StreetSpark

Thanks Air New Zealand for talking up StreetSpark

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:59:29 -0400

Air New Zealand covered StreetSpark in their in-flight magazine this month, saying that it is one of the best ways to meet people when you travel to a new destination and want a few tips about what to do when you arrive.

And with Auckland hosting the Rugby World Cup at the moment, there are a lot of rugby fans who have travelled from around the world to be there. Which means lots of chances to meet new people that have the same interests and passions as you do.

Kia Ora fellow travellers and look forward to seeing you on StreetSpark.

You voted - Top 10 places to meet new people

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:13:38 -0400

We’ve just tallied the results for our latest StreetSpark streeter poll.

We asked, ‘Where are the best places to meet new people in the city?’

These were your answers.

1 – Nearest park. Whether you are lounging with your book, dog, or bike, there’s a lot of activity around you, it’s a very social place.

2 - Concerts, festivals, and outdoor markets. A Couple of our current favorites:

http://www.brooklynflea.com/ and http://dekalbmarket.com/

2 – The gym and the swimming pool.

3– Apartment Building – in the elevator, on the roof, or in the gym. Great places to strike up conversations about the surrounding neighborhood and what to do on a Friday night.

4 – Sporting events. We’ve found that Stub hub is good for finding out when the Yankees next play. http://www.stubhub.com/. And let’s face it, with beer and hot dog in hand, it’s hard not to get into the spirit.

5 – Travelling. You can meet some pretty interesting people on the road. Especially whilst in transit – at train stations, airports, and bus stations. For inspiration, just think about what happened in the movie Before Sunrise. That will get the juices flowing!

6 – Believe it or not, the answer that came up, time and again, was the hardware store. We’re not sure about the subliminal undertones of ‘let’s build a life together,’ but for some reason, it’s really easy to strike up a conversation about the right sort of nails to buy.

7 – Seminars, classes, courses. No matter what you want to learn, there’s a course out there to teach you. Hundreds of new Meet-ups are sprouting up daily, so there really isn’t an excuse. http://www.meetup.com/

8 – Shared work places. Collaborate, take some time out, meet some new people.

Our favorites:

For tech start-ups in NYC – The General Assembly http://www.generalassemb.ly/

For Writers in NYC Writer Junction http://www.writersjunction.com/ and Paragraph http://www.paragraphny.com/

And in London: http://www.techhub.com/, http://sohodeskspace.co.uk/, http://skillsmatter.com/

9 – Dinner parties. ‘Building friendships over food’. It’s simple. Pick where you want to eat, reserve a place and show up. Great food, and because the numbers are limited, it’s easy to strike up a good conversation. http://www.grubwithus.com/new-york

10 – Cafes. cafes. Cafes. Some of our favorites are Nude Espresso in London (they have a café in Spitalfields and a new one on Soho Square http://www.nudeespresso.com) and in NYC, Blue Bottle Coffee in Brooklyn. (http://bit.ly/oQXfYL)

Thanks for your answers, and remember, meeting someone new can happen anytime, anyplace. All it takes is the right mind-set and a little strategy.

Hardware Store - one of the best places to meet someone new.

Quote of the week about Serendipity by Paul Auster

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:08:23 -0400

At StreetSpark we are on a mission to prove how important Serendipity is, and what a big part it plays in peoples’ everyday lives.

Therefore we will be highlighting a Serendipity cultural reference once a week, for the month of August.

We start this series with a quote from Paul Auster, in his book The Brooklyn Follies.

‘If we hadn’t made that decision to get off the highway at Brattleboro and follow our noses to Route 30, many of the events of this book never would have taken place. I am thinking especially of Tom when I say that. Both Lucy and I profited from the decision as well, but for Tom, the long-suffering hero of these Brooklyn Follies, it was probably the most important decision of his life. At the time, he had no inkling of the consequences, no knowledge of the whirlwind he had set in motion. Like Kafka’s doll, he thought he was simply looking for a change of scenery, but because he left one road and took another, Fortune unexpectedly reached out her arms to him and carried our boy into a different world.’

