FitFinder was a social networking website primarily based in the United Kingdom. FitFinder is described by its creator, Rich Martell, as localised anonymous

microblogging Microblogging is a form of social network that permits only short posts. They "allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links",. Retrieved June 5, 2014 which may be the major reason for ...

. FitFinder is based on the concept of anonymously posting both a location and description of an attractive person whom one has spotted; this post is then immediately placed on the FitFeed, where it can be viewed by anyone.

Background

The concept of the FitFinder website was conceived by Rich Martell, a

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

studying at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(UCL). The website, launched in April 2010, was originally a joke between Martell and his rugby friends who would text each other when they spotted an attractive girl.The Times - FitFinder website helps undergraduates find love in the stacks
/ref> The website immediately spread and became instantly viral. In the first few hours the site had over 2,000 users and had to be taken down. Once the site was back online again, its popularity grew to nearly 20,000 visitors in the first weekend. The initial success was met with huge demand for the expansion of FitFinder to more universities across the UK. By the time the site was taken down the site was reported to have had over 250,000 users over several countries with more than 5 million page views.

Coverage

The FitFinder Network covered 52 UK universities, including Oxbridge, Durham University, UCL,

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

, Bath,

LSE LSE may refer to: Computing * LSE (programming language), a computer programming language * LSE, Latent sector error, a media assessment measure related to the hard disk drive storage technology * Language-Sensitive Editor, a text editor used ...

KCL Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide Salt (chemistry), salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous lustre, vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in wa ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, and most

Red Brick universities A red brick university (or redbrick university) was originally one of the nine civic universities founded in the major industrial cities of England in the 19th century. However, with the 1960s proliferation of plate glass universities and t ...

. Prior to its closure, Martell had said that FitFinder was going to be expanded outside of universities in the near future, possibly covering sporting events and music festivals.

Controversy

Because of the nature of the

user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...

on FitFinder, many commentators accused it of being offensive and inappropriate. Less than one week after the site went live, the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

emailed all their students warning them about the site. A number of complaints about the site prompted

JANET Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

, the UK network provider that serves universities, to block the site. The ban itself sparked more complaints, which led to its own reversal. In addition, UCL fined Martell for refusing to take the site down. On 28 May 2010, the FitFinder website was taken down because of "increasing pressure from universities" and the maximum fine UCL imposed on Martell for bringing the university into disrepute.

Floxx

In January 2011, Martell launched a new social network - this time called Floxx.TechCrunch on FitFinder's relaunch as Floxx
/ref> Floxx is designed to be more of a location platform which encourages location-based sharing.

References

Sources

PC Pro - Student forced to shut down FitFinder siteThe Chronicle - Matchmaking Site Brings Romance to British University Libraries

External links

FitFinderFloxx
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitfinder Geosocial networking Defunct online companies Defunct social networking services Internet properties established in 2010 2010 establishments in England