Bfriend: Context-aware ad-hoc social networking for mobile users

Ad-hoc social networking provides a goal-oriented platform for vibrant communication and value-added interaction among users. Through managing user social relationships in a novel fashion based on establishment of temporary social relationships among users with mutual interest or need, ad-hoc social networks provide an innovative medium for upgrading existing, as well as developing new social relationships. This paper proposes the Bfriend, a location-aware ad-hoc social networking platform based on the Facebook social graph. The Bfriend platform is used by mobile users equipped with a smartphone - after users install and activate the Bfriend client application, they are able to receive push notifications when a certain rule is triggered (e.g., it is Friday evening, Ewan and Luke are drinking beer in a bar and one of their female Facebook friends passes nearby). The proof-of-concept application is available for users possessing Android-based smartphones.