Paul Auster

Please let us know if Fortune has unexpectedly reached out her arms to you lately, or if there are references to serendipity in your favorite film, song, or book. You tell us, we’ll post it.

Thanks, and enjoy the rest of the week!

August is Serendipity month - you up for the experiment?

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:38:57 -0400

New York in August. The city slows down, just to survive the heat. People relax, they may even go on holiday. Warm balmy nights, being outside, a summertime mentality - these combined factors create the ideal backdrop for more random encounters between people.

So we want to use this downtime to test the following hypothesis:

Can StreetSpark uncover more serendipitous encounters using mobile technology?

This is what we already know.

People will:

• take risks if they feel there is potential of finding something ‘special’.

• jump at the excuse to be spontaneous.

• see true serendipitous encounters as romantic.

What you will get from us.

We’ve developed a way to tap into these ‘meaningful encounters’ via technology and help you be open to this potential occurrence. We’ve designed StreetSpark to show you enough overlaps to get you spontaneously talking to new people. We show you when you are in the right place at the right time to meet someone serendipitously. We give you a bit of a push in the right direction!

What we need from you.

When you registered, you decided you’d give Serendipity a helping hand. She thanks you for that.

You opened yourself up to the possibility that if you added a little structure to your serendipity search, you could heighten your chance of discovery and widen your potential for chance encounters.

So in all honesty, you’re pretty much halfway there!

All we ask is that you use StreetSpark and give it a chance. Let yourself go a bit. And tell us about any evidence that supports our experiment. Drop us a line at contact@streetspark.com. Or comment here.

What you will get from the world.

Serendipity is a little bit like Lady Luck. She can smile on you, if you give her a chance to do so. Once you start to have more and more true serendipitous encounters we think you will start to view your life and the world as a much better place for them. But like life, what you put in is what you get out of it.

Here’s your chance to be a part of something BIG.

Seeking cool french dude

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:53:57 -0400

We found this serendipitously online and thought it was great - cool french dude - please tell us the story behind this story!

You’re more connected than you think.

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:43:43 -0400

Weak Links, Strong Links and what this has to do with StreetSpark.

You’ve probably already heard of ‘the Dunbar number’- the size of the social network that an individual of any given species can develop and sustain. Apparently us humans can manage to have stable networks of about 148 people. Anything over that, and we’re just showing off.

These are termed as your ‘strong links/connections.’ Although it doesn’t mean that we talk to all of these people, all of the time. Those numbers are still in the high-tens to low-twenties. Unless, again, you’re just showing off.

And then there are your loose links or connections – those people who are friends of friends, the casual contacts and acquaintances that we collect like baseball cards on our social networks and that are actually more helpful to us than we think.

For one, the most valuable networking contacts in a job search are not from the ranks of close relationships, but rather from casual acquaintances and those known only indirectly through others.

These weaker links helps us gather knowledge about other worlds and experiences outside of our own. When they pop up on our Facebook walls we are curious about the lives they lead and what we might be missing. They introduce us to new events that neither we nor our friends will ever have within the comfortingly predictable confines of our own group.

We need both strong and weak links to survive. One gives us strength and reassures us about what we know, the other gives us opportunity to go beyond what we are familiar with, to something a little different. But still safely within reach.

StreetSpark is about taking those loose connections, exposing them, and seeing if we can’t turn them into something more. Not only because you have friends of friends of friends in common, but because you live and work in the same city. You like the same music and the same comedians and charities. Because you work in complementary industries and therefore have a lot to squabble about.

And most importantly, because it is time to meet someone new - to go beyond what you are already familiar with, to something a little different. But still safely within reach.

The inspiration and some of the material for this post was derived from this article by Rick Bookstaber. http://bit.ly/oonHC9. Thanks Rick.

You’re more connected than you think.

Birds of a Feather, must we always hang together??

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:42:25 -0400

As of 2008, the majority of the world’s population lives in cities. In highly developed countries (the membership of the OECD), the figure is 77%.

Cities are themselves a communication and technology hub with huge opportunities to look at how people come together and the invisible overlaps they create.

Because everybody lives in such close quarters, cities are built to facilitate new encounters.

