An app has been released that lets you crowdsource for conversation starters and tips during a date.
Crowdpilot streams live audio of a conversation to a group of people – whether anonymous listeners or Facebook friends – who give you their advice and pointers via message.
The app was created by New York-based artist and software developer Lauren McCarthy, who said:
“Crowdpilot lets you crowdsource your conversations by inviting a group of people to listen in and give you suggestions in real time.
“I see the possibility of having this networked hivemind that weighs in on your decisions, like having a ‘wingman’ in a bar.”
While researching the app, she did some blind date experiments, with others listening in from Amazon’s work marketplace Mechanical Turk.
Available for iPhone, Crowdpilot lets users choose the type of situation they are in, whether “Date”, “Consolation”,“Family gathering” or “Argument”.
Users choose whether to invite Facebook friends, open it up to anonymous listeners on the Crowdpilot site, or pay $0.99 for a hired assistant from Amazon Mechanical Turk.
McCarthy stresses that one must warn other parties that their conversation is being streamed.
She does not see the app as profit-making venture, but rather a social experiment that is “a way to be critical” about people’s social habits which they may not be aware of.
Download the app here, and watch their promo video below: