Anyone who has had to fly coach probably has experienced the nightmare of having an incompatible seat mate. If you are the type who just likes to spend time sleeping, reading, or listening to music, the antagonist in the nightmare is the seat mate who just will not stop trying to chat you up. Even when you pointedly put your earphones on. If you are the kind who likes to meet new people and learn about them, then you might be the antagonist.
Finger pointing will not do any good, though, as we all are unique in our own ways. The only solution is to be tolerant of others, isn’t it?
Think again! If you’re lucky enough to have the option of flying Malaysia Airlines or KLM, you have a chance to pre-select your seat mate on the plane using social media.
Malaysia Airlines got there first with its Facebook app dubbed MHBuddy. As you can imagine, the system is rather limited as you can only interact with people who are on your friends list. It can be helpful if one or more of your Facebook friends are using the app and are taking the same flight as you are. Then again, you would probably already know that without using MHBuddy!
KLM’s system, which is labeled Meet and Seat, seems to be more flexible. For one, it gives the option of using LinkedIn on top of Facebook. Another plus is that the system actually allows you to take a look at the profiles of people you do not know, but only if they use Meet and Seat AND agree to its terms and conditions.
It is an interesting concept, to say the least. It is also easy to see how it can be exploited by some people, thus the unsurprising concerns about privacy. Some also say that it might be used more for matchmaking and networking.
I think that if one has serious concerns about privacy, then he or she should just ignore the service. After all, I do not think it is mandatory anyway!
What do you think of this practice? Will it catch on or die a quick death?
Image via Adventure and Travel