The patterns we trace in cities reflect that similar ‘types’ of people hang out in the same places. They shop at the same stores, eat at the same restaurants, and play in the same parks.

Our paths intersect daily with ‘Familiar Strangers’ as they commute to and from work and play. They already share many of our interests, but sadly we will never meet them.

For all the potential of genuinely new encounters, we talk to the same people, and follow the same routine.

So whilst Serendipity is happening in the background, urban dwellers find it difficult to cut through the noise and the routine of our lives to pay attention to it.

StreetSpark wants to change that.

It starts simply. By altering the set patterns of where we go and what we do everyday. Chopping up the routine by going a different way to work, or venturing to an area of the city that you’ve never been.

Any new experience can open up the possibility of a chance encounter.

There is one more factor. We’re very interested in the idea that one can prepare themselves for serendipity. They have to live with eyes wide open, exploring the world as if it is a new place.

So the question is - Do you want to know who is new and around you? Use StreetSpark to find out.

10 reasons you need StreetSpark

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:44:54 -0400

10 reasons you need StreetSpark.

1. Because you’re already familiar strangers, you just don’t know it.

2. What else are you going to do in Ibiza?

3. You can’t stop staring at the girl in the coffee shop and you need a knock-her-dead icebreaker.

4. Our online world is catching up with our offline one, and we want to switch it back again.

5. There is randomness and then there is serendipity. Serendipity is not an accident.

6. People have formed into groups for thousands of years – they’ve built strong and weak relationships, formed allegiances and allies, spread rumor and gossip and married their cousins. Isn’t it time to meet someone new?

7. It’s so great that moments happen all the time. Now if only we were omniscient.

8. Running alone just isn’t that motivating.

9. Because he likes all the obscure music you do. Plus he can cook.

10. Just because you have a smartphone doesn’t mean you don’t still crave romance, mystery, and the unexpected.

So please don’t just sit on a park bench, waiting for something to happen.

Use StreetSpark and help us put some intrigue back into this city.

StreetSpark CEO Ant Erwin talks with IdeaMensch about what inspires him

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:05:55 -0400

Today StreetSpark CEO Ant Erwin was profiled by IdeaMensch - a community of people with good ideas who say their ‘impossible mission is to help anyone who wants to bring their idea to life, do it.’

Anthony was asked:

What does your typical day look like?

Every day is different. I spend a lot of time meeting and talking with people.

I meet with potential companies and individuals who are interested in forming partnerships.

I tap into my friends, advisors and new people to get their views and test my ideas and see how we can collaborate to come up with more uses for StreetSpark’s matching technology.

I’m in constant communication with my chief architect, designers, and development team to think about how we can streamline the product and make it even better, add in extra features and hooks to keep users interested and excited so they share their experiences with friends.

What I like so much about working in NYC is that people are really willing to help each other out, or to pass on intro’s where they can. I try to meet with everyone that has been intro’d to me and do my best to help other people get their idea off the ground.

3 trends that excite you?

1 - The next stage of social networking – meeting new people.

2 - Location based mobile technology.

3 - Bringing the online offline – being able to connect people for a real purpose in the real world using technology.

How do you bring ideas to life?

With a lot of thinking through the potential and the opportunities and then if it’s good enough - testing, reworking, revising, testing again and then putting it into play…so in a nutshell, with a lot of hard work!

I believe we’re in a new renaissance period in technology where ideas are flying around ever faster with a shorter incubation period so it pays to pay attention, to be tapped into what other people are doing, to collaborate, to help act as a conduit so that ideas can progress at an even faster rate.

What inspires you?

People who are true entrepreneurs – are true risk takers. Products that actually solve problems, that make me think – ‘hey, why didn’t I ever think of that?’.

Also great thinkers who were ahead of their time, who everyone thought were nuts, but in the end, they didn’t need to prove themselves – their products did.

To read the full article click through here. http://bit.ly/oLrdSQ

StreetSpark and Groups - Bring on the Summer Festivals!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:00:33 -0400

Time to pull out the tent and if so inclined, the fancy dress, and hit up at least one of the kick ass festivals taking place this summer.

