An Australian company is trying to turn missed connections into the basis for a dating site. We're extremely skeptical.
ITiggy.com launched back in June, but it's trying to ride the wave of recent e-love (or lost love) stories like that of Julia Cross, who launched an online campaign to find the hot guy she met in Ibiza. That didn't go so well — he had a girlfriend — but for some reason ITiggy is convinced that for many of us, the results will be different. According to a press release, the site "takes the reversed approach to that utilized by traditional dating websites. Whereas traditional dating websites enable people to meet online and then hopefully offline, iTiggy enables people who have already encountered each other offline to then meet online." The site's homepage entices users to "Find and connect with that person who you locked eyes with," and solicits details "about the moment when someone caught my glance" so they can search for that special (or not) someone. Says iTiggy CEO and founder Daniel Hua,
Finding a partner on traditional dating websites is like purchasing an item of clothing over the Internet that you've never seen or tried on in real life: just because it looks good in the pictures and in the description there's no guarantee that it will sit right when you try it on. Now imagine trying on a piece of clothing that is perfect on you, leaving the store and then returning to purchase it later, only to be told by the store person that they don't know which piece you are referring to. That's the same feeling of regret, the same burdening thoughts of 'what if' that countless people are left experiencing every minute around the world after they weren't able to approach that person that they shared an encounter with. There is something about the feeling of 'love at first sight,' the feeling of that 'spark' that simply can't be captured via traditional dating websites, no matter how compatible that other person might seem on paper.
Or, imagine that you're able to track down that perfect piece of clothing after all, only to realize that when you wear it for more than five seconds, it gives you a nasty rash. The truth is, the whole reason that guy you locked eyes with on the subway seems perfect is you don't know anything about him. And while I guess it's nice that iTiggy is helping folks track down their missed connections more easily, I doubt that this will frequently lead to lasting love. If anything, it might make people keep their eyes to themselves in public places, as they find out that everyone they share a lingering glance with turns out to be an asshole.
iTiggy.com Set to Turn Online Dating Upside Down by Completely Reversing Traditional Approach [PRNewsWire, via CBSAtlanta]
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