Many successful commercial projects spin out of academia (Google and Netscape spring to mind, but there’s loads more), so it’s interesting to look at what’s happening there, from time to time.

I read on Cheese Bikini about a new service starting at Berkeley called PlaceSite in the next few weeks. It’s a WiFiSoSo (my acronym, I’m afraid) or WiFi Social Software. The idea is when you log onto a participating wireless network, you get a screen looking something like this

which gives you profile info on other people in the same cafe - or more accurately, people using the same node and who have completed their profile. You can hide your profile or aspects of it too, should you feel the need for more privacy.

PlaceSite also allows you to post a message to a forum, exclusive to that node and obviously, read messages too.

The obvious question here is why you need to use technology to facilitate communication, when you’re in the same place as these other people anyway. Why don’t you just talk to them?

However, most people don’t behave like that, most of the time. How do you know the other person is open to an approach? How do you know they won’t shout “Piss off, you stalker!!!” at the top of their lungs? How do you know they’re not tied up right now, but actually would love a chat in about 10 minutes?

So, the technology allows people to explore an interaction ina low risk, safe way before needing to pop their head above the parapet and perhaps getting it blown off. People use texting and IM the same way - exploring the convenience of going nuclear, which is the communication equivalent of a voice-to-voice call.

In many ways, this kind of system is a pre-cursor how we’ll be managing interactions on our phones in the years to come. Our phones will become our gatekeepers for communication and others will be able to check what kind of interaction we’re ready for at that time and if there’s a better window later in the day. Maybe, they’ll be able to find out our moods (you need to be in the right fram of mind for a “luvikins hearts babycakes” after all) and the level of busy-ness and stress we’re currently feeling.

I can’t see PlaceSite being the next Google (and I’m sure it doesn’t aspire to be either). But it could teach some very important lessons to companies aspiring to move into Mobile Social Software and Presence Management, which when you start to think about it, could be the next mega-success story of our times.