What better place to start a new friendship or romance. But why leave it up to fate? StreetSpark is here to make sure you meet people you’ll really connect with, even before the DJ plays the first set.

From Sonar in Barcelona (this weekend), to the Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, festival-goers are using StreetSpark to meet people that share the same festival tastes as they do, no matter how unique or obscure those tastes may be.

In addition to matching on your Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter activity, StreetSpark allows you to select the film, music, art, camping, and ‘just having a great time’ festivals that say a lot about you. It then gives you a head start by introducing you to people going to the same festivals. So you can start the party early and make sure it lasts long after they take down the last tent.

Want a piece of the action?

All you have to do is click on ‘Groups’ in the app and select the festivals that define you. We will use this criteria to match you with other people that also like the same festivals.

You can also select charities, sporting and cultural events and universities/colleges and be matched against these too.

There are no onerous profiles to fill in - we take what you already do and match against your current social graph. This also means that it stays up to date, and matches against your current real interests.

Don’t see your favorite festival on the list? Tell us. And let StreetSpark help you find the people that you don’t want to miss, even in a sea full of faces.

StreetSpark makes it easy to go from this….

To this….

Why I believe in Serendipity by Mike Small

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:46:40 -0400

Mike Small here, co-founder of StreetSpark. Thought it was time I said a few words too!

I’ve been in IT all my working life, mainly as an Internet security specialist, and I was head Product Manager at Reuters for years. In 2004, I met Ant (my business partner) at a bar near Portland Place in London called the Social. We’ve been friends ever since.

I always wanted to work on a project that I felt more closely aligned to – something to help people find what they were looking for (Growing up in South Africa, moving to London, all the travelling I’ve done has been a real driver towards helping people and philanthropy.) Of course, I wanted to do something I love too.

What I liked and still do about the StreetSpark concept is that we show you people around you - but for a real reason. Loving the same Argentinean steak house, supporting charities that truly matter, being in the same city for a festival at the same time and travelling in a Range Rover across the Saharan Desert – these experiences are important to me. I want to meet people who appreciate these things just as much as I do. I’ve been lucky enough to randomly meet people who have done some of these things, but I wonder just how many I have missed, just as easily.

We specked out StreetSpark based on assumptions that GPS and mobile location would be the next biggest thing in the tech industry. We were right.

Initially bootstrapped, we got an article in the London daily free newspaper – The Metro while we were still in prototype. All of the traffic that this created through the matches we were making crashed our servers for a week. I had been working on scalability of the product but we knew we’d have to go back to the drawing board and create something..well, more scalable.

I still enjoy what we do – even though I know I have my days. What is cool to me is that the purpose of StreetSpark is still as clear as the day Ant and me sat down and scoped it. Even with the changes to the industry and the feedback we’ve incorporated from our users – we’ve stayed true to the philosophy behind what we’re doing. And that can’t be a bad thing.

Love to hear from you. Let me know what you think.

The future of online dating is a derivative of social networking.

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:01:06 -0400

We believe that the future of online dating is a derivative of social networking.

It is just an extension of a commonly defined way to meet new people.

Match and eHarmony are about finding a spouse and are typically targeted at the 35+ crowd, with an emerging market of 50+. Badoo is all about flirting and is definitely targeting a 21- market.

But what about the rest of us?

There is a massive gap (and potential) for 20-35 year old urbanites searching for something between flirting and marriage.

We are active people. We go out a lot. We want casual, spontaneous but meaningful encounters. We’re busy folk so we want to be socially engaged immediately. We can wait for the matrimony later.

We noticed that a lot of people were putting a lot of info into their social networks, but no one was actually using it to help users create and develop their social graph.

We wanted to use this intel to match people, based on the interests they already share. This meant less work for the user (no searching through pictures and profiles) and ultimately, better matches.

The product had to be mobile and create matches in real time so that when a user’s interests change (and they will) there is no need for them to go back and update old profiles – we still have the latest information from all the other social networking they are doing.

We wanted the app to gives push notifications when people are nearby so users could be out and about, living their lives, while StreetSpark works in the background to make them great matches and introduce them to great people.

All of this thinking led us to create StreetSpark…and we hope that you are enjoying it as much as we are!

