Online dating made less stressful by matching up pairs of friends

California-based DuoDater uses double dates to make meeting new people online less stressful and more fun.

There have been innumerable approaches to online dating over the years, including group dating, 140-character profiles and even a deal-a-day approach. The latest innovation to catch our attention, however, is California-based DuoDater, which uses double dates to make meeting new people less stressful and more fun. Working on the premise that “friends don’t let friends date solo,” DuoDater invites singles to begin by finding a friend of either the same or opposite gender who’s willing to go on a double date with them. Once that’s done, both friends can browse the DuoDater site for potential matches, each helping to vet the other’s choices. Once they’ve found a corresponding duo that look promising, DuoDater helps them start a conversation, safe in the assurance that a friend will be there with them along the way. The free site explains: “We believe traditional online dating is intimidating, boring, and often disappointing. Life is more fun with a friend, so why should online dating be any different?” It may seem like the online dating space is already inundated, but there will always be room for clever variations on the theme. Keep the innovations coming! Spotted by: Katharina Kieck