Traditionally, booze and social networking have always gone hand in hand. During the 20th century, men and women would leave their homes and visit drinking locations called “bars” and “pubs.” There they would imbibe various beverages and, if the fates intervened, would go home with each other for coffee and perhaps a moment or two of Bible study. Those, friends, were simpler times.
With the rise of electronic social networking, however, we find that the boozing imperative is sorely lacking. You could potentially send a friend a virtual beer on Facebook and most MySpace pages require ether or nitrous to truly appreciate in their gaudy brilliance but there is no one place you can go to meet some folks with similar interests and, ultimately, meet for coffee and/or the aforementioned Bible study. That was until CocktailMatch.
CocktailMatch is a good idea. It segregates its users by drink preference and creates a dark and smoky atmosphere where singles and like-minded drinkers can congregate and mingle. The main building block is the vBar. You can create these virtual bars on the fly and invite friends and post news and comments, just like any other social network. Because you form little tribes you basically ensure that you don’t have to mix with wine drinkers or cigar smokers when you hit the whiskey bar. They are supposed to focus on the different personality traits suggested by the various types of drink - the perception that wine drinkers are calm and composed, tequila drunks are surly and angry - but in a good way.
The site itself has improved over the few versions I’ve seen and it seems to be ready for common use. The main goal, said founder Alfonso Escamilla, is to bring older folks into the social networking equation, folks who might be turned off to Facebook’s obsessive attention to your personal details and/or many on-line dating sites’ obsessive attention to getting you to pay them. As a combination social network and dating system you kind of get the best of both worlds while creating a virtual meat market that rivals the Regal Beagle during the days of Mr. Roper.
The concept is strong and fun but the site is a work in progress. Many of the features are hard to figure out and there are some typos in the default messaging. It’s a bit sparse right now, as well, but I just added Porkys to the site so we can all congregate and even surprise old Mrs. Balbricker.
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sooo stupid
You Got to Be Kidding Me!….the end of the world are coming!!!!
For a site where the logo’s “piano reflection” reads “COCK MATCH” I really have to wonder who this site is catering to.
Is this what social sites have come to? As someone who does review many concepts, I will only say this is the one of the more “interesting” (not necessarily in a good way).
This one needs some digesting.
Haha, COCK-tails. : P
Possibly the worst idea I have ever heard of.
zzzzzzzzzzz
I’m really surprised Techcrunch would list a website like this. This is a complete lack of innovation or inspiration.
Whats the going rate to get sites reviewed by TechCrunch?
Now people can get drunk in their underwear and still be social.
The kerning on the word “cocktail” just above the picture of the woman makes me wonder just what kind of site this really is.
“CocktailMatch is a good idea.”
I’m glad to see that TechCrunch writers are constantly striving to outdo even their own incompetence. How could you possibly think this site is a good business idea?
At least if Arrington were an investor, I’d chalk this up to a typical TC conflict of interest post.
It’s a nuanced innovation on web 2.0 leveraging the social graph into new dimensions. Translation: Instead of a social site that only let’s you have friends, this one lets you have friends and favorite drinks. Huzzah!
Here is a little website with a visual AJAX way to find recipes based on what is in your liquor cabinet. Never really gained traction, but a fun little UI none the less:
http://www.drinkmasher.com
Hey guys…believe it or not there are tons of people out in the real world who are actually looking for social networking sites that are simply more “social”. The masses aren’t seeking some geeked out uber-innovation, basically they just want to socialize in an engaging space, that they can personalize…and Cocktail Match fits that bill perfectly. The fact that it revolves that greatest of social lubricants; alcohol and has a distinctly sexy vibe are definitely points in it’s favor.
Sometimes it amazes me how out of touch Techcrunch readers are with the real world… the world that matters, and I applaud Techcrunch for any effort, calculated or coincidental, to transcend the tech ghetto.
You consider this steaming pile of fail to be part of the “world that matters”?
Real people who are interested in drinking and socializing go out and do it. They don’t log into a second-rate social network and talk about it.
I’m a professional alcoholic. I should know.
golfgirl
Whaaaaaaaaaaa
wow…being married and a lifelong non-drinker, I have a tough time understanding the pull of a site like this.
But I do agree with golfgirl —— people are looking for social networking sites that are more social. Whether this fits the bill or not, I have to give a solid “I have no idea…it just may be nutty enough, but I’ll never know.”
Good Idea. People some people will want to get away from the facebook myspace crowds of teens and socialize with people with the same interests. Might be a cool site for those uncomfortable going to a real bar. Lets see what happens.
Another news flash for you Foo: Not everyone lives in Manhattan…or Paris…or a place with decent bars. Again, it’s a big world out there, you inhabit a tiny little, rarefied piece of it.
yes, but this site has nothing to do with *actual* bars. they are virtual, so it doesn’t matter where you live.
from the looks of this it is just another social site, just like all the rest.
I thought it was a good site. I think it will do well. I see you all at Porkey’s. Ill give it a shot.
Cocktail isn’t exactly creating a new market segment here. Fubar.com already claims to be the online happy hour. A quick search reveals that the demographic using that social network is the least educated of all social networks. Fubar gets ~6M hits a month and it monetizes the traffic. Cocktail appears to be targeting the same niche. The question here isn’t whether Cocktail can replace Facebook or MySpace but rather if it can steal market share from the incumbent in the target market–Fubar. I’ve heard there is some user dissatisfaction with Fubar since they haven’t updated their site in quite a while, so we’ll have to see what happens.
WTF. ABSOLUTELY NOT INTUITIVE. OK, I wanted to sign up and go to a bar. Well, creating a bar is mandatory. HUH??
then I discovered how to get a satisfying user experience - the little X in the upper right corner.
Can I have those five minutes back?
The privacy policy is Lorum Ipsum. Awesome.
Great site, but how to get a good online dating?
The concep is great! the dsign is catching, lets wait for the final launch of the site, its going to be a crowd puller.
Get a life ppl, do a bbq with friends, get drunk, go to a bar, to a pub.. talk to ppl.. MINGLE b real please.. working with a computer or being involved in technology doesnt make you a complete social retard…
that website contributes to ppl getting dumber and dumber by the minute…
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