I was reading this article on Mashable about how there are social seating services that allow you to connect with other people 35,000 feet in the air. It works by letting travelers choose their seat mate by looking at other travelers’ profiles on Facebook or LinkedIn. I thought this was interesting how airlines were utilizing their airplanes as opportunities for travelers to network and connect with each other. This is an innovative idea and it’s a great way for people to utilize their time while being on a plane. The article also mentioned how two professionals had the chance to be seated with each other while heading to a TED conference. It’s actually kind of cool to have the opportunity to talk to someone who you wouldn’t normally have access to. Who knew that your social media profiles could be utilized to help you meet someone 35,000 feet in the air?
However, there are some negative aspects to it such as being matched with someone unwanted or the awkwardness by being refused by a seat mate. Also sometimes people just want to wind down and escape from having to do business so planes provide that temporary liberation for them. But what do you think about this social seating service? Do you think other airlines should jump on board with social seating services and allow travelers to network and connect with each other? Do you think that more travelers are going to be interested in using this service or would this service just be for professionals to network with other professionals if the chance arises?
Your post reminds me of the app “Dodgeball” that Shirky talks about in his book. It is amazing how you can use social media and apps to make connections with others based on the shared interest, background, friends you have, which you would not be able to get access to without social tools. I also agree with you on the disadvantages of the seating service. It is somehow scary for me to know that a stranger sitting next to me knows about my personal life.
I personally prefer to stay uninterrupted. When on board, the feeling is even more intense. I have had 13 flight experiences within about a year. One observation that I made about my fellow passengers is that almost everyone likes to mind their own business. In other words, I barely have seen any communication among the passengers. So I’m not sure if I should get excited that instead of meeting them face-to-face we actually could access their social network profiles.
It’s an idea worth testing. This could probably work for individuals with some sort of networking/business agenda. However, I don’t think it’s something that most travelers would be interested in because people tend to travel with family or people they already know. I might give it a try if I ever travel alone!
I’m not so sure if other airlines should hop on to this even though it does sound interesting and innovative. However, although it sounds great, how many people have actually said that it was a good thing? or a great thing? I think that this kind of networking may be safest only for professionals because if people use it for non business purposes, wouldn’t it be easy for someone to target another person using such networking means for theft, abduction, or worse? – especially if they are going to a foreign country. People could use the network as a system to select prime targets for criminal acts. Although, I may also just be exaggerating, definitely interesting though!