A social network to date IITians which was launched in January is going global soon. With more than 7,000 registered users, dateiitians.com is planning to expand its reach. The portal which was only open to techies and engineering professionals from IITs and IIMs was later open to others as they got many requests. Layak Singh, co-founder tells us, “We will go global in July with the name cogxio.com as this has appealed to many.”
The site gives one a chance to flirt and propose, but with more cautions and care. “You become buddies first and then if the user accepts your flirt request, you can express a ‘crush’ on them and take it further only with the other person’s permit,” adds Singh.
The registration is an elaborate process. It can take up to three days. “It involves verification and authentication of user’s credentials, personal email address, contact number as well as ID proofs such IDs of college, institute or university. After submitting details, the user will get an email confirmation from the site and will receive a code on the mobile phone,” says Singh.
For users, it’s more meaningful than most other dating options online. Says Animesh (name changed on request), “It’s a three-step dating system. You first become buddies, and then you can flirt with each other depending on profile’s acceptance and third is dating where you can go for movies, etc.”
Another interesting feature is that you can send messages to your buddy’s phone, only if the person accepts your “crush” request. “Buddies (users) earn points while interacting and those points can be used for purchasing real gifts, books, etc.” says Singh.