Dodgeball - A New Technology Makes Meeting People Easier

Dodgeball - A New Technology Makes Meeting People Easier: "Now that people are breaking up with each other through text messaging, it�s only natural that the hottest social-networking program to emerge in recent months is Dodgeball, a free texting service that lets users tell their friends and crushes what bar they�re in at any moment so they can meet up. Two recent NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program grads, Dennis Crowley and Alex Rainert, both 28, launched Dodgeball last spring as an alternative to loud cell-phone calls from bars. When Dodgeball users �check in� at a given locale by sending out a text message, it goes to all their preselected friends, as well as any friends of friends within a ten-block radius. A photo is sent along with the alert�which helps with identifying near strangers. Introductions are made, beer is poured, and then hookups can occur�casually, and in a low-pressure environment, all under the guise of knowing someone in common. It�s Friendster, except in real time and in the real world."