Until recently there has been online dating—traditionally a matter of photos and profiles—and speed dating, which took the offline dating world by storm. The two were obviously a match made in heaven, though, because in the last few months several new sites have begun offering speed dating online.
WooMe, for example, which launched in November, is an online introduction platform that allows users to meet, see and hear people live in 1-minute conversations. Using a webcam and WooMe's optimized in-browser video and voice capability, users congregate online for five-minute "speed sessions" in which everyone gets to meet five new people. Users can create their own session focusing on a particular topic, or they can join one that's already scheduled. Either way, they decide whether they've been "woo'd" or not by each member they meet and pursue the connections with those they like. San Francisco-based WooMe is backed by the founders of Skype (Atomico Investments), Mangrove Capital Partners and Klaus Hommels, and its service is free.
Camlink, meanwhile, is another free service aimed at bringing speed dating to the web. Still in beta, the New York-based service offers online speed date sessions of mini-dates ranging anywhere from 1 minute "turbo dates" to 5 minute introductions. Sessions are all based on themes, such as "New York movie lovers" or "Jewish singles." During each date in a session, users vote whether they like the person they're speaking with or not; if both sides vote "yes" the system detects the match and users are prompted to select which contact information to share.
Finally, California-based SpeedDate, also free, lets users go on live, 3-minute dates through voice, video and IM, and then vote for those they like. Once again, if both parties click "yes" for each other, they are given the opportunity to contact each other and pursue the connection.
Dating is an area that just keeps on spurring new innovation. While all three of these sites are open to users around the world, the concept begs for localized versions. One to bring to an area near you! (Related: Dating 3.0, Group dating.)
Websites: www.woome.com — www.camlink.com — www.speeddate.com/date
Contact: info@woome.com — info@camlink.com — info@speeddate.com
Spotted by: Luke Humble and Ozgur Alaz
Anyone an idea how these websites earn money? It's free to register and I don't see ads on the websites. Thanks
very interesting concept. thanks for the info!
Anyone an idea how these websites earn money? It's free to register and I don't see ads on the websites. Thanks
@Paul, WooMe charges $1 to release your date's contact details if your speed dating session went well.
Funny thing is a group of entrepreneurs and I came up with an idea for video speed dating online in our entrepreneurship class. We had no idea there were quite a few companies doing this already. Love that they all used the web2.0 look.
And the $1 charge at WooMe, that's fantastic, cheaper than buying someone a drink! haha.
Hey, you left one off the list. There's another online speed dating site that's getting some buzz -- it's called Randomate.com - http://www.randomate.com - it's free and it's more of a hybrid of speed dating and traditional dating sites.
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Since the start of the new year is also a new competitor in the game - currently for the german market: http://www.zweidabei.de .
Hey guys, WooMe doesn't charge to meet people! Check it out and see! http://woome.com
:)
-Veronica
Community Manager, WooMe