Cofounder Of New Dating Site Says The Key Is Social

Di Huang, the 24-year-old co-founded the dating website SoWink (www.sowink.com), which launched in December.

What is the difference between SoWink and other dating websites? With Match or eHarmony, they’re traditional dating sites, based on a matchmaking system. We’re trying to socialize the entire experience by having user engagement through our platform. We have a lot of social elements, unlike other dating sites, where the idea is to message back and forth. The first and foremost thing is we don’t do long profiles like you’d find elsewhere.

Who is SoWink intended for? We have a specific demographic: 18- to 35-year-olds, college graduates and young professionals. You have to do a Facebook verification or have a dot-edu email to verify. Primarily, it will be for people who are single, looking for someone to date. The site is not geared toward marriage; it’s for dating. It’s for people who are new to the area and are looking for friends and looking to meet new people.

Where is SoWink available? Right now, it’s limited by geolocations, focused to the San Francisco Bay Area extending to Davis and Santa Cruz. We’re expanding location to location instead of competing on a large scale immediately.

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Mobile Dating

The last few years has seen mobile technology come on leaps and bounds, phones are getting faster, smaller, smoother, smarter and much more capable. This has been reflected in the explosion in the choice of applications (apps) that are available for download. These days you have apps that help you find a restaurant, translate text, social network, and compare prices. Even NASA has an app.

It is little surprise therefore that one of the most popular type of apps is the dating app. There are hundreds of them on the Android Marketplace and even more on the Apple App Store, each promising the easiest, most fun way to meet people in “your area”. Flirtomatic, one of the most popular mobile dating services, reported that in 2010 over half a billion “flirts” were sent, equating to about 285 messages per user.

It’s clear that mobile dating has many things going for it but as Flirtomatic indicates in its “Flirt Report” market research; there are important privacy issues to remember when using location based apps.

Lloyd Borrett, Security Evangelist at AVG (AU/NZ), says, “A device knowing its user’s location will enable future innovative services. Within five years users might be able to find someone on a dating site and send (with permission) real flowers immediately to their exact location.”

“Far fetched? Invasion of privacy? Consider that since your phone knows where you are, it becomes the most effective delivery address imaginable. Your address is your phone, which is where you are. But only if you want it to be.”

Giving away your location to strangers has obvious consequences, so here are five tips from AVG (AU/NZ) on staying safe while using location based apps:

Check the source: Only install apps from a trustworthy source - it’s like buying from a shop, or placing your money in a bank account. Try and check the reputation of the app manufacturer. Apps in the Apple store are rigorously checked, while the Android Marketplace is more open with its screening policy.

Check for hidden charges: When downloading an app make sure to understand exactly what the hidden costs are. “Free” isn’t always as black and white as it may seem.

Check your settings: Make sure that the app is only monitoring/reporting the information that you want to share.

Turn it off: Turning off the GPS functionality when you’re not using it will ensure that your privacy is protected. The same goes for removing the app if you’ve stopped using it.

Wear protection: Having an up to date anti-virus on your phone will ensure that it keeps malicious software from sharing information that you want to keep private.

Mobile Dating App SinglesAroundMe Launches Unique Tool for Singles

Location-based mobile dating app SinglesAroundMe (SAM) today announced the official launch of its first of a kind “Destination Search” tool that gives singles the opportunity to see where other singles are in real time at any location of their choice worldwide.

Company founder Chris Klotz said, “singles are finding the tool quite fascinating because they are empowered to see where other singles are gathering, allowing them to decide where the most happening spot is. Missed opportunities and visiting an empty bar are a thing of the past.”

From the input GPS matched location, users can search for other singles from 100 feet to 100 miles of the Destination Search location, and can customize the search results to meet their desires. Results are displayed on a geographical map, where users can then view pictures and profiles and send various types of winks and messages to begin flirting.

The Destination Search tool is used to compliment the main feature of the app called “SAM” search, which displays singles from 100 feet to 100 miles of your immediate location, worldwide. “Now singles can meet other singles serendipitously, when they are on the go” said Chris Klotz.

SinglesAroundMe is quickly gaining market-share in the red-hot location based dating space. The Blackberry version of SinglesAroundMe is planned for launch on Valentine’s Day making it the first location-based dating app on the Blackberry. This will allow smart phone users to communicate with other singles on different phones.

5 Sites for Spotting Singles

By Ki Mae Heussner

Traditional dating sites may help you plan a rendezvous for the future, but newer location-oriented services can tell you where potential dates might be right now.

Some are dedicated mobile dating platforms that use GPS technology to help you find potential matches in your immediate vicinity. Others use location information to show you where you’re more likely to find members of the sex you’re interested in. All give singles a high-tech way to plot a night out on the town.

Check out five sites below:

Ratio Finder

Using data from the location-based social network Foursquare, Ratio Finder maps out local businesses based on where men and women tend to congregate.

The site calculates Foursquare check-ins by gender and then visualizes the data on a map, currently only available in New York and San Francisco.

Want to know where you have the highest odds of finding the ladies or the gents? Ratio Finder displays a map of the city with dots of different sizes indicating places of interest. Pink dots refer to female check-ins, blue dots to male check-ins. The bigger the dot, the more popular the place is among members of that particular sex.

The New York map, for example, shows a giant pink dot over the rooftop garden cafe at the Metropolitan Musuem of Art, where it says there are 91 percent more females.

MeetMoi

If you want to meet other singles while you’re on the go, MeetMoi uses your phone to update your location information in real time and send you alerts when potential matches are nearby.

The service exists as an application for iPhones and Android phones and uses GPS technology to help users meet people while they’re out and about.

Users set up a profile with the service, indicating what they’re looking for in a date. When MeetMoi finds two nearby users with matching preferences, it sends each a message, opening the door for conversation.

If they want to meet up, they have an hour to take the next step. MeetMoi is free to join, but has a premium service for a monthly subscription fee.

Skout

Another popular mobile dating site, Skout lets users see nearby singles and reach out to the ones they want to meet. The company says its community includes about one million users and helps them connect with weekly emails on new singles in their area.

Skout also says its site is very careful about keeping its users safe. It doesn’t disclose the exact street addresses of its users, so the only way others can locate them precisely is if they willingly provide their locations.

Grindr

Billing itself as the “the go-to place for gay, bi, and curious guys to meet,” Grindr uses GPS technology to help users connect with other men in their area.

Users upload a picture and complete a profile and then use the service to see who’s nearby. Accessible via Apple mobile devices and BlackBerrys, the service says its the largest all-male location social network.

PinPointsX

And for those who are really looking for nothing more than a fling, PinPointsX uses mobile technology to give users what it calls a “Passion Map.”

The adult-oriented service says it’s the leading application for hookups and can lead users to a night of fantasy and sexual fulfillment.

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