Sunday, September 4, 2011

LikeALittle

[ed.  I think I understand the concept, but I'm not sure.  Seems like social media is (more and more) removing the serendipity and mystery of meeting and connecting with people spontaneously.]

by Alexia Tsotsis

LikeALittle, the social network for college students who want a place to anonymously flirt on college campuses, announces the launch of its first mobile product today, LikeALittle People. Like a Color but with text or a Yobongo focusing on Interests, the LikeALittle people app allows you to log in with Facebook and immediately see the Interests (but not names or emails)of LikeALittle users around you.

The app’s premise is simple enough: People generally want to meet the people around them but don’t know where to start . LikeALittle founder Evan Reas tells me that socializing in real life would be a lot easier if everyone had a thought bubble over their heads announcing their current status. The LikeALittle app, which eliminates real-life identity in favor of Interests, attempts to function as a sort of digital thought bubble.

Reas tells me that the app solves the loneliness problem evidenced by Color and Yobongo by algorithmically matching users near each other based on activity, backgrounds and interests,”Yobongo and Color are both symmetric communication platforms where the most value is derived only if other people are on at the exact same time in the same place,” says Reas.  ”Our app solves that because it connects you to the right people who you can communicate with anytime, either in a symmetric or asymmetric way.”

With LikeALittle people, users can login with Facebook and have their Interests automatically populated through their Facebook Likes. You can scan the app for profiles by refreshing the screen and drill down into a users profile by pressing the + button.

But the app works even if you’re not proactive — If a user around you has similar interests the app will directly message you. In addition you have the option of giving a Shoutout to a particular Interest, messaging someone yourself, bookmarking a person for later viewing or adding Interests to your profile either manually or from someone else’s page.

While the product is a divergence from the core LikeALittle flirting network, Reas says it’s still on point with his overall mission of using location to connect people, “The original likealittle flirting and chatting product did that in a very focused way and this product now broadens the type of interaction from flirting more general communication, discovery and chatting and also broadens the audience to mainstream.”

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