MatchActivity Launches New Beta 2.0 Features

September 25, 2006; 02:29 AM
Los Angeles, CA - MatchActivity.com (www.MatchActivity.com), the newest activity based website that focuses on meeting through one-on-one activities, today announced a new set of features which enables MatchActivity members to email and privately invite other members to join in specific activities, without others on the site viewing their activity, and without having the activity posted in an auction format. During the first beta stage, all activities posted on the site by members were made public to the entire site.

“Now, Sarah can view Jack’s profile and send him an individual invitation to grab sushi on Monday night. Although a public posting of a sushi date would generate more responses, we’ve found that some of our members would prefer to invite others for activities directly,” said Yoni Avital, founder and CEO of MatchActivity. “By offering these new features, I believe that we’ve addressed the needs of both types of members.”

The new messaging features were implemented using AJAX technology. AJAX technology keeps the communication on the user’s main page, which eliminates flipping back and forth between pages to send messages, and is designed to be user friendly.

MatchActivity launched in June 2006 and is growing rapidly in membership. The site serves as a unique invitational tool to help people interested in meeting friends or someone special, to get out and actually meet those people, doing activities they both enjoy, rather than spending hours browsing through Internet profiles and having long email conversations that rarely lead to an actual meeting.

“Activity based social connections help people overcome the awkwardness of dating and meeting new people, while adding an element of fun,” said Avital. “Because the pair will be doing an activity they both enjoy, they will feel freer to be themselves.”

Additionally MatchActivity integrated a messaging notification system to send an email to the member’s primary email in-box when they have received MatchActivity one-on-one invites, buddy requests or email. MatchActivity membership is free for all members who sign up for the service during the beta phase.

MatchActivity’s unique structure for enabling social connections allows members to plan an activity, set the time and place and find likeminded people with similar interests. The activities that members post are time sensitive and create the feel of an online auction. With specific activity postings and descriptive tags, members can find others who share the same interests and allow the activity itself to serve as an icebreaker. MatchActivity members can post an activity such as karaoke, salsa dancing, hiking, or a game of pool to the site, allowing others to know they are interested in that same activity. As the date approaches, the posting member then chooses from the responders and selects an individual who they would like to meet and have join them.