????我將鼠標向下一拉，電腦上出現(xiàn)了一整頁“欲望清單”：“我想到小星星披薩店（Little Star Pizza）里吃深盤披薩?！薄拔蚁氲紸merican Cupcake蛋糕店去吃胡羅卜蛋糕?！薄拔蚁氲紸sellina餐廳吃奶酪?！睍r間到了正午，我的肚子也開始咕咕叫了。

????這并不是推薦餐廳的網站，也不是食譜網站。這是Spoondate，一個專為吃貨們準備的在線約會網絡。

????這家網站的運作機制是這樣的：用戶用Facebook的賬號進行登錄，然后根據自己的飲食口味建立一個個人檔案。網站會給出一些基本的問題和提示，比如“如果我有25美元的就餐預算，我會……”“我的‘食物人格’是……”“除了美食之外，我還喜歡……”等等。在頁面最上方，有一個大大的文字輸入框，詢問：“你現(xiàn)在最渴望吃什么？”有點像Facebook的狀態(tài)更新功能。其它用戶可以對你的“渴望”進行評論（如“好吃！”“想吃！”等等）。當然，他們也可以為契機，打破僵局，約你出去一起大塊朵頤。

????Spoondate成立于美國舊金山，它的創(chuàng)始人瑞莎?內比是華爾街資深人士，由于需要頻繁出差，因此她很多時候只能一個人孤零零地吃飯。在一次出差的時候，內比在一家餐廳吃飯，一個人點了好幾道菜，郁郁寡歡地吃了飯，還要一個人負擔整頓飯的費用。“一個人吃飯實在太郁悶了，”她說。三年后，她結束了在法國某烹飪學校的工作，從500創(chuàng)投（500 Startups）和Initio Group等風投機構那里拉到了種子基金，創(chuàng)立了Spoondate，旨在給孤單的老饕們找個伴兒。

????不過給吃貨們牽線搭橋的并非只有Spoondate一家。Spoondate預定于美國勞動節(jié)（九月的第一個星期一——譯注）之后的第一周正式上線，將與GrubWithUs.com和HowAboutWe.com展開針鋒相的競爭。這兩家網站也是旨在通過主打“活動牌”，以消除在線交友的尷尬。交友網站的競爭已經日趨激烈，除了行業(yè)三巨頭eHarmony.com, Match.com和Plentyoffish.com之外，現(xiàn)在市面上還有很多專門針對特定群體的小眾交友網站。比如基于宗教的Jdate.com；基于年齡的Seniorpeoplemeet.com；基于性別的Manhunt.net和Ashleymadison.com等。

????在線交友行業(yè)咨詢及分析網站OnlineDatingPost.com的編輯大衛(wèi)?伊萬斯指出，美國排名前五位的交友網站吸引了大量的用戶，同時也獲得了大量收益。例如由風投資助的eHarmony.com的年收入據說達到了2.5億美元。而規(guī)模稍小的交友網站則處境艱難，要想維持住30,000到40,000的用戶群還得靠花錢打廣告。但這并不意味著這些新生的交友網站就無法給投資人帶來回報。比如今年年初，專門利用古怪的調查測驗來吸引用戶的Okcupid.com就被Match.com的東家IAC（InterActiveCorp）公司以5,000萬美元的價格收購。

????目前，Spoondate主要著眼于建立用戶群。內比和她的三人團隊將密切注視所有用戶發(fā)布的“渴望”，以保證質量，避免垃圾信息。（Spoondate將在舊金山開張，然后從那里開始進行病毒式擴張。）另外他們的理念很新鮮，而且這個網站也具有廣闊的增長前景。用戶既可以在網站上約網友見面，也可以尋找一個柏拉圖式的“飯搭子”。此外這個網站還收集了大量關于用戶飲食習慣和他們最喜歡的餐廳的信息，因此可以主打定位型型或優(yōu)惠交易型廣告，盈利前景頗豐。

????不過盡管理念出色，設計清晰，但Spoondate還缺少一樣重要的東西——成功的典型案例。內比稱，過去幾個月里，有1,000人試用了這個網站的測試版本，但其中只有30個人左右一直堅持更新他們的“渴望”。而在這30來個人里，真的去與“吃友”見面的只有3個人，而他們的關系也僅僅止步于“吃友關系”。如果Spoondate希望繼續(xù)保持增長的話，它還需要進一步帶動用戶的長期參與。

????譯者：樸成奎

????I'm guiding my cursor down a page of cravings: "I'm craving deep dish at Little Star Pizza." "I'm craving carrot cupcakes at American Cupcake." "I'm craving oh-so-creamy burrata at Asellina Ristorante." It's nearly noon; my stomach yelps.

????This isn't a restaurant recommendation or recipe web site, though. It's Spoondate, a new online dating network for foodies.

????It works like this: users sign in using their Facebook account and sketch a profile of themselves based on culinary preferences. Basic questions and prompts include 'With a $25 meal allowance, I would...,' 'My food personality is...,' 'In addition to food, I enjoy...' At the top of the page a big box asks, "What are you craving?" These cravings are similar to Facebook's status updates. Other users can comment on cravings (Yum!, Crave It!) or simply use them to break the ice and potentially meet up to satiate appetites.

????The San Francisco-based Spoondate is the creation of Raissa Nebie, a Wall Street veteran who is no stranger to business trips peppered with lonely meals. During one of those trips, Nebie enjoyed several courses at a restaurant, companionless, only to have the owner pick up the check for the entire the meal -- out of pity. "It's depressing to eat alone," she recalls. Three years later, after a stint at culinary school in France, she's got seed funding from 500 Startups and the Initio Group to try to help out other lonely diners across the country.

????Spoondate won't be alone, though. The site, which is slated to launch the week after Labor Day, will compete directly with GrubWithUs.com and HowAboutWe.com, both of which aim to take the awkwardness out of online dating with an activity-friendly premise. The site is launching in the midst of a plethora of niche dating sites. Networks based on religion (Jdate.com), age (Seniorpeoplemeet.com) and sex (Manhunt.net, Ashleymadison.com) have flourished to supplement industry giants eHarmony.com, Match.com and Plentyoffish.com.

????David Evans, the editor of OnlineDatingPost.com, says the top five U.S. sites attract the lion's share of users and revenue. The venture-backed eHarmony.com is reported to throw off about $250 million in annual revenue for instance. Smaller sites, meanwhile, find themselves having to pay to buy ads to maintain user bases of just 30,000 to 40,000, according to Evans. But that doesn't mean fledgling sites can't pay off for investors. Earlier this year, Okcupid.com, started in 2004 using quirky surveys and polls to attract users, was acquired by Match.com owner IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) for $50 million.

????For now, Spoondate is focused on building an audience. Nebie and her team of three intend to closely monitor all posted cravings, ensuring that they are referencing real food and real places in a bid to maintain quality and defend against spam. (The site will start in San Francisco and expand virally from there.) They are also counting on their fresh idea and the site's broad appeal for growth. Users can use it to find a casual date or a platonic meal partner. And the wealth of information about users' eating habits and favorite restaurants could lead to a lucrative location-targeted or deals-based advertising model.

????But despite a clever premise and a clean design, Spoondate is still missing one big feature: a success story. Of the 1,000 people using a beta version of the site over the past few months, only 30 or so serially update their cravings. Of those, just three have actually gone on Spoondates. All ended in "food friendship," according to Nebie. If Spoondate hopes to grow, it's going to have to lead to more than a few long-term engagements.