There is a raging debate between whether or not opposites attract, or if similar interests and traits define compatibility. 1Mind, a new venture from Derek Dodge, co-founder of About Last Night, aims to solve this quandary through gamification.
“When I was at school, I realized the majority of my friends were people who lived in the same dorm with me, or were in the same major and taking the same classes as me,” said founder Derek Dodge. “That got me and my brother thinking. I wondered how many more people there are out there that I would be awesome friends with, but never had that serendipitous opportunity to meet them.”
And so, 1Mind was born.
At 1Mind, users are given a set of 16 “games”, which are really just questions with two possible answers, that determine the users’ personalities. Once the game has a good read on you, you’re sent to the home menu which has two distinct parts.
The first is a feed with more questions. when the user answers one of the questions, they can see how many people chose their answer and the other. Users can also share the question with their Facebook feed, Twitter, as well as like and comment directly on the question.
The other half of the app is called Discover, and it lets users find people who are most like them. You have the option to search through your Facebook friends only (as the app only lets you sign up through Facebook) or search through the entire 1Mind network.
When you click into a person, you then see how compatible you are, the traits you have in common, and other people that are similar to your friend. You can even challenge that person to answer the same questions as you to see how they answer compared to yourself.
By tapping into your Facebook, 1Mind knows where you go/went to school, your hometown, or where you work. This way, it connects you with people that are actually relevant to not only your interests, but to your location and general lifestyle.
However, the app also takes you out of that same circle of people you see on a regular basis and opens up the possibilities.
But as is the question with any social startup, how will this new venture bring in some cash.
To start, 1Mind has partnered with MCHammer to do a special introductory quiz where you can see your own compatibility with MC Hammer. According to Dodge, 1Mind is already speaking with other celebrities that might be interested in the platform. This celebrity partnership angle could offer a revenue stream wherein celebrities could pay for a featured profile or self-branded quiz.
Songza, a music streaming app that offers up playlists based on your mood, or the activity you might be doing, uses a similar business model. The app lets celebrities create their own playlists, which are featured for a fee.
Not only would this celebrity approach be a potential revenue stream for 1Mind, but it would certainly boost user acquisition in the same way that Justin Bieber’s arrival on Instagram boosted the now-ubiquitious photo-sharing app’s popularity.
But that’s just a tiny piece of the overall financial puzzle. Remember, 1Mind is collecting quite a bit of data about each user’s interests. Questions range from how you react to a situation all the way to which movie you liked best, “The Dark Knight” or “Man Of Steel.”
Brands who want to leverage that information could end up paying a hefty price to get on the network and lay down some highly contextual advertising.
“We’ve looked at a few different options for a business model, with specific interest in contextual advertising,” said Dodge. “But for now we’re really focused on building out the community.”
1Mind is available now in the App Store or on the web.
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