Nearly everyone has a blind date disaster story. But what if there was a way to get that first awkward encounter out of the way, without actually meeting face to face? Now, you can do it in cyberspace, in a virtual dating world created by a Winnipeg company.
"Dating site traffic has grown quiet a bit," said Dave Wilkie, CEO of Weopia.com
More than 113 million people around the world take to the internet to find a date, some call it the new age of dating and it’s picking up speed.
"It’s become more and more accepted,” said Wilkie.
This surge in popularity has prompted a Winnipeg company to create an online dating experience like no other.
"You get together as two characters and you walk around and experience things," said Wilkie.
It’s called Weopia, 3D dating using avatar characters.
"You can go sit on the mountain and watch the sunset, you can go in race boats, you can go in cars and planes and hang gliders," said Wilkie.
There’s even a church, where couples can go to discuss serious topics like marriage and children.
According to a Harvard study, after you’ve experienced the virtual dating world, you’re twice as likely to go on an actual date with the person you met online.
"You get to know each other pretty quickly, so whether there’s no compatibility you can go through several dates in one night," said Wilkie.
But is it something that will catch on in our city? Here’s what a few Winnipeggers had to say:
"It beats the bar scene."
"It’s just weird. I like face to face, I wouldn’t ever want to go online and meet someone."
"Yeh, it’s definitely a great idea, I think a lot of people would go for it."
Weopia is free for now; but creators say they plan to begin charging for the virtual date service in the near future.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.