“Like” your seat-mate before you board the plane
If you want to. Maybe you don't. I don't know.
Dutch Airline, KLM has recently started a program that lets you upload your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles when you purchase a ticket. You can also view other people’s social profiles and, in theory, find a compatible seatmate.
On a flight from Amsterdam to São Paulo this week, for example, you could have chosen the director of a British answering service, who has a passion for reggae and jazz; an Italian chemical engineer fluent in Dutch, English, Spanish and Portuguese; or a Norwegian alternative-rock fan en route to visit family in Argentina.
Who knows, maybe this will lead to new sections in your social profiles: “I enjoy gabbing incessantly when I’m nervous, I smack my gum, and frequent user of airsickness bags.” That profile actually might get me a row all to myself.
