Cambridge-based mobile geo-gaming platform SCVNGR launched a brand new functionality this morning, which will allow SCVNGR users to perform a new kind of check-in currently unavailable on any other platform. Simply put, the “social check-in” could mean making social networking a whole lot more social in the traditional sense of the word.
“Checking-in is fun. And people check-in on SCVNGR all the time, everyday. And it’s great.” said SCVNGR CEO and “Chief Ninja” Seth Priebatsch in a press release. “But doing the social check-in on SCVNGR with others is way more fun. Because checking-in by yourself is kind of a solitary activity. In fact, if you think about it, all those people checking-in alone are really just playing with themselves.”
The new functionality works a little bit like the popular Bump application, but deploys a new technology SCVNGR have developed that utilizes “near-field device-to-device recognition.” Social check-ins on SCVNGR can connect an unlimited number of iPhones and Androids at a place – not just two.
Users are encouraged to bump phones with one another to successfully complete the social check-in together, kind of like you would bump glasses together for a “Cheers!” (more…)