When it comes to apps for meeting new friends, nothing compares to Crossed, the latest social networking app taking college campuses by storm. At a time when many young people are turning away from the cynical dating apps of the past, Crossed helps them find the genuine, real-world connections they are looking for.
The story of how Crossed was born starts in an unlikely place: on the roof of a parking garage.
A Pivotal Introduction Lays the Groundwork for the Crossed App
Crossed co-founders Manny Manzel and Conor Crighton come from vastly different parts of the world. While Manzel hails from the skyscraper maze of New York City, Crighton grew up in the tropical paradise of the Cayman Islands.
Both attended the same university, yet they studied different things. Crighton was the business guy, and Manzel was on track to attend law school. They moved in similar social circles but didn’t connect until their senior year when a mutual friend introduced them to each other.
Crighton and Manzel formed a fast friendship, spending time together almost every day. “We got meals together or walked to class,” Crighton says. “We’d go out on the weekends.”
“It’s crazy how a single introduction changed it all,” Manzel says. “We laugh about that now. Imagine what would have happened if we had gotten to know each other sooner!”
One Saturday night, Manzel and Crighton were taking in the view from the roof of a parking garage when they began discussing something else they had in common: their dislike of the social networking apps of the day.
The Inspiration for a New, Better Social Networking App
Manzel and Crighton had a lot of beef with established meat-market apps like Tinder and Hinge.
“It’s demoralizing to make split-second decisions about people based solely on their photos,” Manzel says. “Plus, all that swiping is exhausting.”
Indeed, research has found that as many as 78 percent of users characterize themselves as being fatigued or burnt out from these apps.
“Another problem was that our friends would get excited about someone on these apps just to learn later that they lived far away or it was a fake profile,” Crighton remembers.
Indeed, conventional social networking apps are teeming with catfish, profiles in which people masquerade as someone else. Moreover, many people on conventional social media apps aren’t actually interested in meeting. According to a survey, half of the people on Tinder say they aren’t willing to meet others in person, and almost two-thirds admit to already being in relationships.
“That Saturday night, we started asking ourselves if technology could do better, if there could be a new kind of app that would bridge the online and offline worlds more effectively,” Manzel says.
That was how the initial spark that became Crossed was lit.
The Making of Crossed
Manzel and Crighton might still have been in college, but they threw themselves into developing their next-generation social networking app.
“We stayed up until 4 a.m. every night, working on designs and features,” Manzel recalls.
The result is Crossed, the app for people who want to make friends and meet people in the real world.
“Our app introduces people to others who go to the same places and do the same things,” Crighton explains. “It helps you connect with those you might see on a regular basis but who you would never get a chance to meet otherwise.”
For instance, if you enjoy travel, Crossed can introduce you to the other people sitting at the gate in the airport. If you walk your dog every day, Crossed can help you put a name to the faces of other dog walkers. If you enjoy cadging lunch at the public market, Crossed can connect you with your fellow diners.
Notably, Crossed is becoming increasingly popular at colleges and universities. Orientation staff use it to help new students meet each other, while staff members in residence halls use it to help students get to know their neighbors. Teachers use it to form study groups, and clubs use it to help their members get to know each other more quickly.
How can one app do all this? Crossed deploys state-of-the-art geolocation technology to forge authentic human relationships. When two users on the app come within 500 feet of each other, it notifies them about the potential connection.
Moreover, Crossed has three separate modes that ensure users find the connections they most want. While one is dedicated to finding friends, the second is for professional networking, and the third serves as a dating app. People can choose to participate in just one, two, or all three, depending on how they would like to expand their social circles.
A Bigger, Brighter Future with Crossed
A single introduction changed the course of Manzel and Crighton’s entire lives. “This demonstrates how important friendships and relationships of all kinds can be,” says Manzel. “Having Crossed on your phone is like having a constant companion dedicated to connecting you to the right people. As a result, your future has never been bigger and brighter.”
If you would like to gain new friends, expand your professional contacts, and potentially even find the love of your life, you can try the Crossed community today.
