The site is often called the ‘Facebook for sex’ and has supposedly become the fourth largest social networking site.
A survey of nearly 85,000 Badoo users in Britain revealed that 30% of users had "met someone for sex" through the site, reports the Daily Mail.
Users have the ability to simply use it as a social networking site or to meet new people. On the homepage faces of people appear with the options of ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘maybe’.
A female French user of the social site said on Badoo’s official blog: "People tend to be afraid of the Internet but Badoo, which to me is something between a dating site and a friendly chatting platform is a good way to familiarise yourself with these new ways of communicating and making connections."
The website is based in London but has become very popular in Southern European Countries and Latin America.
"Some guys and girls are after a one-night stand, that’s human nature, just like in real life. But if you’re not interested you can just say that straight away and avoid any misunderstandings," she added.
The owner, Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev, told LeWeb, a popular blogging and web world conference, that he thought of the idea of Badoo from a Moscow café where people sat at individual tables with their own telephone and a number displayed. After looking around if people wanted to meet someone they dialled that person’s telephone number. The queue to the cafe eventually was always out the door and Andreev thought this idea would be great if applied to the web.
The social networking site is certainly on a roll as it has just been shortlisted for the Best Social Network Award for this year’s 5th Annual Mashable awards along with wins and nominations from TechMark Awards and the Daily Telegraph’s StartUp 100 in 2011.
