Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Markets, Flash Mobs, and Mayhem III

I just learned of a new approach to flash mobs today. Dodgeball is a new Web- and SMS-based service that can help you broadcast your location to other friends using the service, broadcast SMS's to friends within 10 blocks of you, and search for various venues based on cross street. Users submit the locations that they'd like to include in the service's database, and outside of the location setting -- I haven't found an easy way to change my location via phone yet -- it appears promising.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Dodgeball is its inclusion of social network services inspired by Friendster and Orkut. Right now you can't build out a full profile, but you can add friends, browse members, and otherwise organize your SMS social circle. Because there aren't full profiles, I'm hoping that the woman I just added as a friend is actually my friend, but this appears promising.

And it makes me wish I had a fancier phone, yes it does. Right now the New York version is in beta, but it appears it's also operation in Boston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

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