The both great and terrible thing about the Internet is when using social networks, you can go weeks, months or even years without knowing what the people you’re talking to look or sound like. That’s great! It allows you to hide behind your keyboard and mumble things you wouldn’t ordinarily are say but when it comes to those blog awards, twitter meet up or just a pint or two with people from a mailing list it can be a little difficult to know who’s who.

Calling in Shhmooze to take the stage. Shhmooze is a nice little app that lets you check into whatever location you’re in. When you get the app first you write a small bio and add a picture. This allows people to see who you are and if they don’t know yet, the bio allows them to see what you’re interested in and what you’re all about.

For example, an organizer of an event might invite attendees to use this app. When they get to the location of the event they take a look and they immediately can see other people who use the app that are in the same location. They’ll see the digitalDarragh username and a short description of me. They’ll also see my picture so if they want, they can pick me out of a crowd to introduce themselves. On a side note, obviously I can’t pick them out of a crowd so I make sure that at the end of my profile / bio I write something like: “You’ll see me a long time before I see you so come over and say hello”. I wouldn’t want to come right out and say hay I’m blind. Where the hel are you so I think and hope that’s a better approach.

I like Shhmooze because it tells me who’s there and with that information, I can make sure I get talking to people I know from Twitter, linked in and Facebook. Of course, there’s a messaging feature so if you just want to tell someone to stick around because you’ll be over there in a moment that’s quite easy to do also.

Shhmooze isn’t just available on the iPhone so almost anyone with a smart phone will be able to avail of this functionality.

To add one final note, Shhmooze isn’t just a social networking app. It’s also a great way of helping with professional networking. By including information about your industry and what kind of work your available for you can also attract perspective clients.