Request for opinion on a mind reading (yep, really) tool... if it's ok to ask

[pups]

Hello, I hope it's ok to ask for opinions here on a project I'm working on. It's Sunday, I'm banging my head against the table and I can't figure out if this is a work of genius or the dumbest thing on the planet.

I will not post the link to the site as you'll think i'm spamming... I genuinely need non-facebook-friend help.

The thing that is built, does this:

The biggest problem in meeting someone in your apartment block, in a bar, at the airport, in a hotel... is that you don't know if they want to talk to you. They feel the same. You both miss out because no-one says hi first in case the other ignores them.

What we've built is the software equivalent of a mind reading tool. You see who is around, you click hi on each other and only the hi's that match are revealed. They are revealed at exactly the same time.

So as neighbours, you know you want to talk. At the airport, in the bar, in the hotel... it becomes easy to meet.

Is this exciting? Anything put you off about it?

To me it makes sense but trying to explain its core value quickly is hard! No worries if you don't have thoughts on it and sorry if this is not appropriate for this forum.

 

[jassilem]

There are dating services built around that premise. You add an app to your phone etc..

 

[pjbleek]

Hello, I hope it's ok to ask for opinions here on a project I'm working on. It's Sunday, I'm banging my head against the table and I can't figure out if this is a work of genius or the dumbest thing on the planet.

I will not post the link to the site as you'll think i'm spamming... I genuinely need non-facebook-friend help.

The thing that is built, does this:

The biggest problem in meeting someone in your apartment block, in a bar, at the airport, in a hotel... is that you don't know if they want to talk to you. They feel the same. You both miss out because no-one says hi first in case the other ignores them.

What we've built is the software equivalent of a mind reading tool. You see who is around, you click hi on each other and only the hi's that match are revealed. They are revealed at exactly the same time.

So as neighbours, you know you want to talk. At the airport, in the bar, in the hotel... it becomes easy to meet.

Is this exciting? Anything put you off about it?

To me it makes sense but trying to explain its core value quickly is hard! No worries if you don't have thoughts on it and sorry if this is not appropriate for this forum.

go on Shark tank and see if they will bite..."mid reading"? really?

 

[pups]

yeah, i am wondering about the term 'mind reading' myself .... it's not quite that. I'm not sure how to describe a third person that you whisper to and only tells you both if you match.

'Mind reading' can catch people's attention though.

Also, it's not just a phone app. The idea is that before you go into town, you can see who will be down the same street as you later and say hi, chat and then arrange to meet with friends.... for expats, singles, bored people, new in town. I think people are sick of dating sites so we are doing it for every group.

baaaa this project is like an emotional rollercoaster!

 

[pjbleek]

yeah, i am wondering about the term 'mind reading' myself .... it's not quite that. I'm not sure how to describe a third person that you whisper to and only tells you both if you match.

'Mind reading' can catch people's attention though.

not mine, since no one can read another I am going to ask you to scratch it...

 

[pups]

fair point. If it's not quite accurate... it needs work. I need to invent a new word 'software based telepathy' ... ewwww

 

[HK]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there are already numerous dating apps that work on your location.

Plus it relies heavily on the person you're interested in both having and using the app at the same time as you.

And to be honest, if a guy was literally in the same room as me and didn't have the balls to come over and say hi, I don't think he'd be a keeper anyway.

 

[pups]

aah, but this is not a dating app.. it's meetup.com in disguise It's for neighbours who don't meet, freshers about to start uni, folks who are new in town and lonely, people whose friends got married and they need a new circle of friends to go out with etc etc... it can be used by singles but it's more for breaking the ice between people of all types..

also, it's desktop + mobile and you don't have to be in the same room. You can do it from home before you go out.

 

[freakofnature]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there are already numerous dating apps that work on your location.

Plus it relies heavily on the person you're interested in both having and using the app at the same time as you.

And to be honest, if a guy was literally in the same room as me and didn't have the balls to come over and say hi, I don't think he'd be a keeper anyway.

:homo: I don't like pansies either.

 

[HK]

So there's already a site that does what you want?

I know I sound a bit negative about this! I just think it sounds like you're putting effort into something that a) has really already been done and b) I'm unsure whether people really want?

Universities already do lots of activities for new students, that's the whole point of freshers week. And... most people over a certain age either don't want or don't need new friends.

It sounds like you have the drive to make something interesting, but I'm sure it's difficult to think of something that hasn't already been done and has actual demand

 

[pups]

it's good to be negative. You are picking good reasons for not using it... however, can you think of people who do need it?

