[sdrothrock]

> Are they solving a real problem ?

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.

[dingquan]

that's exactly my problem right now... finding enough users that are within foot distance

[natch]

...and on top of that, users who relish being rated and pre-judged by people looking at their photo.