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Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

flowmingle.com

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Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#41

Post by SwellJoe »

elai wrote: post #39

How is this easier/quicker than real life dating? The difference between online and real life 'dating' is that online dating takes way too much time.

I think this is a big problem with the whole concept. In real life, a glance, flushed cheeks and a smile tells you everything you need to know about basic attraction. Online, there's the back and forth over bullshit like music and film and food (which all matters to long-term relationships...but without the spark, there won't be a long-term) before you ever even get to meeting the person face to face. I don't know if going online can ever really make it more efficient.

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#42

Post by SwellJoe »

netcan wrote: post #40

First, Good luck. There needs to be a winner in this area & I don't know of any candidates. I kind of feel that the secret sauce is something that needs to be discovered not invented. These are my thoughts (no particular order). 1. Most players are paid services. I think there is a good chance that whatever winner emerges will be a free service or at least free for 90% + of active users. The service is essentially be…

6. Let the kids show you how to do it. Maybe you should try & focus on getting dates for 14 yr olds. They might pave some sort of a path.

The only problem with this idea is that it's dangerous. The reputation of the Internet is that of a haven for pedo predators...you make a dating site for 14 year olds (or even allow them on your site) and you will bring down the wrath of every Sarah Palin-loving soccer mom in America (i.e. the really dumb ones, who believe it when Oprah tells them that pedophiles are organized, after their children, and have over 9000 penises).

Besides that, kids from high school through college already have tremendous dating-related interactions at school. They're not short of new people to hit on and flirt with. I just don't think it's a very good market to go after, even if it wasn't a death wish from a legal and political perspective.

But, it should be kept fun, distinctly non-sleazy, and light. I've always been totally turned off by the "Find your soul mate, who has passed our credit check and has a valid US ID.

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#43

Post by DabAsteroid »

SwellJoe wrote: post #42
netcan wrote: post #40

First, Good luck. There needs to be a winner in this area & I don't know of any candidates. I kind of feel that the secret sauce is something that needs to be discovered not invented. These are my thoughts (no particular order). 1. Most players are paid services. I think there is a good chance that whatever winner emerges will be a free service or at least free for 90% + of active users. The service is essentially be…

6. Let the kids show you how to do it. Maybe you should try & focus on getting dates for 14 yr olds. They might pave some sort of a path. The only problem with this idea is that it's dangerous. The reputation of the Internet is that of a haven for pedo predators...you make a dating site for 14 year olds (or even allow them on your site) and you will bring down the wrath of every Sarah Palin-loving soccer mom in Ameri…

The only problem with this idea is that it's dangerous. The reputation of the Internet is that of a haven for pedo predators...you make a dating site for 14 year olds

Hence the market opportunity: a social site for kids/adolescents -- or security tool for same -- that ensures that users are the ages they say they are, and only allows close-in-age interactions. In fact, there is already at least one angel-funded startup working on this very concept. They work with schools to confirm user identities and ages:

http://www.thefrankpetersshow.com/2008/07/eguardian_protects...

TCA deal lead Steve Block liked what he heard about eGuardian before they even presented! He had another company that was dealing with children online. Steve would put the two companies together and bring the critical focus to transform eGuardian.

Attorneys General from 49 states are pressuring social networking sites to protect kids. eGuardian partners Ron Zayas and Robert Patrick have a new approach to protecting children while they're online.

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#44

Post by iloveyouocean »

SwellJoe wrote: post #41
elai wrote: post #39

How is this easier/quicker than real life dating? The difference between online and real life 'dating' is that online dating takes way too much time.

I think this is a big problem with the whole concept. In real life, a glance, flushed cheeks and a smile tells you everything you need to know about basic attraction. Online, there's the back and forth over bullshit like music and film and food (which all matters to long-term relationships...but without the spark, there won't be a long-term) before you ever even get to meeting the person face to face. I don't know if…

"In real life, a glance, flushed cheeks and a smile" aka The Moment. Could this happen online? Sure, and it undoubtedly does, but we recognize how rare this is, and understand that The Moment is much more likely to occur face to face.

FlowMingle is all about consistently providing you with a group of eligible, interested, and feasible people, helping you get to know them a bit, then facilitating some type of direct contact. Essentially, we want to provide you with as many opportunities as possible for The Moment to occur, by lowering the cost of finding a date. Most people do not consistently meet and interact with 10 other interested people in a week, and in this way FlowMingle is a very efficient use of your time.

We do not believe it is our job, or even within our ability, to 'create love', 'find your soulmate', 'provide a sure-thing hookup', etc. Instead, we focus on leveraging what the web does best(sharing information, facilitating communication, bringing people together, organizing activity) to help you do what you do best, face to face.

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#45

Post by SwellJoe »

DabAsteroid wrote: post #43
SwellJoe wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

6. Let the kids show you how to do it. Maybe you should try & focus on getting dates for 14 yr olds. They might pave some sort of a path. The only problem with this idea is that it's dangerous. The reputation of the Internet is that of a haven for pedo predators...you make a dating site for 14 year olds (or even allow them on your site) and you will bring down the wrath of every Sarah Palin-loving soccer mom in Ameri…

The only problem with this idea is that it's dangerous. The reputation of the Internet is that of a haven for pedo predators...you make a dating site for 14 year olds Hence the market opportunity: a social site for kids/adolescents -- or security tool for same -- that ensures that users are the ages they say they are, and only allows close-in-age interactions. In fact, there is already at least one angel-funded start…

Hence the market opportunity: a social site for kids/adolescents

Which isn't what they've built. It seems like maybe you're after a different business entirely. It might be a good business, but I don't think it's the one the OP is trying to build.

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#46

Post by DabAsteroid »

SwellJoe wrote: post #45
DabAsteroid wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only problem with this idea is that it's dangerous. The reputation of the Internet is that of a haven for pedo predators...you make a dating site for 14 year olds Hence the market opportunity: a social site for kids/adolescents -- or security tool for same -- that ensures that users are the ages they say they are, and only allows close-in-age interactions. In fact, there is already at least one angel-funded start…

Hence the market opportunity: a social site for kids/adolescents Which isn't what they've built. It seems like maybe you're after a different business entirely. It might be a good business, but I don't think it's the one the OP is trying to build.

I was addressing your response to Netcan's suggestion. Social networking is not an area I am interested in, but I happen to have previously listened to the eGuardian episode of the Frank Peters Show, and it popped into my head when you mentioned security problems with social-networking sites for 14-year-olds.

Another point about market opportunity: some high-school and college students go to same-sex institutions (which might be a good idea, since it minimizes distraction, and hence could become more popular over time).

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#48

Post by brentoids »

I just really like the concept. I am glad that someone is approaching the on-line dating scene in a more collaborate and, well, personal way. It would be interesting to take this slant toward meeting collaborators for projects, or just a group of friends, as well as someone that you like there personality.

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#49

Post by Bluem00 »

Tried to create a profile, but failed when I got to the picture step. In my first attempt I tried to upload a bitmap. I don't see any reason why you don't support this format. Size isn't the reason, as it's already been uploaded to your servers when you reject it. I converted the file to a tiff, uploaded it, and was stuck staring at a "Loading" screen. I tried both IE and Firefox, but never got past that point.

Re: Review our startup: FlowMingle - Online Dating for the Social Internet

#50

Post by michaelmurphy »

iloveyouocean wrote: post #30
hooande wrote: post #29

From what I saw, the site looks decent. The design is pretty good, the registration wasn't painful. I didn't really get to see much. My main thought: I have to do way too much work before I can see the benefits to using your site. I can't see pictures of people or anything. I'm not going to fill out all of this information, upload pictures, etc with no idea if there are any hot chicks on there. Try and show people th…

Indeed. For someone who is already skeptical about 'online dating' (and they should be with the crap out there now) i think it would be difficult to 'believe in it' enough to jump through all of our hoops! As soon as we actually have some members and pictures, etc. we will show people a sort of small network that includes people they may be in a MingleWeek with. Totally agree.

I agree with the other comments that customers will need some sort of immediate gratification, especially if you expect them to pay.

I think the mingling concept of the site is a great idea. Are the members put into MingleWeeks manually or is it by some sort of automated algorithm? I'm assuming the latter.

I couldn't find anywhere on the site that says how long it takes to put those groups together. I think you need to set some expectations as far as that goes.

So I created an profile and answered some questions about myself. Now I'm waiting for MingleWeek to begin. I didn't pay and I only spent a few minutes so it really doesn't matter if it takes a few hours or days or weeks for MingleWeek to start. If it never starts I'm only out my small time investment.

If I paid on the other hand, I feel like I'm in limbo with no idea of when I'll see results or if anything is even happening. Sure I can continually update my first impression but I'm not likely to spend any more time until I know whether it will "pay off" or not. Does that make sense?

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