StreetMatching.Com Is an Online Dating Site for All Those Missed Connections
It's the year 2011 and there are waaaaay more options for online dating than Match.com. Enterprising people all over the world are creating business plans for their particular dating schemes (HowAboutWeOnlyDate
There's a dating site for this.
BeautifulPeopleWithDogsWhoKnit), and the latest, which launched yesterday in New York and San Francisco, is one that incorporates some of the magic of a site we all know and love, that is, Craigslist -- and, most specifically, Missed Connections. The site, StreetMatching.com, promises that "love is just around the corner," and also that geolocation capabilities will change the dating game forever. God, we hope so!
Just like any other dating site, you register on StreetMatching and upload a photo. Then your course veers from the usual online path. You wait until you see someone out and about in real life who you'd actually want to meet and, if all goes well, date. That's when you get back on the site (or on your iPhone), enter the time and place where you saw your desired, and view photos of people matching those specifications. In the case of a match, oh happy day -- get to work, lovebirds.
Founder Eduardo Antoja explains that the idea of the site is to avoid that pesky issue of not being attracted to the person you're finally meeting in person after the inevitable back-and-forth online. "Unlike other sites, which hope that members find a spark based on static and often exaggerated or out-of-date personal profiles, StreetMatching starts in the real world and is based on authentic human attraction. Rather than staying glued to your computer looking for love, StreetMatching encourages you to go out and live your life, and hopefully find someone in the process. The online component is just a way to seal the deal."
So how is this different than just going to Craigslist and posting a missed connection? According to Edwin Toone, managing director of StreetMatching, "Both Missed Connections and Craigslist are classified ads that require users to publish their crush or missed connection for all the world to see. First of all, StreetMatching is not a classified ad. It is the first web application that brings people together by using geolocation for missed connections. No user sees another user unless a crush is registered in the same place and time. This means the user is able to maintain their confidentiality and still find that person they are looking for.
"Second, we have an iPhone app (BlackBerry and Android coming soon) that allows users to record a crush and see if there is a match in about 5 seconds. No waiting and no risk of rejection.
"Finally, StreetMatching is not limited to publishing crushes but is creating a community of romantic singles that can support and give advice to one another without worrying about losing their confidentiality."
Sounds good, but as with any dating site, this relies on a critical mass of people signing up and taking part -- as well as decent odds that your crush will actually see you, crush back, have registered for the site, and will get online to look for you. And that you will do the same.
Since we're suckers for those things, we hope so. Plus, it's free.
[JDoll / @thisisjendoll]
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