The Latest Way To Meet Your Match: Google Knowledge Graph
Contributed by: ElyseRomano on Friday, April 26 2013 @ 10:21 am
Last modified on
Seriously, is there anything Google doesn't do?
The mega-company already manages every other aspect of your life, so why not add one more? A new online dating service is hoping to help users skip the awkwardness of first date small talk using Google's Knowledge Graph.
The Knowledge Graph is a knowledge base used by Google to enhance its search engine's capabilities using semantic-search information gathered from a wide variety of sources. Loveflutter.com, a London-based startup, is planning to harness the power of Google's latest innovation using Freebase.com, part of the Knowledge Graph, to discover matching and similar interests between two people. By bringing together like-minded people with common interests, Loveflutter hopes to eliminate those bad dates when you have nothing to talk about.
Loveflutter users can either import their interests from Facebook or add them manually. Loveflutter then uses the information to create a real-time interest graph and match users based on correlating keywords. If you're into Victorian literature, Loveflutter will pair you with people who list Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde as favorite authors. If you're into fantasy flicks, you'll be matched with users who say they love the Lord of the Rings films.
Once you've connected to a partner with potential, Loveflutter streamlines the dating experience even more by using Foursquare to set up your first date. Click on the "Suggest-a-Date" feature and the site will recommend date locations that are equidistant from you and your upcoming date. The site can even pair you up based on what bars, restaurants, or other hangouts the two of you frequent, instead of based on where you live.
In the future, Loveflutter plans to boost the "Suggest-a-Date" feature by including places based on both individuals' interests, and give users the option to book or make reservations. They also plan to launch a smartphone app later in the year.
"Loveflutter takes the nervousness out of online dating and helps people get on their first date," Daigo Smith, one of Loveflutter's co-founders, told Mashable[*1] . "Using the interest graph as the matching foundation makes it easier to break the ice on your first date because you'll have more to talk about."
For now, access to the site is free, but pay-as-you-go or unlimited monthly membership charges do apply to use Loveflutter's features and send messages. The pay-as-you-go membership requires a $5 activation credit and costs $0.50 to send a message. The premium membership, which offers unlimited access to all features and messaging, costs $29.99/month.