I’ve been off the dating circuit for a couple years now, but if I were on it — I would be jumping for joy at the innovative iPhone app launched today by dating site HowAboutWe.
As profiled in an early interview with the company on BostInno, co-founders Aaron Schildkrout and Brian Schechter (best friends since kindergarten) decided they wanted to start a business together when they turned thirty. At the time, both were single and living in Boston. They moved to NYC and launched HowAboutWe there in April 2010, this past December formally launching in Boston. They have enjoyed record growth since, boasting 100,000 dates and even seeing a copycat service launch on Match.com.
88 percent of those 100,000 dates posted by HowAboutWe members are related to a specific location, making the move into mobile an incredibly compelling one. As you might expect based on the gorgeous interface on their online site, the iPhone app features an equally sleek design. Browse profiles and dates from people nearby on HowAboutWe, update your profile, and of course post dates you’d like to take no matter when they idea pops into your head with this iPhone app.
Known as “location based dating” (yuck!), HowAboutWe’s app leverages location in a way that allows you to explore all the interesting places and people who are nearby (you can toggle to view people or dates nearby). It also leverages location to allow you to broadcast where you’re at in the form of a potential date you’d like to go on in the future. The company has even integrated with Foursquare on this front.
Meeting up with friends at a new restaurant? Want to head back there on a date? In just a couple of taps you can “suggest a nearby spot” and post a potential date, which taps into Foursquare’s API to identify to list venues nearest to you.
You’ll also note that HowAboutWe has put user profiles front and center so you can get your potential date creeping on — featuring big photos and the ability to update your own profile in a matter of seconds.
Want to dip your toes in and post your first location based date? Here’s some fodder around what others are posting on: Of those dates mentioning a specific location,
- 23% are active, playful dates
- 18% involve grabbing a bite or eating a meal
- 17% involve going to see a concert, art show, museum exhibit or film screening
- 11% are at a bar.
