Online dating is about to get easier, more practical and more realistic, thanks to two NU alums.
This week, Adam Sachs, Communication '05 and Dan Osit, Communication'04, launched Sparkker, an application on the popular social networking Web site Facebook.
The application allows users to form groups with their friends, plan events with other groups and ultimately interact with potential dating partners in real-world settings.
"In a lofty sense, our goal is to change the way people date and meet new people online," Sachs said.
Sachs described Sparkker - the name refers to the spark created when two people meet - as "a hybrid between social networking and online dating."
Once Facebook users add the application to their profiles, they can create groups for their friends to join or join other existing groups. Group leaders, called "ambassadors," set the group's location, sexual orientation and description. They also specify what qualities group members are looking for in other people.
From there, ambassadors search for other area groups and plan real-life events and meet-ups.
The idea, Sachs said, is to do what other online dating sites such as Match.com and eHarmony.com do not: simulate the group setting where people really meet one another.
"Sparkker is about getting out and getting into the real world," Sachs said. "It is very location-based."
A launch party will take place in New York in the next few weeks, and Sachs and Osit said they hope to one day hold bimonthly mixers in locations around the world, including Chicago.
The idea for the application came from what the developers were experiencing after moving to New York following graduation, Sachs said.
The friends - who met during Fall Quarter of Sachs's freshman year - found themselves socializing with the same people week after week and never meeting anyone new.
Sparkker's location on Facebook essentially means free advertising to millions of users, Sachs said.
Spring Break
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