I think the title of this post (directly taken from a GAINAX animated movie released in the 80s) absolutely covers the idea of SocialTexting !!!
The topic of social navigation takes into account the very concept of Schelling Point. It is an essential element of every city’s life (for instance : time square in new york) coined by sociologist Thomas Schelling. When there is an advantage in coordinating, but people can’t communicate, how can they coordinate? A Schelling point is a solution that people will tend to converge on in the absence of communication, because it seems natural or ‘special’ to them.
The topic of SocialNav is linked to urban planning. I should read Akira Suzuki, ‘Do Android Crows Fly Over the Skies of an Electronic Tokyo?’ but this book is really hard to find… This books explains and analyzes how new mobile technologies re-shape today’s (as well as tomorrow’s) cities. Tokyo is presented as an example (Is Japan still the future ? asked Wired one year ago, I would say yes…