That's very true, Catherine. Friendship is an important aspect of our lives, and it can help us grow and become better versions of ourselves. As you mentioned, friendships come in many forms, from romantic relationships to professional mentorships, and they all require effort and communication to maintain. In today's fast-paced world, the way we communicate and connect with our friends is constantly evolving, but the value of friendship remains the same. Yes, the way we connect with people has definitely changed with the rise of technology and social media. It's easier than ever to stay in touch with friends and acquaintances, even if we're not physically in the same place. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow us to easily share updates and stay connected with our friends, even if we're miles apart. At the same time, technology can also make it easy to lose touch with people or to rely too heavily on digital communication instead of face-to-face interactions. It's important to find a balance and to prioritize maintaining meaningful relationships with the people who matter most to us. Yes, social media has certainly made it easier for us to remember important dates like birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones. While it's nice to receive birthday wishes and messages from friends and acquaintances on social media, it's important to remember that these gestures are just one way to show someone that we care. Meaningful relationships are built on more than just social media interactions, so it's important to prioritize spending time with loved ones and showing them that we care in other ways as well. Thanks to technology, we can stay friends with people even if we might have otherwise drifted apart. And yeah, the way we interact with our friends has changed, but that doesn't mean our friendships are any less awesome. Our friendships are becoming more and more integrated with our digital lives, and as we continue to express ourselves online, it's only natural that the process of making friends will also move in that direction.
So, back in 2005, I know what it's like to walk into a high school cafeteria and feel totally lost, not sure where to sit or who to talk to. It's a tough experience that many of us can relate to. Yeah, exactly! You're looking around, feeling awkward and nervous, seeing a bunch of strangers sitting at different tables, and you have to work up the courage to approach someone and ask if you can join them. It's not easy! My brother Dave and I struggled with making friends because we were the new kids in school. It can be really tough trying to fit in and find your place when you're in a new environment. But then, one day, while we were flipping through a boring old high school yearbook, Dave and I got this crazy idea that maybe we could make meeting new people fun! We wanted to find a way to connect with others and break out of our shell, so we started brainstorming. It sounds like you and your team were very dedicated to bringing this idea to life. Providing detailed specifications and wireframes is a crucial step in the development process to ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. It's great that you were able to find a team of developers to work with, even if they were located halfway around the world. Collaboration and communication are key to making any project successful. Wow, that sounds like a lot of hard work and dedication! It's great that you were able to stay motivated and focused on your goal, even with other responsibilities like school. Working on a passion project can be a great way to develop valuable skills and gain experience in a field that interests you. The popularity of the network continued to grow and soon, we found ourselves with a full-fledged social network on our hands. It was exciting to see our vision come to life and to watch people use it to connect and communicate with each other. Over time, we continued to develop and improve the site, adding new features and functionalities to make it even more user-friendly and engaging. We even started to attract attention from investors, who saw the potential in our network and wanted to help us take it to the next level. Looking back on those early days, it's amazing to think about how much has changed since then. Social media has become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, and the ways we connect and communicate with each other are constantly evolving. But the core idea that inspired Dave and I to create our social network in the first place remains just as important today as it did back then: the power of friendship and connection to shape and define our lives.
However, as the network grew, we faced new challenges. We had to figure out how to monetize the platform to sustain its growth and development. We tried advertising, but it didn't generate enough revenue. We even considered selling the site to a larger company, but we were reluctant to give up control of our creation. Eventually, we decided to pivot and focus on building a premium subscription service for our most dedicated users. This turned out to be the right move, and the site continued to grow and thrive. Looking back on that experience, I realized that it was about more than just building a social network. It was about taking an idea and turning it into something real, something that people could use and enjoy. It was about working hard, taking risks, and believing in ourselves. And most of all, it was about the power of friendship and collaboration to achieve great things. That's great to hear! It's amazing how technology can bring people together and form meaningful relationships. It sounds like your network had a positive impact on your social life and helped you connect with people you may not have otherwise met. That's impressive! It sounds like MeetMe has made a real impact on people's lives. Great, what are those five essential friendship truths?
Yo, making friends is super important. When we were kids in kindergarten, it was easy to ask someone to be our friend. But now that we're older, it's kinda weird to straight up ask someone to be our friend, right? But even though it might seem like making friends is only something little kids do, it's actually a basic human need. As we get older, the value of friendship only goes up! According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we gotta have friends before we can focus on other things like building confidence or being creative. We need to feel like we belong somewhere before we can reach our full potential. But why is it so hard to make friends sometimes? You'd think with the internet being all huge and stuff, it would be easy to find people who we click with. I remember back in the day joining AOL chat rooms and hanging out on AIM just to talk to people and see if we had anything in common. But even though it was fun, it wasn't quite the same as having real-life friends. Something was missing, and that something was serendipity.