Don’t forget the Intro feature - you can introduce two friends you think would really hit it off. It’s just another way that StreetSpark is utilizing technology to mimic what already happens in the real world.

Have a good weekend and hope those sparks are flying for you!

The world's a little smaller, one spark at a time.

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:00:06 -0400

Going somewhere new this summer?

No need to spend lonely hours in hotel rooms or worrying about dodgy pick-ups in bars when you can check out StreetSpark where ever you are and find people just like you (and you can do all this before you even leave the airport!)

Interestingly, we’re seeing a rise in sparks in a number of exotic locations worldwide including Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa, to name a few.

At the top of the charts, India, Thailand, and China are the best places in Asia to meet StreetSpark members. Our friend Grant was wandering around Khao San Road in Bangkok the other day when he was sparked by Laura. They arranged to meet up for a cold Chang and a chat about their favourite beaches down south. Grant was from New Zealand, Laura from London, but she was travelling around Thailand for 6 months. Grant had been to Thailand many times and had some tips for Laura on where she might visit next.

Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are the most popular European hotspots and besides English, the most popular languages spoken by users are Portuguese, German and Spanish.

StreetSpark is becoming the ‘go-to’ for travellers who want insider tips from locals who like the same things they do.

So whether you are in Shanghai, Dubai, or New York, flick on StreetSpark this summer and get some new sparks.

People are using StreetSpark for all kinds of reasons.

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:57:54 -0400

People are using StreetSpark for all kinds of reasons, not just to find dates. Although admittedly, people are using it for that too! Vicky from London says, ‘I’m using the I-phone app which is awesome, it notifies you with any activity happening in your account - convenient for instant messaging :-) the fact that you can use your location and it finds someone around you is so cool, no other site has this as far as I know. It’s easy to use and the people that I have already met (til now) are not sketchy…which is nice!’

Alaine, has recently moved to New York. She says, ‘I’m especially interested in getting tips about the best bars and restaurants in Brooklyn. I’ve been given some great recommendations and because the people on the network are into the same things that I am, I knew they’ll pick places I want to hang out at.’

Jon, a student at Columbia University says, ‘It’s hard as a student to meet new people, because, surprisingly you are too busy to really reach out beyond people in your classes. I’ve used the app to meet and catch up with people who are into the same music as I am and who also like camping. It’s made meeting new people on campus fairly easy.’

What’s your StreetSpark story? We’d like to hear it…

From London…

To New York…..

Why I believe in Serendipity

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:00:00 -0400

Anthony Erwin here, StreetSpark co-founder.

I’ve always been grappling with the concept that people want to connect with each other on a deeper level – intrigued that if they could only retrace their steps with eyes wide open, they would uncover a pattern - see where their paths have crossed before, and find that they were leading parallel lives without even knowing it.

Serendipity exists. I know because it happens to me everyday. In business as well as my social life.

My job is to help people connect with each other in the real world, taking the online, offline. People have to be open and allow themselves to truly observe their surroundings before they will ever experience any Serendipitous encounters themselves.

It took me awhile to realize that I can help people by giving them a tool to harness Serendipity, which is what StreetSpark is, but they still need to make a concious effort to pay attention and look out for it themselves. As always, I’m interested in your comments…

Intro Facebook game: matching friends based on 'both being ridiculously good looking.'

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:31:00 -0400

Our new ‘Intro’ Facebook App is really hotting up as more and more people find it’s the best way to Intro FB friends - for a number of good reasons! http://bit.ly/jemO3V

The reasons.

1. It is the easiest way to let two friends know why they should meet - from being the male/female version of each other, right through to kicking ass as a Karaoke duo.

As we write this, the most popular reason to Intro friends is that they ‘both are ridiculously good looking’ (as pictured below).

2. You can tell your friends what you really think (and may not have the guts to do face to face).

3. It’s actually quite a lot of fun.

So join us in this little experiment! All you have to do is choose two FB friends that you think should meet. From the drop down box, pick the reason why. This is your chance so don’t hold back! A spark is emailed to both people and sent privately to them on Facebook.

