the website live in November, HowRandom had 6,000 registered users (with verified “.edu” e-mail addresses), Cook says, and the users had exchanged more than 50,000 text messages. The website had about 35,000 visitors last month.
As currently designed, however, it is not possible for two users to re-connect on HowRandom after their online conversation has ended. They could agree during their chat to exchange e-mails or even arrange to become friends on Facebook or another social networking site, Cook says. Having random online conversations is what makes HowRandom something of a social experiment in promoting real-world interactions between two people who might otherwise never meet
Still, HowRandom could evolve in ways that will encourage users to share their personal information themselves. Creating a profile box that attaches to each user, for example, would encourage users to share details about themselves. It also might be possible to enable certain users to re-connect, although Cook says, “We’re still trying to figure out ways to do that. It might be something like adding a ‘friend’ or ‘network’ button that could be used to add someone to a list.”
Asked how the startup will make money, Cook said, “The niche is for college students and we’ll monetize it on that niche.” He said no subscription fees would be imposed to join HowRandom, and the startup does not plan to share its membership list with online marketing firms, at least without first eliminating their personal information.
Cook says he got the idea for HowRandom while he and Humphries were developing Veribu, a South Carolina startup offering a free online communication platform for performing video chats, phone calls, and text messages. “When we first started Veribu, you had to have a “.edu” e-mail address to join, and advertisers really liked that,” Cook explained. As a result, HowRandom encourages users to verify their “.edu” address, which enables the company to show its advertisers where its users are located.
“We’ve already had a few people contact us who want to advertise on our website,” Cook says. In the meantime, Cook is laying out a timeline for HowRandom to visit colleges and universities as a way to expand its subscriber base. For the next year, he says, “It’s pretty simple in terms of where we are and where we want to be.”
