Okay we're going to sit down and talk about the interface for this.
Tinder is a dating app, we judge quickly based on pictures and meet people solo. It's awkward but physical attraction is largely the criteria we judge love interests by. Currently it's effectively a dating app but we aren't encouraged to go outside of our comfort zones (new is interesting when it comes to dating). It's competing with tinder directly even if that's unintentional. Plus you are forced to meet people immediately one-on-one; some people never meet anyone they meet on tinder and are perfectly happy with that. Why bother with this when everyone else already uses Tinder? It just doesn't fill a niche.
But it feels like this app wants to solve a completely different problem: meeting people as friends in a casual manner. I think it would be much more successful as a sort of pick-up group deal (for a buffer against all that uncomfortable). Don't even bother showing people's faces until after they've joined the group, shopping for friends isn't as much about looks. Keep related interests, food they like and such. Maybe build in an icebreaker kind of question that displays below them. If you want to stick with the food thing, getting people little group deals at restaurants would be epic. Hell, it might be handy to have a friends only feature so I can plan food dates with my existing buds.
Edit: To differentiate from say meetups, limit group sizes and make it really easy to just have it be a thing you can say, I'm gonna do Chinese today here (or in some general area); come join me.
I think they are. There are a lot of people in big cities who don't have a lot of friends or don't have friends who match up on the same schedule, so it'd be nice to find someone else who wants to get a bite.
The only problem is that to solve the problem, any app needs to have a large userbase in the same areas.
> I find it weird you don't want to interact with someone enough to ask them to lunch, but then have to interact with them over lunch ...
That's not the issue, though -- the issue is finding someone who's available in your area at the same time you are.
Edit to add:
> Why do I see one of these apps appear every month.
Because this is a problem that nobody's been able to solve in a dominatingly satisfactory way, yet.
I honestly think that this sort of "location+tag" functionality should just be built into the operating system, such that there isn't any 'infrastructure' required but rather the devices themselves have all they need to find each other.
I hope it happens one of these days - but things seem to be hung-up on an 'always online' kind of basis. Why can I not just type in the words I'm interested in and find everything within walking distance associated with those words, somehow? Some third-party always has to be involved: but this is not because of technological reasons.
The cyclic nature of these app re-issues is another interesting thing. The fact that these things keep coming up in the startup-sphere represents more of a "operating system vendors are retards" posture. Where the startups keep churning, you will find an OS decision that hasn't been properly made ..
personally I find it boring to go out with coworkers for lunch everyday. but I don't want to eat alone for most of the days either.
How do you feel about this. do you want/need a third option for workday lunches?
So many of these apps it's unreal. All have a similar idea. To meet new people. Honestly saying its for lunch doesn't really change anything. It's still meeting new people.
Tinder is a dating app, we judge quickly based on pictures and meet people solo. It's awkward but physical attraction is largely the criteria we judge love interests by. Currently it's effectively a dating app but we aren't encouraged to go outside of our comfort zones (new is interesting when it comes to dating). It's competing with tinder directly even if that's unintentional. Plus you are forced to meet people immediately one-on-one; some people never meet anyone they meet on tinder and are perfectly happy with that. Why bother with this when everyone else already uses Tinder? It just doesn't fill a niche.
But it feels like this app wants to solve a completely different problem: meeting people as friends in a casual manner. I think it would be much more successful as a sort of pick-up group deal (for a buffer against all that uncomfortable). Don't even bother showing people's faces until after they've joined the group, shopping for friends isn't as much about looks. Keep related interests, food they like and such. Maybe build in an icebreaker kind of question that displays below them. If you want to stick with the food thing, getting people little group deals at restaurants would be epic. Hell, it might be handy to have a friends only feature so I can plan food dates with my existing buds.
Edit: To differentiate from say meetups, limit group sizes and make it really easy to just have it be a thing you can say, I'm gonna do Chinese today here (or in some general area); come join me.