We’re currently monitoring the most common reason friends are being introduced and will use this blog to give you periodic updates. And we also open the challenge to you… what reason would you like added to the current drop down list? The zanier, the better, so fire away!

‘Both Ridiculously Good Looking’

Serendipity Part 2 - Be prepared and act upon it

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:00:06 -0400

If the first two magic elements of Serendipity are place and time, the third is Action. The power of Social Matching, we hope, is that as you discover and share new interests online (often discovered via friends) you will be matched to new people in the real world. So by using this data that you are already sharing we can open your world to new possibilities. We’re very interested in the idea that one can prepare themselves for serendipity.

This happens, in our opinion, by adding some sort of structure from which to look within. If there isn’t structure, then it’s no more than random chance.

We think Serendipity requires both structures conducive to discovery and the prepared mind.

When users sign up to the StreetSpark app, they are opening themselves up to the search (prepared mind). By adding their social network info and location they are adding structure to potential discovery and widening their potential for chance encounters.

We’re already more connected than we think. Especially as we often share the same physical space, our paths have crossed before, we have the same friends of friends online and have shared interests. These days some people still find it a bit strange to just go up to someone and start talking. If you’re shown what you have in common first - the overlaps, it’s much more likely you would take the leap and introduce yourself.

There’s now a reason for the conversation, something to act upon, in addition to the fact that you are in the same bar at happy hour. StreetSpark has shown you that you are in the same place at the same time, and the overlaps that you share.

Now - the hard part. It’s over to you. So what are you waiting for? Take the leap…

Don’t pass life by!

StreetSpark presents at Canvas8 Event - By chance or by design? Serendipity and the internet.

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:01:06 -0400

StreetSpark’s Tom DeBree talked Serendipity at a Canvas8 event in London this week. For those people that couldn’t be there, he presented on the three key elements to Serendipity: place, time, and action.

Place first.. The majority of the world lives in cities - which are perfect serendipity engines, built to facilitate new encounters.

Most of us follow a regular pattern of home, work, school and like to hang out/ socialise in the areas where we live and work. We usually do these activities and make the journey between them at roughly the same times of day and of the week. And we do it alongside people who are fairly similar to us.

Because we are so very predictable and live in our own limited bubbles – offline and online, we miss the many opportunities to meet new people serendipitously. One of the main drivers behind StreetSpark is to ensure that people stop missing these moments.

Time - They say that timing is everything and it is. By sharing the social networks that are significant to us as individuals you can expand your network even further, and meet people who are also nearby at the same time. It increases the chances of having one of those unexpected chance meaningful encounters.

StreetSpark allows you to extend your reach at places you would already go to meet new people. The only thing you really have to do? Be open to giving serendipity a chance and ACT upon the opportunities that it presents to us.

More on Action later but until then, any serendipitous encounters that you would like to share? Here’s some of our current favourites below.

New Facebook 'Intro' App - most addictive way to intro your FB friends!

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:47:00 -0400

‘Intro’ is a new fun way to introduce the two Facebook friends you’ve always thought should meet. Click here to play.

People are asked to choose who their friend should meet from two randomly selected Facebook friends. A spark is emailed to both people and sent privately to them on Facebook.

If they want to find out more about each other, they can introduce 5 of their friends to unlock more information, or just download StreetSpark.

In subsequent versions, individuals are told why you think they should meet (anything from having an equal obsession with karaoke to both liking to try new restaurants).

Put another way you’ll never need to be the go-between/middle man again!

StreetSpark Version 2.0

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:25:00 -0400

We just launched version 2.0 in the AppStore – it’s a slicker, more user-friendly version that makes it easier to meet and connect with people just like you. Download it here.

For one thing, you’ll notice that we’re pulling in even more from the social networking you already do to help make better matches, including Facebook ‘likes’ and Twitter. Version 2.0 also has a totally new interface and is faster than before. Lastly, it highlights individual interests better so you can learn more about your Sparks.

You are building your ‘social interest graph’ for a very legitimate reason – to connect with new people in real time and have conversations that are worth having. It may be the best use of social networking yet!

For best results, be sure to add all of the social networks to your profile that are significant to you. As always, please let us know what you think!