Tinder’s New App Is Not What You’d Expect

Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps out there. Swipe left, and you send potential matches into a "Nope" bin; swipe right, and you're maybe getting somewhere. Now, Tinder is taking its swipe-happy smarts in a decidedly platonic direction, with a new networking app. Unfortunately, it's the Forbes Under-30 app, which means most of us mere mortals won't be able to use it. Designed for social networking, the exclusive tool is only available to the 2,000 or so individuals who have been featured in Forbes' "30 Under 30" lists to date. It features much of what you'd expect from a social app: an activity feed, messaging, notifications, member directories, and chances for business networking. But it also includes Tinder-powered speed networking. App users can swipe to see members of any sex along with a description of the person and what industry he or she works in. The app is designed to "better connect, empower, and mobilize this community to help change the world," Salah Zalatimo, Forbes' head of mobile products, said in a statement. But what about the rest of us who want to change the world? Tinder doesn't plan to ditch its matchmaking roots any time soon. In an interview with TechCrunch, co-founder Sean Rad said business networking is “not core to our strategy right now" but that the company "think[s] about meeting people as sort of a general challenge. We don’t want to solve it for just one [form of relationship]." So, it sounds like we could expect some more diverse snap-judgment swiping in our futures. For now, though, most of us will just have to stick with swiping away unsuitable suitors (until we make that "30 Under 30" list, that is).