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Well, no single size fits all, and it's easy to dismiss any app if it doesn't hold a personal appeal. However, it's often more difficult to strike up a conversa
by yid 15y ago
Well, no single size fits all, and it's easy to dismiss any app if it doesn't hold a personal appeal. However, it's often more difficult to strike up a conversation with a random stranger than if it were enabled with some sort of context. In other words, the pretty girl in the coffee shop might have no interest in talking to me normally, but if we somehow found out that (1) we were both interested in making new friends, and (2) we were both into Dostoyevsky and Phish, then hey -- serendipity enabled!
Of course, the first thing I'd talk about is what a silly way to meet, cellphones and the Internet and such, but hey---it got the job done.
- pork 15y agoGood point, but I think they want to go well beyond pretty girls in coffee shops. I like that they use your Facebook likes behind the scenes to generate connections that might be serendipitous.
- pork 15y agoI agree, I tried it out and it was remarkably accurate.
- diggum 15y agoI recently read about a study that found strangers were generally far more friendly and willing to talk and initiate conversation when they had a known shared interest. In the case of the study, they found over 20x more initiated interactions from strangers when a woman walked with a dog than without. Finding someone nearby that might share an interest who is also open to meeting people through this application seems like an easy way to broadcast those interests. For those who are trying to become less introverted or meet others, these apps seem like they could be useful tools. Collis, G.M & McNicholas, J. 'Dogs as catalysts for social interactions: robustness of the effect' in British Journal of Psychology 91 (2000), pp. 61-70