For example, I met the former NUS president and he said this would be perfect for freshers in the summer before university started and before events started. Right now there are Freshers across facebook etc, trying to organise meet ups... but failing because it just does not work that way. It has to be fast and fluid... on the night and natural.

Funnily enough. I'm actually feeling more positive about it now. I was slightly down earlier but damn, now i'm firing.

Guys, thanks a lot.

 

[HK]

To be honest, students are the only people I can think of who are in that fluid stage of life where you're still making friends and finding out who you are yourself.

I do see problems with how you described it, it sounds far more like a match-making tool than a friends-making tool. The air of secrecy and the fact that it will probably lead to people being let down or left out - how bad would you feel if no one clicked back for you? I like the idea of something that could help people make friends, but not in such a cliquey, picky way.

 

[pups]

well there are 10 million people coming to match.com that regularly go through a far more painful selective and prejudiced process.

Also, Students, recent graduates... people are often single into their 30's these days and live a similar fluid lifestyle these days.

In some ways it is a very positive thing. It assumes that people do want to talk, they just needed a helping hand to get over the initial awkwardness of approaching someone new. As I said, you don't know if someone actually wants to talk to you... so you don't want to go asking several people. The easiest way is to mutually acknowledge it.. I tend to take the cup half full view... but only after balancing it against the negative sides.

Also, I forgot to mention. It gives you the reason why you want to meet as well. i.e. you both pick the reason why such as "make new friends" and your need is matched to theirs. We have all the mechanics in place but there are so many ways to describe it. Positioning and messaging are very hard when you are so immersed in the detailed mechanics.

 

[Thornless]

They have progams in colleges and unis for meets ups.

Doesn't sound like this "version" is better to snag attention.

 

[HK]

well there are 10 million people coming to match.com that regularly go through a far more painful selective and prejudiced process.

Now when I bring up dating sites, you say this is a friendship-making tool, not a dating app. I'd try and stay focused on which one of those you want. Sites like match.com are matchmakers for single people, there's only a small minority who bother to join a dating site just for friends - and some people only list friends because they aren't honest enough to put 'one night stand'.

Like I said, it does sound positive and I think you've got a good idea somewhere in there, but you have to be realistic about who is actually going to use this - probably only a very small demographic - and why they'd want to. I don't think kids have a huge problem meeting people at university, because you live with and go to classes with and have all social activities with the people around you, whether you like it or not. And as has been pointed out, even people who aren't good at meeting people can take part in university-held activities and events aimed at.... meeting people.

The key here is to find a niche that isn't currently being exploited, and which people will actually want. This whole aspect of making friends is quite a focused area, because unlike with dating, which people will do again and again until they meet the right person, most people stick with the friends they made in their teens and early twenties and then rarely move around after that. Hell, they don't normally need to, because you don't tend to dump your friends in the same way you might leave a boyfriend.

Like I said, there's a good idea in there but you need a way to make it into something that people don't already have numerous free and easy ways of doing.

 

[pups]

Just to explain that bit, I was giving dating as a counter example only.

Yes, I agree. We definitely need to start off with one group and build up from there. We don't need to be the worlds biggest site. We only need it to work for that portion of people that really need it. There seem to be many communities that want it and it's already rolling out to them but simplifying that core explanation is still something I work on every day.

There are many sites out there that are not Facebook or Google. They have many users but they don't appear in the newspapers everyday but the internet population is 2 billion. With a small team, even a few 100,000 users can be enough. This means that even though there are many reasons 'not' to do something, there is such a growing market that having one reason to positively build and push out something, tends to work.

The hard criticism is a minimal requirement for progress though. Better to hear what i need to hear than what i want to hear...

 

[HK]

You said you already have a site for this. If you want, pm me the address and I'll tell you what I think about it.

 

[pjbleek]

You said you already have a site for this. If you want, pm me the address and I'll tell you what I think about it.

better yet let us all see it...good idea HK...

 

[pups]

mmm ok, well it might help explain it better / faster. Remember, it can do many things for many communities but we just need to figure out which feature to lead with and which message to lead with.

It's http://www.LikeOurselves.com

(er we have rotating headlines so you guys might all see a different combination of main phrase and subtext

 

[pjbleek]

"if you've seen the demo..."
words I do not like to hear....ask me if I have seen the video (if not linkage!)
"See examples"...show me, please...