Apple hatching social OK Cupid service for iPhones

Once upon a time someone promised the future "would be better tomorrow," something no one in their right mind would repeat at a speed dating event, but Apple [AAPL] has a plan to put a little mojo in your chatter next time you meet a stranger, because when it comes to conversation, there's an app (patent) for that.

A little more conversation?

We've all been there. We're meeting new people and we get into strange and stilted conversations as we try to reach common ground.

We learn how to navigate this uncertain social space as children, where young minds sagely agree they share loves like the color red, or that they think animals are "cool".

The conversations get more complex as we get older but the endgame is the same, a quest for shared beliefs, shared knowledge, common ground, that elusive experience of like or of love.

Some enchanted evening?

MacRumors today is discussing a new patent filing from Apple which includes new social features, including location-based interest matching.

"When two strangers meet, it may take a long and awkward conversation to discover their common interests or experiences," Apple writes.

"Growing a social network can mean that a person needs to discover like-minded or compatible people who have similar interests or experiences to him or her. Identifying like-minded people, however, often requires a substantial amount of and time and effort because identifying new persons with common interests for friendships is difficult."

Will the app be called 'iDate'?

The Meeting machine

The way it works sounds interesting.

The software will scan other iOS users where you happen to be, and will tell you who they are, what they are interested in and where they are in relation to you. Kind of like an OK Cupid or friendship-finding machine, one which asks that most telling question "Do you like the taste of beer?" for you.

It lets you set-up your description, so an app user may find me using this feature, and would be able to read, for example, that "My name is Jonny and I'm a unicorn-chaser. Red is my favorite color. I like the taste of beer."

(Though it is rather creepy and stalker-like to think that simply because you didn't set-up your security settings properly you might be approached by a complete stranger who doesn't just know your name but also all about your unhealthy interest in Indian erotic literature.)

"Common interests and experiences of two or more users located close to each other can be identified from content, including automatically created usage data of the mobile devices. Usage data of a mobile device can be created based on activities performed on the mobile device (e.g., songs downloaded), a trajectory of the mobile device (e.g., places traveled), or other public data available from the mobile device (e.g., pictures shared)," the patent filing explains.

It is an interesting socially-focused evolution from MobileMe as the company moves to explore the potential uses of its software and devices using the connected glue of the iCloud.

Only the lonely

As described, this would be an opt-in service. You'd walk into a bar, tap the 'Find A Buddy' button and end up meeting Lou, who like you has a deep love for Dungeons and Dragons and early Hitchcock movies, or whatever.

We're in a lonely world. From Wikipedia: "According to a study documented in the June 2006 issue of the journal American Sociological Review, Americans are thought to be suffering a loss in the quality and quantity of close friendships since at least 1985. The study states 25% of Americans have no close confidants, and the average total number of confidants per citizen has dropped from four to two."

It is worth noting that humans are complex creatures -- even where humans are of relatively the same age and hold very similar interests, there's no guarantee they'll actually like each other. That 'like' quality seems an elusive quantity that continues to evade mathematical definitions.

What is also interesting about Apple's proposal isn't in the proposal. But given Apple's move to bring Twitter support into its OS, it must also be possible the patent could offer immediate location-based access to people of similar interests and what they are Twittering.

Does 'iFamiliarity' breed 'iContempt'?

There's one thing about these solutions I can't quite decide, I could be betraying an age gap here, so I'm interested in what you think: Does knowing that you know so much about the person you are talking to, and them knowing so much about you help, or hinder conversation?

In other words, will it foster new acquaintance, or -- given the ever-raising boredom threshold which this sensation-based society fosters -- will such relatively easy-acquired acquaintances quickly be forgot?

Please let me know in comments below. I'd also very much like to invite you to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when I post new reports here first on Computerworld.