Refresh Provides Creepy Dossiers On People To Avoid Awkward Small Talk

iOS: Small talk is uncomfortable. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an app that told you what to say to people you barely know without having to, you know, talk to them? Good news! Refresh does just that, and it’s not as weird as it sounds.

Refresh is an iOS app currently in private beta, although you can get access by signing in with your LinkedIn account credentials. The premise is simple: connect your social accounts and Refresh will create a dossier of things you should chit-chat about. Like how I should mention to Whitson that I saw his post about playing way too many video games two and a half weeks ago (actual suggestion). If nothing else, this app highlights just how much of your personal life is readily available to third-party APIs.

It’s one of those apps that sounds creepy and awkward, but it could be put to good use. It’s kind of like Facebook’s Graph Search for all your social networks, so you can use it for a lot of the same clever stuff. The idea behind the app is solid if you’re trying to build your networking skills. Keeping notes about contacts and what’s relevant to them is a time-honoured tradition in the business world. However, be advised: blindly following the advice of an app that tells you to “ask her about baseball” because your friend clicked a Like button once on Facebook may hurt your networking skills just as much as it could help.

Refresh [iTunes App Store via Laughing Squid]