New site helps couples track and improve their relationships
A new startup aims to help couples better their relationships over time through discovery.
Image courtesy flickr.com/renneville
Social networks are notorious for causing relationship woes and dating sites have little to offer existing couples – can a specially designed online service actually help strengthen a couple’s love connection? San Francisco based startup, TheIceBreak, is about to find out. TheIceBreak is the first relationship service designed to help existing couples connect, communicate, and discover new things about their partners.
“Designed as a helpful and fun service for couples, TheIceBreak provides users with recommendations, relationship metrics, and incentives that enable them to improve their relationships over time. Whether you’re newly together, married or somewhere in between, TheIceBreak keeps your love life fresh and fun!”
Having now started its public beta program, TheIceBreak allows users to sign-up as individuals or as couples – both with the goal of improving their established relationship. Users are presented with a set of questions focused on the past week and their satisfaction with various aspects of their relationship: happiness, communication, support, fun, personal time, quality time and sex. These answers are kept private (even from one’s partner) and are intended to help the user gain perspective on how their feelings about their relationship change from week to week and how they compare to others using TheIceBreak. These stats are presented in a number of easy to read charts and percentage breakdowns.
In addition to offering analytics (which could certainly be depressing in some scenarios), the site also offers a number of tools intended to energize relationships through discovery and communication. The driving force of the site is the concept of “Icebreakers” (hence TheIceBreak.com), these Icebreakers are potentially telling questions presented to users. By answering Icebreakers users help their partner gain insight into their wants and needs – hopefully opening new lines of communication.
TheIceBreak also provides couples with a private wall they can use for posts as well as captured moments via photos and notes, a cozy social network of two – awww. Actions performed on the site, such as capturing moments or answering Icebreakers earn users “Date Night Coins”, these coins can then be redeemed for gifts and discounts. While the site has yet to add these gifts and discounts (it is only in beta after all), users can already collect coins – we’ll just have to wait and see what kind of love-loot Date Night Coins will buy.
Having taken a stroll through the beta I can say it’s certainly an interesting concept – will it work? I’m sure that it will for some couples – will it work for you? There’s only one way to find out. Head on over to TheIceBreak to sign-up, they haven’t made the sign-up forms international yet – so for now, save honesty for your partner and enter 90210 as your ZIP code.
What do you think? Will the tools offered by TheIceBreak help or hinder relationships in the long run?
Wow, sounds like the gamification of relationships. I can’t imagine comparing “how I’m doing” in my relationship with how others are doing. There might be some positives in there somewhere and I shouldn’t judge before trying it, but my Spidey-sense is tingling on this one!
Maybe for the weak of mind this is a good idea. Not having any particular experience in the area I asked my parents opinion on this blog to see if my repulsion was a valid response. It was confirmed by my parents in laughter and derision.
Since I was born every week without fail, my parents go on a date night. I babysit in exchange for no details and living privileges. That includes daily fridge and freezer rights and one extra large pizza on the night of lust.
Because we do not have the TV on until all hours, we all sit around and talk and play board games and/or read. My parents sit on the couch and laugh and giggle and then I leave the room, even though we cannot leave them alone for too long.
My Dad has taught me how invaluable it is to foster personal relationships as if it is new everyday. It takes strong commitment but they said it comes easier these many years later. They pay attention to each other they stare into each other’s eyes when they talk.
They also do not compare their relationship with anyone else. I know both my parents are very sound of mind and methodology and with all the divorce happening I will take after my parents. One day some stranger asked if muutherr was my sister, at hearing the question, my father turned around and bust a gut laughing, it cost him two dozen long stem roses. The stranger got a hug and the evil eye from his own wife.
Life and relationships are meant to be explored, never taken for granted or put on the back burning with saying like “…we’ll do that later….” later might be too late.