Grindr, the popular gay hookup mobile app, has launched a new version of its location-based people-finding service. Called Blendr, the app is aimed at a general audience, but the core idea remains the same: help users find other users based on shared interests and physical proximity, as close as one block away.
Unlike Sonar or Foursquare, where you have to go outside the app to Twitter to talk to people or leave time-delayed comments on check-ins, Blendr keeps your interaction with nearby people in the same app.
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Grindr became popular in gay circles because of the ease with which it allowed its users to find sexual partners. Not only did users have the ability to incrementally reveal information about themselves with strangers, there was an added level of privacy since the interaction occurred within a single app.
Keeping that kind of experience within the same app is what Blendr is hoping to capitalize on. Apps that do not rely on pushing people out to third party apps to complete the communication and connection circuit is a move all location based services will have to make. Think of it as a brand experience, the kind of thing that nurtures consumers' trust for a brand.
The app is well designed, with a compelling UI. But it has bugs. Here's what I found after trying it: you key in your interests, you browse for users by location, your favorites, those you've chatted with recently or those currently online - but the chat feature didn't work. It kept saying I was offline. The whole thing failed, in that regard. It does have going for it a very deep set of subcategories to use to label your interests, but I was only able to choose seven for some reason.
I'm more interesting than that.
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