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IamNo: Dating By Numbers

IamNo is a new dating site from Hamburg. In their own words it is the world’s first online-offline community.

screenshot iamno

When you sign up you get assigned a number. Randomly assigned numbers are free, easier to remember numbers like 226680 can be purchased for 44 Euros and top numbers like 332133 are pricey 444 Euros. Then you inject your number into your real life by printing it on t-shirts, sweaters, jackets, bags, caps or CDs, etc. IamNo also sells shirts and sweaters with your number in their shop.

The idea is that others will see you wearing your number on the bus, when you are shopping, in a cafe, club or restaurant, think you are interesting or cute, remember your number and then head over to the website, look you up based on your number and get in contact with you.

screenshot iamno

Whole industries are built around our loneliness or desire to chat and communicate. There are about 15 million singles in Germany, tons of dating sites promise you to find the partner of your dreams and the idea of bridging the offline with the online life is not bad and has a flavour of serendipity. There is a chance that you get to know people you wouldn’t have known otherwise. But IamNo has a fundamental problem: others need to know the site to be able to decode the signal you are sending. It probably is way more effective to just promote your MySpace, Facebook, StudiVZ or Twitter username and add a hint that you are looking for love or making new friends.

(This article originally was written for blognation Germany. Since blognation is gone I have reposted it here)

☍ 01.08.2007 # dating