What will mobile kill? Part 3: Bars

Why do you go to a bar? Ostensibly, to get a drink, but we all know there are other reasons and a lot of those involve meeting people with similar interests, particularly, um, adult interests. OK. Let's just say it. Lots of people go to bars to find someone to date or at least to hook up with, and bars use that attraction to sell them expensive drinks. Bars provide the location for free and profit from a product on the side: alcohol.

But what happens to bars when people can find each other in different ways. A host of applications are competing for the space and mobility is making it easier. Instead of going to a site like Match or eHarmony, before long you'll be able to ask your mobile phone something like "Who within a 5 mile radius would like to go for a hike this afternoon?" and then you'll be able to find them and start talking.

One innovative solution in this space is Serendipity (which, true confessions, is run by a friend of mine). This product allows people to specify their interests, find people nearby and communicate anonymously until they decide they want to meet. It even makes it fun by including games they can play together through text messages. Who needs to go to a bar?

As people have pointed out in the retail posting, there are things that bars can do to compete. They could offer similar services inside the bar. They could team up with surrounding bars to make the entire neighborhood more appealing. But, like retail, they probably won't. And we'll probably see fewer of them in the future as this unexpected competitor . . . the phone, takes business from them.