I’ve thought about the idea of being able to easily communicate with others that are around you. Whether you are in a car driving on the highway and want to let others know there is an accident up ahead, an icy spot or maybe a speed trap. Or maybe you are at a sporting event, or a party. This “implied social network” can be very powerful in any situation where you are around others.

Recently two products take advantage of this idea that I think are very interesting.

First is Color.com. It’s recent launch was met with a huge outrage regarding the amount of money raised ($41M), as well as the horrible first impression of the app. The concept is to use an implied social network to initially share photos with people around you. No need to send a friend request, or to follow people. You find yourself magically networked because you are around them. You can see their photos and comment on them in real-time. You don’t have to curate your photos from last night, upload them, and wait for your friends to comment on them. The problem (right now) is that not many people are using it. Unless you are in Palo Alto, when you first open the app, you are not going to see anything. Hopefully this changes as time goes on and the app goes mainstream. I think in time, it will. $41 million still goes a long way this day. An update was just released yesterday to clean up the UI, so download it and let me know what you think!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color/id427763573?mt=8

Second is Yobongo. Breakout at this years SXSW, the concept it to allow you to text with one another close by as well as take tests private. It really makes it fun and easy to chat with people nearby on your iPhone. There are no chat-style rooms to join, friends to find or permissions to ask. Unfortunately, Yobongo is only available in San Fran, New York City and Austin. Hopefully they open it up to everyone soon, so we can all jump into a conversation happening around us. You can vote for your city at http://www.yobongo.com/cities.

http://itunes.apple.com/app/yobongo/id388892120?mt=8&ls=1

Connecting with people in your proximity opens a ton of doors for innovation and businesses. From social gaming to e-commerce to location based services, the implicit social network is here. Want to connect with me? If you are nearby, we already are.