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The algorithm is quite doable. A good-enough algorithm would be fine -- I have higher standards for those I exclusively date than for those I grab an occasional
by njl 16y ago
The algorithm is quite doable. A good-enough algorithm would be fine -- I have higher standards for those I exclusively date than for those I grab an occasional beer with. An opportunity to meet some new and interesting people would be great.
The viral loop probably lies in encouraging people to sign their existing friends up so that we can better classify the kind of people a user gets along with. I think people would use it, given that it had some mild game mechanics and some real social benefit. I'd push hard against making it in any way useful for dating and hookups at first, otherwise it would quickly get a stigma.
I had an interesting chat with some salesguys a couple of months ago, where we talked about an application that lets you say, "I'm in Denver on a layover for four hours. I'd love to grab a beer with somebody who sells into the enterprise software space and has some time to chat." That's one possible revenue source. Permission marketing is another one.
If I were to go the social-media-startup-route, this is the problem I find most interesting.
http://www.njl.us/social-networking-but-the-other-way-around http://www.njl.us/social-networking-but-the-other-way-around
- rythie 16y agoI've seen people on twitter with a lot of followers doing the "I'm in such and such for 4 hours lets meet" invitation, though of course that only works for people with a lot of followers. So I think there is an opportunity there.
- byoung2 16y agoThat would be a great feature for Foursquare. They could add a profile for users, and let you opt in to sharing that with other users who have checked in at a certain place. It could be interesting to see who's nearby with a similar collection of badges and interests.
- mikeyk 16y agoMeet Gatsby does this with foursquare (http://meetgatsby.com/ http://meetgatsby.com/)
- notahacker 16y agoDoesn't Loopt do this?
- nooneelse 16y ago> "The viral loop probably lies in encouraging people to sign their existing friends up so that we can better classify the kind of people a user gets along with." So something like: 'Hey friends, some of you should spend your time to take this online questionnaire, so that I can benefit by having this site find me some other people to hang out with besides you lot. Also, if you think it is a jerk move for me to ask you to help me replace you in my life, then the site might be able to help you find someone similar to me who can fill my slot in the social circle.'
- njl 16y agoMore like, "Lets find interesting new people together."