eShadow works by recognizing nearby wireless networks, as well as the wireless communications technologies found within your smartphone. I don’t think that eShadow is particularly novel, though, since you could have had a similar experience with Google Latitude. I guess the idea here is that you can connect with new friends too, based on the personal and professional interests that you share.

They say that eShadow complements current social networks, because it emphasizes and facilitates face-to-face meetings. I imagine this could get really messy at trade shows where you have a lot of people in a small space, all of whom likely share some really similar interests. Thankfully, there are both whitelists and blacklists built into the software that you can define and adjust.

“Today, online social networking has advanced dramatically, but our ability to meet people face-to-face hasn’t gotten any easier,” said Dong Xuan, associate professor of computer science and engineering at Ohio State University. “We want eShadow to close social gaps and connect people in meaningful ways, while keeping the technology non-intrusive and protecting privacy.”

I’m pretty public with what I do — via my blog, Twitter, and other places online — but these kinds of programs are a little too stalker-ish for me. What do you think?

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Ever get the feeling that somebody is watching you wherever you go?

OK, that was bad.

But thanks to inPulse Lead Designer Eric Migicovsky and his new app for InPulse smartwatches, your watch can tell all of your Facebook friends where you are anytime using an Android phone and Facebook’s Places service.

The watch communicates with the Android phone via Bluetooth, using the mobile data connection to bring up the Places menu on the watch’s screen. Using the single button on the side of the watch, users can scroll through the list of nearby places and check in without having to find the phone’s Facebook app or flip through any menus.

I can’t imagine this is going to be a big deal for a lot of people aside from those who already own or are already considering owning an InPulse watch AND are heavy users of Facebook Places. But for that micro-niche, this sure will be a convenience.

[SlashGear via Android Community]

The post New Facebook App for InPulse Watch Checks in Anywhere appeared first on Mobile Magazine.