Proximity is the latest buzzword in the app arena. This post looks at .
Dear reader, location is so 2008. Proximity is where the fun is at.
What is Proximity Anyway?
Full credit to ReadWriteWeb for spotting the proximity trend.
I’ve been looking around for a definition, but found very little. As mentioned in the above article I like to think about proximity as the next set of services once you’ve identified yourself in a particular location.
Another interesting aspect is the real time factor. Proximity is about the ‘here and now’, rather than the ‘what happened here’, a concept that belongs more to location.
Recommendation, suggestions, networking and marketing are a natural proximity fit and an increasing number of developers is realizing the potential of building services around location.
Why Do Your Guests Care?
Attending an event is going out of your comfort zone. Despite event pros’ efforts to make it cozy and fun, it is still a big social commitment for most of us.
Proximity delivers comfort and relevancy in a fairly uncomfortable scenario.
Say you are attending a huge convention and want to connect with fellow attendees, have a chat and possibly few drinks. You can throw a party with Hurricane Party.
What if you are attending a concert and want to see the pictures currently shared by the crowd? Well you could start taking pictures with Color and see what others next to you are sharing.
Once you’ve attended your event and you go back to your hotel, you may want to ask for a recommendation for a bar. But when tips on Foursquare are not enough, you can ask live via Localmind.
Why Should you Bother?
Look for example at how cleverly Color was used at the launch of Water for Elephants. This adds value tremendously when looking at user generated content as a viable marketing tool.
Think about perspective customers sharing their future plans to attend your event on Ditto and how you can help them to better grasp the range of services you’ve laid out for them.
Or you could invite your attendees to collaborate and chat via GroupMe.
Consider the range of services you can offer at your event by partnering or suggesting the use of proximity applications. At the end of the day you are helping your guests to connect better among themselves and with the location hosting them.
In Conclusion
Possibilites are endless when it gets to proximity and it is trending so intensely that we can expect more applications popping up sometime soon.
Opportunities are going to grow in this arena, so better start experimenting with proximity apps.
Stay tuned for more.
