I ran into the Unsocial app a few months ago and it had a novel name and a strong idea: build a social networking business platform based around events like conferences. The app is now out of beta and it includes versions for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 will be coming soon.
The Unsocial app is the official app of the App Nation 2011 conference and it shows the potential of the app in these conference environments. You can sign up for your own Unsocial account or use your LinkedIn account to get access. This will give you the event’s agenda and schedule but you can also put your contact information in to allow others to reach out to you via the app, e-mail, LinkedIn or by phone.
Why is this important? Well, if you’re at an event or conference, you’re likely there to get some business done and you’re not always in the same room with the people you really want to do business with and this could be an important tool to make that connection. Heck, not everybody is Johnny Salesman either, so the Unsocial app enables users who are more comfortable with digital introductions to get business done.
The location-based element of this app is extremely important because you’re not just sending messages to people who aren’t at the event. Moving forward, the company says that the platform itself could be used for things like concerts and other, non-business focused events.
Of course, there are a wealth of competitors in the location-based space like Foursquare and even Facebook but neither is really focusing on the business space. It’s going to be tough for the Unsocial app to be widely adopted by business users to truly be useful but it is working of some incentives to make that happen.
Overall, it’s good to see Unsocial grow.