Now this is an accessory I am really excited about. Originally SNiF was conceived at the MIT's Media Lab under professor Hiroshi Ishii as a response to a class assignment to create a social networking software system. Then, its core focus was on the social networking of the dog's friends, but has now expanded its focus to center on the owner and her social networking with the SNiF hardware and software as the networking medium. I have been keeping track of this project for almost a year now…I am on the mailing list so they can notify me when this is commercially available or to participate in user testing.

Basically, the idea is that when you are out walking your dog, your dog wears a collar that records data (from other dogs SNiF collars) that tracks the amount of time your dog spends with other dogs…each dog having a unique ID. The dog's leash acts as the communication port between the data collector (the collar) and, as I believe, the database (leash + computer). When your dog is attached to the leash you have instant access to the database, where you can observe your dog's reaction to other dogs directly and record their sociability level (how much they get along). The dog's collar will flash red when they are in the vicinity of another dog that they dont get along with and green when they are in the vicinity of a dog they do get along with. Future functionality will include the ability to see when your dog's friends (or your friends) are in community areas such as local parks.

In the SNiF database, each dog and owner have a profile. This is where you come in. If your dog gets along with another dog, you have the opportunity to see if you get along with the other dog's owner and if you do, your dog becomes the “socially easy” excuse to interact with the owner…approaching each other first on a dog-to-dog basis.