Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Foursquare, Tumblr, LinkedIn – all of these help you stay connected with your friends. But in our ever-increasingly digital world, where are you supposed to go to find new friends?
Alex Capacelatro, a graduate of UCLA, founder and CEO of atthepool.com, presents a new digital option to the BYU campus that is designed to help students connect with other students across campus and all it involves is a quick trip to the pool.
“You’re at a big school, surrounded by people who you are going to have connections with for the rest of your life,” said Capecelatro in a phone interview. “With all those students, there are lots of people whom you will never meet. ‘At The Pool’ lets you make good relationships with people who have different interests but interests similar to yours and you connect with them online.”
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“The site is set up to help you find people around you that are like-minded and to develop a community of people that share those interests,” Capacelatro said.
The list of interests the website can sort through is extensive. If your interest ranges from anime or bacon to yoga or hiking, there is a pool to connect with.
“We feel society isn’t as social as it should be; it’s tough meeting new people, and we’re working to change that,” Capecelatro said. “Think of us like the host of a party – someone who knows both of you, what you’re into, where you’re from and more. Like any good host, we make an introduction because we know you’ll get along.”
Unlike many other websites offering connections to relative strangers, Capecelatro wants to make one thing certain.
“This is not a dating website,” he said.
The website has mobile apps available for Apple and Android products. The mobile site allows for communication on the go, with more features such as GPS location settings in production.
“As of now, we’re more web-centered,” Capecelatro said. “We don’t want people having to be on their phones the whole time they are hanging out with their new friends.”
Students can access the site by going to atthepool.com or by clicking the link. At the homepage, request an invite and enter the code, “BYU” to set up a profile.
