I wrote back in December about how the Dodgeball.com mobile phone networking service can be used for dating. At that time, Aaron Landry of s4xton.com mentioned that he used the site a lot but not really for dating purposes.

Well, in the more than 3 months since that article ran I've used Dodgeball a lot, and think Aaron's description of how Dodgeball is actually used - at least in Minneapolis - is more as a friend networking platform than anything dating related.

Here's what I've learned:

1. It's fun to receive messages from friends telling you where they're grabbing a bite to eat or having a beer. It's a fast and easy way to keep in touch with someone.

2. Staying up to date on what people have been doing gives you something to talk about other than the weather the next time you get together.

3. It's kind of embarrassing to check in from restaurants that aren't cool. What's cool is a pretty subjective thing, but among my friends, checking in for dinner from Applebee's on a Friday night would draw plenty of criticism. I believe this has raised the bar on what venues I visit. I learn about new places from other Dodgeball user's check-ins, and will likely check out new places that seem pretty cool.

4. Dodgeball only gives credit for check-ins if the venue you check in from is in they're venue database. Unfortunately, this means you probably won't get credit for being the first person on Dodgeball to check out a cool new place unless you have the foresight to add the venue ahead of time. Premeditated check-ins are a real pain. Considering that Google owns Dodgeball and certainly has access to a decent restaurant and bar directory, it would be nice if they'd get around to populating the database.

5. The Dodgeball.com web site is basically unusable on mobile devices, which is pretty strange considering how often Dodgeballers may try using the site to add venues or use other site features from a phone. A mobile networking application should have a mobile friendly web site.

6. It should be easy to sign up new users from their phone. People are most interested in the service when they see someone else use it in a bar. Strike while the iron is hot.