It’s always nice to see a unique take on location-based social networking and Moot from Oslo-based Ground Control Labs fits “unique” to a tee. The application runs on 32-bit PC’s running Windows XP/Vista and mobile phones sporting the Windows Mobile 6.0 OS and uses WiFi hotspots rather than GPS to connect you with others. Other Moot users that find themselves located in the same wireless location as you will show up on your screen in the Moot Arena. From there you can click on a person and access content attributed to their profile including text, video, and pictures. When it comes right down to it, Moot describes its core functionality as this:
- Local discovery of people, content and expressions
- Local expression by the individual, their content and self-expressions
- Local file sharing
- Local communication
- History of encounters
- Ability to make local transactions
Part of Moot’s mission is to provide the service free to the end user–completely free. Not only is the downloadable application free, but because the service runs on its own local network you won’t pay any network fees to your wireless provider, a definite plus. Backed by TeleVenture, another Oslo-based company, Moot is being developed to work on a variety of other devices and operating systems, and Apple products will likely take priority. Demand for iPhone compatibility has been high according to the company as has compatibility with Mac OS X.
Developing for other platforms will be key to Moot gaining any kind of traction. As Techcrunch UK points out, owners of mobile phone’s running Windows Mobile 6.0 tend to rely on their phone’s for business use rather than social networking. The next step in our opinion would be to get an iPhone app on the market, as well as developing for Android and Symbian. Once Moot has done this, then they’ll have a chance. At the moment though this is easier said than done, although they are already working on an iPhone version and a geotagging feature. André Mlonyeni, co-founder of Ground Control Labs, says that at the moment the startup employs only five people and there are technological issues facing Moot as well, namely that most smartphones aren’t quite powerful enough to run the WiFi app the way it’s meant to be.
We’ll be keeping an eye on this startup in the future.
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