Bang With Friends

As many people know a new website was launched last week called bangwithfriends.com. The purpose of the website is to allow an anonymous way to see if any of your facebook friends would be interested in hooking up. The format is simple, you simply go to the website and allow it to connect to your Facebook, the website then brings up all your friends with their names and photos. You click the ones you’d like to “bang” and if they pick you also you both get a notice. Pretty simple and straightforward.

Unfortunately, the website is incredibly crass, sexist, and obviously targeted at college age heterosexual men, a demographic that is already comfortable with the one-night stand scenario. In order for this website to work it needs to appeal to a wider audience with a focus on safety, anonymity, and removal of the borderline pornographic images that flood the site.

I think there is a huge market for a website like this that would allow friends to add a sexual element to their relationship without the risk of rejection. After talking to two female friends they also mentioned it would provide women of that age an opportunity to experiment sexually beyond heterosexuality in a way that won’t risk their social standing. I also see a market for things beyond sex… like options for “go on a date”, “cuddle with while watching a movie”, “make out with”, or whatever. Intimacy is much more than “banging”.

I have used the website a bit (though I don’t think any of my connections would be shocked if I picked them given my views on sex and intimacy) and I think it may signify a new market. With the world increasingly becoming entertainment, relationship, and information economies there will be increased demand for experimentation in our social habits. While the website is juvenile I think it shows a market demand that can be filled by something more professional done that actually empowers people to have new experiences and reach their potential.