Tinder

Everything is moving more mobile these days, but mobile dating is still plagued by one big problem: it's hookup central.

Location-based dating is clearly designed to lead to a meeting, but with that comes a swarm of users who aren't looking for anything more than a quick fling. On a Web-based dating site, users are searching for a totally different experience, one based on meeting vetted, strictly filtered dates that they get to know on the site before arranging future plans to meet in person.

The challenge that now faces the dating industry is to blend the immediacy of mobile with the success of online dating. "There's no effective app for hetero hookups," says Sam Yagan, one of OkCupid's four founders, in an article on Forbes.com. "Grindr is very popular in the gay space for males. But there isn't really a Grindr for straight people."

Still, Yagan thinks there's a future for mobile dating. He thinks the next incarnation of mobile dating will mean using a variety of dating apps: "One may be a I-just-want-to-have-a-beer-with-somebody-new-tonight app. Or I-want-to-look-for-Mr.-Right. Or I-want-to-look-for-Mr.-Right-right-now."

Another possibility for the future of mobile is the social graph. Tinder, a bright new star on the mobile dating scene, is breaking new ground for social dating. Tinder users sign in using their Facebook accounts and indicate their interest in a potential date by swiping to the left or right of their screen. With the recently introduced Matchmaker feature, users can now make introductions between any of their Facebook friends, whether or not they're already using the app.

Sean Rad, co-founder and CEO of Tinder, argues that what's important isn't the future of online dating - it's the future of dating in general. As people - especially young people - become more accustomed to interfacing with the world through their phones, dating will need to evolve into a new experience.

Rad thinks the key will be to move in the opposite direction of online dating. Once upon a time online dating was hailed for offering access to a significantly wider pool of potential dates than traditional dating. But the downside to that, Rad explains, is that online daters also end up experiencing a great deal more rejection.

Rad sees the future of dating as something very different. A smaller pool may solve some of the problems, but the rest is up to you. "Science can only go so far," he says. "You are the best arbiter." Mobile has a place in that future, and perhaps that place is righting the wrongs that online dating has created.

Remember the three-day rule? Well, you can forget about waiting to make that call and a lot of other advice that might have worked in the dating scene ten years ago.

Now in the age of GPS-based apps like Tinder that can hook you up with someone instantly, and the way we communicate primarily via text rather than phone calls, this kind of advice falls short. Now that we have instant access (and therefore expect more immediate gratification), we don't have the time or patience to sit around and wait. After all, there could be five other hot men (or women) to meet in the meantime.

So how do you navigate the new digital dating world with so much access to new people - whether it's online dating, mobile dating, or meeting through Facebook? What are some guidelines to help figure out when to contact someone and how?

Following are some new tips to get you started:

Get familiar with technology. If you're new to the dating scene then it's important not to dismiss technology when it comes to helping you find someone. Online dating is extremely popular, with thousands of singles joining various websites every day. Mobile dating also offers a lot of different options - from apps that connect you to friends of friends on Facebook to those that tell you who is single and within a five-mile radius of where you happen to be in the moment. See what's out there. Don't assume that it's not for you until you try it.

Communicate. Instead of playing coy and waiting around for someone else to make a move, it's good to communicate with him so he knows you're interested. Dating moves very quickly, so if you drop in and out of communication with someone or wait a day or more to answer a text, you could miss out on opportunities. Be consistent - respond in a timely way to texts and emails, and check in with your online dating site often.

Be honest. If you are serious about finding a relationship, then it's important to be honest about who you are. It's easy to pretend to be someone else online and paste old photos on your dating profile or fudge your age or height. But when you start meeting people to date, you're going to have to explain yourself. Be true to who you are, that is the best way to connect to someone else.

Be bold. Good relationships don't just magically happen. They require risk - we have to put ourselves out there, to be willing to show who we are to someone else. If you go solo to that party, or talk to the stranger in front of you in the Starbucks line, or get up the nerve to message that guy you've been eyeing on your online dating site, you are making the effort. These are all small steps, but can lead to something great. Take more risks by putting yourself out there. Love is worth it.

The word on everybody's lips right now is: Tinder.

No, they're not trying to start campfires...they're talking about the new dating app that's been taking the world by storm.

Created by Hatch Labs - an LA-based startup backed by IAC, the same digital media giant that also owns Match and OKCupid - Tinder has exploded onto the scene since its launch in October. Here's why:

• It's free.
• It's casual.
• It's connected to Facebook.
• It doesn't focus on the traditional profile model.
• It's location-enabled.
• It's targeting the tech-savvy younger generations.

You may not have heard of it yet, but Tinder has already sparked 50 million matches and 4.5 billion user ratings. Not bad for an app that's barely more than six months old...

The Tinder team is determined to keep that momentum going. They're already hard at work to create tools to enhance the Tinder experience, like the brand new "Matchmaker" feature. The update allows users to make introductions between any of their Facebook friends, whether or not they're already on Tinder.

It's easy: Just select two friends, add a message, and press send. Once a user has matched two Facebook friends, they can chat within Tinder without sharing their contact information. If the friends aren't already using the app, Tinder sends them a message on Facebook and asks them to sign up for an account to see the post.

An additional feature of Matchmaker allows the person who made the introduction to see if the match is active. That way they can get a sense of their success rate, and gently encourage a match to communicate more if the conversation goes silent.

"Right now introductions are a very difficult process," says Sean Rad, Tinder's CEO. "They're slow, they're socially awkward. This is a socially acceptable environment for you to make introductions in an easy way."

Rad hopes that the introductions will go beyond dating. Need a connection for a new car, or the perfect employee for your startup? Rad's goal is to make Tinder's Matchmaker feature your go-to for relationships and networking of all kinds. So far, its success has been even more than he imagined.

Tinder launched a month-long test of Matchmaker with 100 users. Rad expected about 10% of the test population to make connections, while the other 90% benefited from the introductions made. Instead, nearly all of the beta users made multiple introductions.

Sounds like Tinder is about to have another success story on its hands.