Mobile social networks: Doing what Twitter never could

Do you have a friend, or maybe an inlaw, that specializes in monologues? Now think about the difference between  that one-way conversation and walking into a café and learning, based on GPS  coordinates or triangulation and prior knowledge of your social connections and preferences , that you can meet – on the spot – a  new friend who shares your passion for Burmese history, Michael Jackson dance moves or Bordeaux wines.  “The idea of a social network that deals with reciprocity - I call you, you call me, we interact and so on - is much more meaningful than a listing like your whole Rolodex of everyone you've ever met,” says Bernardo Huberman, one of the lead researchers behind the creation of HP’s new mobile social network application called Friendlee. The application is currently being tested on Android and Windows Mobile handsets at HP labs in Silicon Valley, according to a recent report from the BBC.
There are increasing questions about whether the richness of a true mobile social network will make Twitter look like an asymmetrical relic. But getting to the point of having a viable, standardized mobile social platform that works across carrier networks and smartphone is, at best, a few years away.