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“吃货”专用交友网络:告别一个人的晚餐

“吃货”专用交友网络:告别一个人的晚餐

Colleen Leahey 2011-09-02
交友网站Spoondate.com的理念与Facebook和Match.com差不多,但又杂糅了点评网站Yelp的特点。问题是随着着小众交友网站日渐增多,Spoondate能否在竞争中分到一杯羹?

    我将鼠标向下一拉,电脑上出现了一整页“欲望清单”:“我想到小星星披萨店(Little Star Pizza)里吃深盘披萨。”“我想到American Cupcake蛋糕店去吃胡罗卜蛋糕。”“我想到Asellina餐厅吃奶酪。”时间到了正午,我的肚子也开始咕咕叫了。

    这并不是推荐餐厅的网站,也不是食谱网站。这是Spoondate,一个专为吃货们准备的在线约会网络。

    这家网站的运作机制是这样的:用户用Facebook的账号进行登录,然后根据自己的饮食口味建立一个个人档案。网站会给出一些基本的问题和提示,比如“如果我有25美元的就餐预算,我会……”“我的‘食物人格’是……”“除了美食之外,我还喜欢……”等等。在页面最上方,有一个大大的文字输入框,询问:“你现在最渴望吃什么?”有点像Facebook的状态更新功能。其它用户可以对你的“渴望”进行评论(如“好吃!”“想吃!”等等)。当然,他们也可以为契机,打破僵局,约你出去一起大块朵颐。

    Spoondate成立于美国旧金山,它的创始人瑞莎•内比是华尔街资深人士,由于需要频繁出差,因此她很多时候只能一个人孤零零地吃饭。在一次出差的时候,内比在一家餐厅吃饭,一个人点了好几道菜,郁郁寡欢地吃了饭,还要一个人负担整顿饭的费用。“一个人吃饭实在太郁闷了,”她说。三年后,她结束了在法国某烹饪学校的工作,从500创投(500 Startups)和Initio Group等风投机构那里拉到了种子基金,创立了Spoondate,旨在给孤单的老饕们找个伴儿。

    不过给吃货们牵线搭桥的并非只有Spoondate一家。Spoondate预定于美国劳动节(九月的第一个星期一——译注)之后的第一周正式上线,将与GrubWithUs.com和HowAboutWe.com展开针锋相的竞争。这两家网站也是旨在通过主打“活动牌”,以消除在线交友的尴尬。交友网站的竞争已经日趋激烈,除了行业三巨头eHarmony.com, Match.com和Plentyoffish.com之外,现在市面上还有很多专门针对特定群体的小众交友网站。比如基于宗教的Jdate.com;基于年龄的Seniorpeoplemeet.com;基于性别的Manhunt.net和Ashleymadison.com等。

    在线交友行业咨询及分析网站OnlineDatingPost.com的编辑大卫•伊万斯指出,美国排名前五位的交友网站吸引了大量的用户,同时也获得了大量收益。例如由风投资助的eHarmony.com的年收入据说达到了2.5亿美元。而规模稍小的交友网站则处境艰难,要想维持住30,000到40,000的用户群还得靠花钱打广告。但这并不意味着这些新生的交友网站就无法给投资人带来回报。比如今年年初,专门利用古怪的调查测验来吸引用户的Okcupid.com就被Match.com的东家IAC(InterActiveCorp)公司以5,000万美元的价格收购。

    目前,Spoondate主要着眼于建立用户群。内比和她的三人团队将密切注视所有用户发布的“渴望”,以保证质量,避免垃圾信息。(Spoondate将在旧金山开张,然后从那里开始进行病毒式扩张。)另外他们的理念很新鲜,而且这个网站也具有广阔的增长前景。用户既可以在网站上约网友见面,也可以寻找一个柏拉图式的“饭搭子”。此外这个网站还收集了大量关于用户饮食习惯和他们最喜欢的餐厅的信息,因此可以主打定位型型或优惠交易型广告,盈利前景颇丰。

    不过尽管理念出色,设计清晰,但Spoondate还缺少一样重要的东西——成功的典型案例。内比称,过去几个月里,有1,000人试用了这个网站的测试版本,但其中只有30个人左右一直坚持更新他们的“渴望”。而在这30来个人里,真的去与“吃友”见面的只有3个人,而他们的关系也仅仅止步于“吃友关系”。如果Spoondate希望继续保持增长的话,它还需要进一步带动用户的长期参与。

    译者:朴成奎

    I'm guiding my cursor down a page of cravings: "I'm craving deep dish at Little Star Pizza." "I'm craving carrot cupcakes at American Cupcake." "I'm craving oh-so-creamy burrata at Asellina Ristorante." It's nearly noon; my stomach yelps.

    This isn't a restaurant recommendation or recipe web site, though. It's Spoondate, a new online dating network for foodies.

    It works like this: users sign in using their Facebook account and sketch a profile of themselves based on culinary preferences. Basic questions and prompts include 'With a $25 meal allowance, I would...,' 'My food personality is...,' 'In addition to food, I enjoy...' At the top of the page a big box asks, "What are you craving?" These cravings are similar to Facebook's status updates. Other users can comment on cravings (Yum!, Crave It!) or simply use them to break the ice and potentially meet up to satiate appetites.

    The San Francisco-based Spoondate is the creation of Raissa Nebie, a Wall Street veteran who is no stranger to business trips peppered with lonely meals. During one of those trips, Nebie enjoyed several courses at a restaurant, companionless, only to have the owner pick up the check for the entire the meal -- out of pity. "It's depressing to eat alone," she recalls. Three years later, after a stint at culinary school in France, she's got seed funding from 500 Startups and the Initio Group to try to help out other lonely diners across the country.

    Spoondate won't be alone, though. The site, which is slated to launch the week after Labor Day, will compete directly with GrubWithUs.com and HowAboutWe.com, both of which aim to take the awkwardness out of online dating with an activity-friendly premise. The site is launching in the midst of a plethora of niche dating sites. Networks based on religion (Jdate.com), age (Seniorpeoplemeet.com) and sex (Manhunt.net, Ashleymadison.com) have flourished to supplement industry giants eHarmony.com, Match.com and Plentyoffish.com.

    David Evans, the editor of OnlineDatingPost.com, says the top five U.S. sites attract the lion's share of users and revenue. The venture-backed eHarmony.com is reported to throw off about $250 million in annual revenue for instance. Smaller sites, meanwhile, find themselves having to pay to buy ads to maintain user bases of just 30,000 to 40,000, according to Evans. But that doesn't mean fledgling sites can't pay off for investors. Earlier this year, Okcupid.com, started in 2004 using quirky surveys and polls to attract users, was acquired by Match.com owner IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) for $50 million.

    For now, Spoondate is focused on building an audience. Nebie and her team of three intend to closely monitor all posted cravings, ensuring that they are referencing real food and real places in a bid to maintain quality and defend against spam. (The site will start in San Francisco and expand virally from there.) They are also counting on their fresh idea and the site's broad appeal for growth. Users can use it to find a casual date or a platonic meal partner. And the wealth of information about users' eating habits and favorite restaurants could lead to a lucrative location-targeted or deals-based advertising model.

    But despite a clever premise and a clean design, Spoondate is still missing one big feature: a success story. Of the 1,000 people using a beta version of the site over the past few months, only 30 or so serially update their cravings. Of those, just three have actually gone on Spoondates. All ended in "food friendship," according to Nebie. If Spoondate hopes to grow, it's going to have to lead to more than a few long-term engagements.

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