Web plugin tells you who is on the same page

Ever wondered who spends hours poring over every detail of your Facebook page? Are you dying to speak to anyone who shares your particular fascination with the cliff top webcam at the Scottish Sealife Centre?

Your wish may soon be granted. A new internet plug-in lets you interact with any other users who are visiting the same web page as you. Whoislive is only in beta at the moment, but the idea is for every web page to become a live chat room where like-minded visitors can share and socialise.

It's a bit like suddenly having a conversation with the person you find yourself next to in the vegetable aisle at your local supermarket. (And your instant reaction to that particular scenario probably indicates how tempted you are to install Whoislive). The main limitation is that only those who are signed up to Whoislive will be visible on each web page, although you can invite your friends to join the service via Facebook.

It sounds a bit chaotic, and ultimately distracting, but it's easy to see the appeal, particularly on news sites, freeing users from the tyranny of community moderators and bypassing formal "comments" sections entirely.

And yes, if you hang out on your own Facebook profile for long enough you'll find out who likes keeping tabs on what you've been up to. Just don't be surprised if it's just your Mum.


-Source : www.newscientist.com

Posted in: Iptek