What can I use this tool for?

This is a people discovery service, implemented through customizable private matching instances. The end goal is to help you find the people who are most valuable to you. We do this by helping you match up with candidates from a pre-selected group of people

Why do I need to create a group to search for people?

It is hard to imagine that you can make it work if we connect you to someone that is hard to interact with. Plus, the matching that we do might not include all the dimensions on which a great team interacts (such as the personal, experiential component).
For this reason, we require you to pre-select and bring along a set of candidates that will be matched against each other.

Why use this service since I already know the people I invited into my search group?

Unless you discuss seriously and actively interact with the people you are targeting, it is unlikely to discover strong shared interests on which you can build a long-lasting partnership.
Our assumption is that you know the people to some degree (for instance by visiting their LinkedIn profile), but because everyone keeps their interests and availability private, we created a conduit for an anonymous matching of private interests

Do I need to create my own "search group"? Or can I join one that is already there ?

If YOU are looking for specific people with certain interests/goals/etc, then YOU are the search initiator, and you will need to create (and manage) your own search group. You also need to invite people into the search, otherwise there will be no one to search from.
There might already be some groups available that are managed by other people - but unless they specifically invited you to participate in their searches, it's likely that a connection to those people will have less value and potential and likelihood of leading to a real collaboration or partnership.
You should start your own search group.

Where do I find the people to invite into a "search group"?

Target people who you can meet, who have common interests, similar background, etc. Find them amongst your classmates, at Meetups, and other events.

What level of relationship do I need to have with those people to convince them to join and share their "secrets" (a.k.a private interests) ?

We designed the system to make the decision of exposing people's private interests really easy:

• all the revealed interests are kept private from everyone else,
• even the participation of the person it is kept private,
• the only thing revealed is when two interests from two private profiles match up, in which case we make available a way to request a connection between the two matched up people.

What should I participate and reveal my private interests and goals ?

This is your communication, signaling, self-promotion channel: you can search and interact with others completely on your terms, without being publicly judged. The philosophy of it, to paraphrase Descartes, is: I participate, therefore I exist

What about using LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a public, more permanent profile available for browsing. It is a "directory model"
We believe that a limited scope, limited-timeframe, "private matching" model is more effective to help active networkers discover people with whom they can build a strong partnership.

Why do groups expire?

People's interests change. Opportunities to pursue something come and go. And in order to have match results that are fresh (and therefore valuable, and actionable), we expire all search group instances that you start, in two weeks.
If you believe you need to keep the group live and to preserve people's interests for longer, we ask you to pay for that service. Send email to payments@Serendipify.Me for further details.

What about my data privacy?

Your privacy is guaranteed. We do not leak ANY of your information.

1. The account you create on our site requires minimum information. A user name (any name), and an email (any email that you can read) will protect your privacy.
2. Nobody sees what you list as interests in your profile for the group. Only you see that information. And when there is a match, the counter-party of that match only sees the terms (interests) that are matching, and a generic "Matched Person" to contact you by. Only when you respond to the contact request email, they will be able to see who you are (username, email).
3. When the "search group" instance expires, we delete all the group-related information. Your account is still up, you can use it to participate in new groups.

We don't use advertisements to support this service, so you won't get targeted by any external "partners". We don't sell your information. Period.
We're here to help you find connections, in a private fashion - and since your privacy is valuable to you, we'll have to charge for the service at some point.
Having your trust is the most important thing to us. We'd rather shut down the service if it becomes financially unsustainable -- that's our promise to you.