Posted by Renee Schmidt

SocialDot, a new app, lets you connect with people in your physical proximity. 

With social networks wrestling for the top position, there seems to be little space for smaller companies who are literally focusing on a feature of two from Facebook, Twitter, or other social network. However, for an app with something different, more importantly, something refreshingly new and useful, there’s always potential users. SocialDot, a new way of connecting and communicating, fits the recipe.

Using GPS, SocialDot lets you connect and communicate with the people in your physical vicinity whom you don’t know. For instance, if you made eye contact with someone at an event but no one introduced you to each other, you can connect using SocialDot. The app provides an intuitive way to create new connections and engage with them while they are in your approximate surroundings. You can send and receive messages through the app in order to build your network with people around you. The app has a wonderfully simply interface that lets you get connected with just a few taps on the screen.

When you are moving and you want to find new friends in a new place, you can choose to display your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn profiles and let people in that region connect with you. You can choose whether you want to display all of your profiles or just any of these. It is also possible to be available only for private messaging with other people near you without showing your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile. You don’t even have to reveal your email address to receive such messages.

You can also block users if you don’t want to continue talking to them. You can swipe your finger on the unwanted contact and that’s it. You won’t receive any messages from him or her anymore. If you decide to unblock later, you will have to go to settings in the app.

Strikingly similar to Facebook’s ‘stalking app’, Find Friends Nearby, SocialDot also takes the pain out of ‘friending’ or ‘following’ a person you’ve just met – a frustrating experience – carefully spelling out names, looking through the photo list to find yourself, etc. SocialDot makes connecting to people near you simple; using a social business card, if you will. The app allows you to add your social profiles and create connections through private messaging without having to compromise your privacy. It has all the ingredients to be the Social Business Card for the future.

You can download SocialDot here (iTunes | Android).