SmallTown: Social Networking Features

ic_chat.1SmallTown is a Social Network. However, it is very different from any other internet based social network. SmallTown, for instance does not exist on the internet. It exists on the collective of people’s phones. There is no centralized server or cloud database where your profile is stored.

When you install SmallTown you set up a simple profile. As you enter a system that allows you to participate your profile is made available to others in the system. The system could be as simple as a Wi-Fi network at your favorite local restaurant, or at the airport lounge or even airplane cabin. You can now browse other people’s profiles, request and chat, request and exchange contact information, set up encounter alerts etc.

ic_add_to_contactsProfiles you encounter are saved in your phone’s database. Those are available only to you. If you have set up a profile and have entered a system that allows you to participate, then your profile is made available on other people’s phones for them to know you. No contact information is ever exchanged without your explicit action.

The social network created by SmallTown is ephemeral in nature, such that it dissolves when you leave the system that allowed you to participate. No one in the system can reach you through SmallTown after you leave. If you find someone interesting that you want to continue to communicate with after you leave SmallTown, then SmallTown provides a method to exchange contacts easily with the other party’s approval.


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