Makers of Dating App Skout Launch Fuse
Contributed by: kellyseal on Friday, July 04 2014 @ 07:06 am
Last modified on
Everyone is looking for the next big app – specifically one that does something new and creative and captures people’s attention with a new type of communication, like Vine, Snapchat or Twitter have done. Dating apps are following suit - trying to engage a larger audience than just singles looking for dates - by creating a new type of experience. People are looking to their phones to connect – whether it’s friendship, hooking up, dating, or finding a relationship. So why not take advantage of the technology and see what clicks?
Many apps are leaning towards features that are more ephemeral in nature. People don’t want their comments and photos lingering on the Internet forever, so the appeal of showing and telling without the repercussions seems intriguing. After all, if what you say or do disappears in a few minutes or even seconds, wouldn’t you be more willing to try something new, maybe even more daring than in your real life?
Dating app Skout thinks so. Skout has been around for a while, and helps strangers meet locally based on GPS-matching much like many other dating apps. While it doesn’t have the popularity and user base of Tinder or the cache of Match.com, Skout is looking for new and innovative ways to capture more downloads and engage more people to help them connect. And the company (and its investors) are betting on a new messaging app called Fuze.
Fuze is a combination of group messaging and ephermerality like Snapchat. Once someone starts a “Fuse,” everyone else has three to ten minutes to respond. Once the timer goes off, all of the content inside the Fuse disappears and no one can ever see it again. So it creates a bit of pressure for people to engage right away or risk not getting a chance to speak.
The app also allows you to post anonymously, in what’s called “Ghost Mode.” While this seems to be a popular feature among apps, I can’t help but think that being anonymous means you say things that you wouldn’t normally say to others face-to-face, and creates more of a barrier to getting to know others than bringing them together.
Skout’s CEO Christian Wiklund says, “It’s almost like a dinner conversation. It’s contextual, based on who is around you right now. If the Fuse burns out, you can go onto the next conversation.”
Wiklund also says they launched Fuse separately so that Skout could be left clean, and not bogged down with a bunch of new features. They do however plan to promote Fuse through the Skout network.