Plazes – Where are you?

This probably won’t be of any interest to privacy minded individuals.

Plazes is a free “social networking” service which utilizes your current local network connection to pinpoint your current location.

Plazes is a location based service so it makes a lot more sense if you are using it with your location being known to the other users. You need to be online to use Plazes. The system uses a fingerprint of the network you are logged onto as a unique identifier for a specific Plaze. The key is being connected with the geographic location of your network (i.e. your Plaze) on our server.

This isn’t your typical plain jain network tracking service. Users are able to tag (or geotag) their surrounding areas allowing them to a.) find users in the area, and b.) locate places of interest ie hotspots, restaurants, offices, ect. Note that you do need to install software on to your computer in order to use the service. Reminds me of MSN’s Virtual Earth “Locate Me” tool.

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If the service sounds somewhat appealing, you may want to consider checking Meetro. Meetro is a proximity instant messaging service. Upon registering, you’re required to enter your address which Meetro uses to locate other Meetro users in your proximity. Great if you’re trying to find another lonely individual within walking or driving distance. I tested the service briefly. Apparently there are 3 Meetro users within 1.0 miles, and 15+ within 100.