Hey, so have you ever had that moment where you just randomly meet someone and click right away? That's serendipity! It's like fate's way of saying, "Hey, you two were meant to be friends!" It's that connection that sets apart the people who will be lifelong friends from the ones who will eventually drift away. And sometimes, all it takes is good timing. But you know what's crazy? Nowadays, companies are trying to make it easier for us to meet new people, but they're not really taking serendipity into account. They're more concerned about making sure we're compatible or that we've recently done similar things. It's like they're just creating a digital phone book! But if they engineered serendipity into their platforms, it could be a game-changer for making friends. Because let's be real, friendships need that element of luck. We can't just pick friends from a list and expect it to work out. It's all about those chance encounters and unexpected connections that make us feel lucky to have found each other.
Dude, making friends is a total mystery. Like, when you first meet someone, there's all this stuff happening in your brain that you're not even aware of. Maybe you notice what they're wearing or how they talk, and those little things add up to form an impression of them. But even then, it's hard to say why you're drawn to them and how you become friends. And let's be real, most of us suck at knowing what we want in a friend anyway. Yo, check this out! Dr. Finkel from the Association of Psychological Science ran a study this year and found that dating site algorithms can't predict if a relationship will be successful. Crazy, right? According to him, there's no better substitute for just chillin' with someone and shootin' the breeze over a cup of coffee for a couple minutes. So, like, ya know how we're not always great at knowing what we want in a person? Well, that goes for dating apps too. And even when it comes to our friends, it's hard to say what qualities we're drawn to because they're all so different, y'know? I mean, they have their own unique interests and personalities. So if I can't even explain why I'm friends with someone, how can some company's algorithm figure it out for me? Seems kinda impossible, right? Yo, I gotta tell you, it's like super tough to choose a friend when you're a freshie at Georgetown University. Like, no joke, man. This is Georgetown we're talking about! So, I signed up for their charms thingy, you know, that roommate matchmaker deal. They make you fill out this questionnaire, but then you get to chat up some potential roomies. So, I picked this roommate who seemed perfect for me on paper. We had similar interests in music, TV shows, and stuff like that. But when we finally met face-to-face, it was obvious from day one that we weren't going to click. There was just no chemistry between us, you know? So, like, when I was buying books for my cult at the bookstore, I ran into my buddy Jesse and we totally hit it off! Dude, like picking someone out of a list is not cool, man. It takes way more time and sucks all the magic out of it. Plus, it doesn't work as well, you know what I'm saying? Okay, so you know that book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell? He talks about how you can actually figure out a ton about someone in just a few seconds of meeting them, and your intuition is usually spot on. That's why all those fancy algorithms and profiles don't really matter. What really counts are the interactions you have with someone. So, if you want to see if you have any chemistry with someone, you gotta actually meet them in person. Hey, just wanted to point out that even though I met Jesse by chance, it wasn't totally random. We weren't just wandering around some random store in some random city. We were actually shopping at our college bookstore, and there were tons of other people our age around us who were in the same stage of life and had similar goals. And, the best part was that we were both looking for new friends!
Yo, check it - if you wanna have a solid friendship, you gotta put in some effort, ya feel me? Like, everyone knows how to keep someone from talkin' your ear off. For example, if you're ridin' the subway, just pop in your earbuds and make it clear you don't wanna be bothered. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Alright, check it out! If you wanna make some buddies, you gotta be cool with being friends, ya know? So, if you just moved to a new town, you can sign up for a rec sports league or hit up the same bars and clubs. The point is, you gotta put yourself out there and show you're down for some new pals! So, like, if you're trying to make new friends, Facebook might not be the best move. People tend to ignore friend requests from randoms because it's kinda awkward, ya know? But on those meet-up apps, it's totally different. Everyone's there to connect with new folks, so the vibe is way more welcoming.
Okay, so like, the thing is, friendships nowadays are kinda fluid because of the whole online thing. Like, since we started using terms like "online friends," the meaning of "friend" has totally expanded, you know? Out of my 700+ Facebook pals, I only talk to around 1/8 of them. I mean, I know all of them, so there's not much interest in getting to know any of them better. It feels like I've already gone through the whole nine yards of our friendships. I'm actually more into meeting new people because, ya know, as I get older, peeps come and go in my life, and the ones who matter the most to me may change. It doesn't mean I'm gonna lose my friends, they just transform into something different and even new. So basically, the whole point of MeetMe is to hook you up with a new crew of peeps to chill with and have some fun exploring with! Yo, we're tryna crack the code on how friendships get jumpstarted 'cause I can't even fathom that there wouldn't be an app version of a bar or coffee joint that's smart enough to factor in where you're at, what you're into, and every other detail to create some straight-up serendipity and get those bonds goin'. Thanks, y'all.
See also: https://mygodsentangels.com/