Bumble, a swipe-gesture dating app will launch a function to help their users develop their business and employment relationships.
Bumble was created back in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe. It is a dating app where women are expected to make the first move, as men cannot be the first to send a message. The new feature is known as BumbleBizz, and according to Wolfe, it was “always part of the overall vision.”
“To enable people to connect at the key engagement points in life. For love, for friendship and now for network,” Wolfe added.
Bumble is also known to take into account an user’s musical taste, as it has partnered with Spotify, which then scans matching preferred genres of music.
A new contender in social media
Much like Bumble, BumbleBizz will use the familiar swiping gesture to pass through the professional profiles of people around the user. These profiles will be different from their dating profiles and they will display education, employment, current projects, and any information that may be considered useful for networking.
Bumble has almost 7 million users, and it has not yet monetized its services. Wolfe estimates that the company could be worth over $500 million, which is why she has chosen to issue the announcement of BumbleBizz last Thursday. She aims to develop Bumble to becoming the equivalent of Facebook for getting acquainted with people one yet does not know.
BumbleBizz is reportedly a solution for gathering employees, such as in a large event, where managers may need a large number of reliable staff for different projects. Wolfe says that sometimes, employers do not have time to go on and about looking for workers and to send and reply online messages. She suggests that BumbleBizz will become an efficient and rapid solution for finding people with similar business interests, as Wolfe herself has been able to meet people through Bumble, specifically executives from Facebook.
The next step in networking is here
Wolfe stressed that the phenomenon is regarded as hyper-locality and that people already can see their new relationships be nourished through social media. She says that work and professional activity is just the next stage of the race, but that it is important to keep the personal profile intact.
“We want this to be less about your resume and more about who you are,” she said to TIME.
One of the most important factors regarding BumbleBizz is that it can pose a significant threat to LinkedIn, a networking service that has failed to find new ground as Microsoft acquired it for an estimated $26.2 billion. Bumble also has some history with Tinder, as Wolfe managed to have herself listed as a co-founder after she filed and won a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company and her ex-boyfriend.
BumbleBizz may become the next step in networking, as it proves to be an exceptional idea when it comes to finding capable and reliable people. It would be ideal if there were some verification system of a person’s professional profile, such as user reviews or points, as there is always the possibility of individuals with the wrong intentions trying to take advantage of honest, hard-working people.
BumbleBizz is set to be launched in early fall 2016.
Source: TIME