Proximity-Based Dating: A Look at MeetMoi

Published on August 15, 2010

I remember reading about devices in Japan that would alert you when you are near another single person who also had one of these devices. I read about this years and years ago (probably when I first started dating online in 2004) so I can’t remember all the details but I seem to remember that it was a totally separate device, not something that was a part of your cell phone. I also think there was some “hunting for each other” involved as these devices provided little more than alerts.

Then, several summers ago, I got together with a friend who’s stationed in Japan for the U.S. Air Force. He was showing me his cell phone and all the features that it had that those of us here in the U.S. hadn’t even heard of yet. By this point, the proximity-based dating had moved to Japanese cell phones and was becoming commonplace for them.

Well, as is the case with most mobile technologies, the U.S. is finally catching up with Japan as our next generation of mobile devices mature. In the last few months, I’ve heard of an array of different services that are now offering dating options for when you’re out-and-about. I’ll be talking about one of those services, MeetMoi. I’m discussing this particular service because they contacted me and asked me to (and to be clear and FTC friendly, no money is changing hands here: these really are just my opinions).

MeetMoi: Combining the Old and the New

As we all know the “old” way of dating consisted of locating yourself in social situations, meeting new people and hopefully finding yourself going on some first dates (think bars). Then the “new” way of dating consisted of sitting by yourself in front of a computer, scheduling dates with other singles online (think Match.com). These two methods, while both successful, couldn’t be much different from one another.

Proximity-based dating, like the service offered by MeetMoi, is a combination of the new and the old. On their website they sell the service as a brand-new way of dating and while I understand what they mean I actually think that their service is bringing us back around to our “roots” of dating. It is a combination of social interaction and technology where in the last 10 years we have been trending away from social interaction to technology.

Going Out: Now with More Excitement
MeetMoi specifically contacted me to talk about their new Android app, MeetMoi NOW. I considered talking specifically about the app but because I’ve never really discussed proximity-based dating here, I wanted to make it more about the overall service itself. Below is some of the text from their recent press release on their new Android app that highlights the features:

Once downloaded from the Android MarketTM, new members provide MeetMoi NOW with basic information about their interests in just a few steps, and then let MeetMoi’s technology do all the work. Whenever two users with matching preferences are within a mile of one another, MeetMoi NOW notifies them both, allowing them to begin a conversation. To encourage face-to-face meetings when people are near one another, connections made through the service expire after 60 minutes.

Looking at their website it appears that some of the versions of their app require that you manually check for matches near you. I suppose the process may be different depending on the mobile device you are using. Regardless, the overall effect is the same.

In my online dating guide, I complained about the fact that many people offer advice that you should just “get out there” and eventually you will meet someone. This advice seemed to suggest that if you wandered from laundromats to restaurants to shops to whatever else was near you, you would magically find someone else who is single and interested.

Photo by AlishaV
I found this advice to be a little bit ridiculous and wasn’t aware of anyone who had success with this dating model. However, with a service like MeetMoi, this advice becomes far more reasonable. You really can wander around now (hopefully taking care of some errands or hanging out with friends in the process) and actually have some hope of meeting another single. I also love the idea that you only have 60 minutes to decide.

Depending on where you are and what you are doing, just the opportunity of meeting someone that you are interested in may not just be exciting but also an enjoyable challenge. Were I still single I am not sure anything could convince me to get out of the house to search for other singles more often than proximity-based dating.

As a Shy Guy, This is Great

A lot of people are shy but not painfully so. For many of us, it’s just the idea of getting a conversation started. For me I really struggled with the idea that I could never know if a woman I approached was in a relationship or not. Online dating was great for me because I knew exactly what I was getting into and I knew that everyone there was looking to date. I rarely had problems on first dates because, in my mind, the rules have been established and I knew I can work within them.

Proximity-based dating really does remove the biggest roadblock I had with meeting women in the “real world”. I imagine there are other men who feel exactly like I do about meeting women while just walking through the grocery store or wherever. If you find yourself with this opinion I imagine you feel exactly like I do: that this type of dating simplifies everything.

The Biggest Drawback to Proximity-based Dating
To me the biggest drawback to proximity-based dating is that you need to be in a well populated area. That may sound like stating the obvious but consider this: as we move forward I believe we will see more and more companies entering this market. What that means is not only do you need to be near other people who are using proximity-based dating, you also need to be near people who are using the same exact service as you.

To some extent, this problem exists in all forms of online dating and the problem may be mitigated if we see a strong market leader emerge for proximity-based dating. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that some people aren’t alerted of nearby matches for long periods of time during the early stages of this type of dating.

Will the Big Services Follow This Trend?
In the past few years, we’ve seen our mobile phones go from devices that were simply used for phone calls to mini-computers that can help us solve any number of problems. The acceptance, and even expectation, of mobile computing is growing so rapidly that some people are even predicting the death of the personal computer.

With that in mind, it is my opinion that the “big” services will only be able to ignore this trend for a time. If we could jump into the future 10 years from now, I get the feeling that most singles will be dating on their phone, one way or another. Time will tell if I’m correct on this. Regardless, those who are interested in proximity-based mobile dating already have some great options.

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