In Japan, Twitter Users 'Tap to Follow' Friends Using NFC

Japan's largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo and Twitter have announced a partnership that allows the operator access to Twitter's database. As a part of the deal, users will be able to tap phones in order to follow each other on Twitter. The operator will also integrate Twitter updates and other related content in its feature phone portal called i-mode and on its smartphone portal, the DoCoMo Market. In total, the new integrations will reach 58 million NTT DoCoMo customers in Japan.

Although not part of the press release, a Twitter-based location-based alerting service is in the works too, according to reports. This service will involve harvesting tweets to alert Twitter users about local events and places, among other things.

A Twitter Alert Service

The location-based alerting service will involve the collection of public Twitter updates, but with the personal information removed. Twitter will be responsible for anonymizing this data before turning it over to the NTT DoCoMo. The software involved, expected to launch this winter, will initially run only on phones from the carrier itself.

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Full article at nytimes.com

"NFC, or near field communication, is a short range wireless technology that allows for the exchange of data between two devices. It's an enabling technology for the many upcoming mobile payment systems which will allow users to pay for purchases at point-of-sale, instead of with a credit or debit card. Just this week, Visa announced the launch of a digital wallet service that will use NFC"

Posted via email from Moments of Awareness