be casually BSing with your neighbors, or having conversations about a sports event.
I’d prefer if it were anonymous/pseudonymous with effective location fuzzing, though. But that could in theory include profiles with details you’re willing to share with randos. Could have augmented reality (AR) uses as well.
As long as you control the information and have the ability to shut it off entirely, it could be useful.
Yik yak was fun, but the reason it was fun was because it was (somewhat) anonymous. The local memes, hilariously kinky posts, and general news was fun. The cyber bullying and depression posts were probably what ended up killing the app.
