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After learners have used the internet to connect with the whole world and searched for teachers on the opposite side of the globe it seems as if they found a new button on a camera and found out that there is not only a button to zoom on things that are far away but that there is also a macro zoom which allows you to see things right beneath your nose in shiny new colors.

This trend is called “local” and will be one of the big things in 2010. So let’s take a closer look at two services that make it very easy to connect with local people, in the real world.

Who are those services for? As both are launched in big cities in the UK and France I would say they would be most useful for expats who would like to connect with local people who share the same interests. Being a language teacher on the internet for quite a while now I had many learners who relocated into a new country without speaking the local language. Most of them tried to connect with the local people also in order to learn their language but most of the time the conversation ended up in English.

www.lingomatch.com

The first service we take a look at is LingoMatch.com. The service takes on the old idea of language exchange but with the new local approach. People who would like to swap their languages open a profile on the site, fill in some information about themselves that will make it easier to match potential partners in the search and of course the city they are currently living in.

As I said, this is basically the language exchange idea “my language for your language” as we know it but the local, real world component actually makes this service much more interesting. People who would like to learn a local language are usually also interested in the local culture. Taking a look at the front page of LingoMatch you can already see a very good example:

Hi I like London its absolutely fantastic! I would love to know more about culture, and to have an extra help with my Language. I like simple things in life like to have a good cup of coffee, enjoy a science fiction and action movies (girly as well ) I yearn to have a little of sun and I really like a good chat.

As this is a type of social network you have one important component already in the name: social. Those people interested in meeting other people are social, communicative and have usually something to talk about. And that is another reason that separates people who learn a language because they have to in school or to order a pizza in Italian on their next trip to Venice, people who fill in a profile on LingoMatch most likely want to express their ideas and feelings in the language they learn as good as in their native language.

LingoMatch is still very young, a couple of weeks as far as I am informed but I think the idea has some potential especially with the trend of local applications, networks and services.

LingoMatch is founded by Andrew Playford and located in London, UK.

www.submate.com

The second service that helps people to connect in the real world via the internet is SubMate.com. SubMate is social commuting. Again, you fill in a profile on the website but this time the information you type in is the time and the way you commute to work or back plus some interests you have. SubMate then shows you people who share the same way to work with you and who have some matching interests. You can then connect with them and meet in the subway, on the bus or regional train and instead of sleeping, reading a book or listening to music on your mp3 player you can have a chat with a real person and who knows, maybe find a new friend.

Again, a great way for expats to connect with local people and practice the local language and to make contacts to local people with the same interests and in this case the same way to work. But as shown in the video you could use SubMate also to find some people who go to the same beach on the weekend or the same concert, museum etc. The possibilities are endless.

SubMate is founded by Laurent Kretz, Jonathan Benoudiz and Sylvain Ross and located in Paris, France.

Hence the times of the lonely, non connected expat in the big new city are over. There are of course more services like this and I will write about a couple of local services for teachers, soon.