name tag

yesterday i was on a conference call with a guy who has worn a name tag everyday for 5 years. why? to create a "front porch"; to free people up and make himself more approachable more open to conversation. after the call i was conversing with joe myers about why that sort of thing might be necessary and it we began talking about the lack of social comptencies in our american society today. in general the scurriedness of life and to some degree technology has inhibited the development of our social skills. also in the conversation we talked about the third place (ie. bars, coffee shops, etc) where much of this interaction would take place but given our suburbarn sprawl the lack of third places now, and especially the lack walking accessibility. how should the church be considered when talking about third places? interesting to see the emerging churches using the coffee shop, bar, night club model.