/Message: Pairup

Pairup is a social networking service for business travelers that I really would like to have take off (pun intended). I have always wanted to use a “ships passing in the night” service, where I could simply state my travel plans, and I would discover that an old friend was going to be in New York City the same dates as me.

There is more to Pairup than finding old friends: the service is geared to helping business travelers meet new people as well, such as people attending the same event you are traveling to, or locals with similar interests. I wonder if by trying to do so much, however, the designers have moved too far away from a simple premise, and move into conflict with larger professional social networks? On the other hand, I could make the argument that my “ships in the night” service is really just a feature than a solution like Upcoming.org or Google Calendar could offer.