I'm obviously into maps and geospatial apps, and as you likely know, I'm also very into facebook, Twitter and other social media networks. So, when the 2 of these worlds come together I take notice! Enter IRL Connect, the latest social networking map mashup that just might make some HUGE noise.

Short for In Real Life, Amsterdam-based IRL (http://irlconnect.com) promotes themselves as a visual, social networking company. Using their IRL Connect application, the company has now rolled out a Beta application that enables users to connect with their facebook and Twitter contacts from a map (driven by the Google Maps API).

From their PR announcement, "IRL takes the features of social networking that allow users to communicate and connect and makes the user's location the most important part of the information they broadcast," said Frank Schuil, CEO of IRL.

As usual, curiosity got the best of me so I sniffed around their website and bog a little and to my surprise quickly found a special code that enabled me to register as a Beta user of the service. Within minutes I had my account and had imported my Twitter contacts and facebook connections into my profile. From that point on the my socializing via the networks was a whole new experience. The first thing I noticed was my position on the map (positioned in Norther Colorado) and by zooming out I then started seeing clusters of connections that I had... groupings of my social contacts being displayed around the World... I never realized until that point just how many connections I had in the UK. Its also interesting to see spatial patterns like a grouping of 14 people within a couple of miles of me, 37 connections in Boulder CO, 88 connections in the Seattle, WA area, or 306 contacts in the Silicon Valley region!

IRL connect also adds another dimension to your social network as within the application you can connect and friend people directly as an IRL Connect friend. These people appear as a yellow icon on the map (different from your twitter or facebook contacts) and even more functionality is provided to expand on the social aspects like direct contacting your friends from within the application or even see how your friends move around and change their location! 

This is obviously an early test of the service but if first impressions tell me anything, I suspect that this service could be very huge very soon! At first glance the app reminded me of a service that Nokia tried to roll out  a while back called FriendView, however, this app seems much more robust and user friendly at first glance. I think its also wise to start with a desktop client and then look at extending to the mobile space once it has matured a bit.

Below I've shared a sampling of what you can expect from the IRL Connect experience: