What the FAQ ?

Why am I so good looking?
I don’t know, but that’s why we’re friends.

Why is Pingwheel so good looking?
Because you're on it, and you bring out the best in us.

What does Pingwheel mean?
Pingwheel is a play on words, combining ping (tech talk meaning "to message") and pinwheel, the colorful spinning paper toy from childhood. We thought naming ourselves after a colorful child's toy highlighted the color-coded elements of our site, and showed off the company's playfulness (and quite frankly, chattiness).

What is Pingwheel?
We are a search engine for people and their interests.

What does Pingwheel do?
We help you make local friends with common interests. We’re almost like a search engine for people, and in less time than it takes to shake a person’s hand, we tell you everything that you have in common with them.

Is Pingwheel free?
Yes! And we’re staying free too.

Thank GOD! I’m broke.
Don’t feel bad, we are too! We still live on our founder’s garage.

How it Works

How do I join? You click the join button on the home page.

Then what? Then you give us some personal information like your birthday and location. It will protected in a vault so don’t worry about anyone stealing it, but we need it to help introduce you to the right people.

What’s the age bracket? It’s a sliding scale of age that helps you keep out the creepers! Anyone outside of your bracket won’t be able to see your profile, and vice-versa. So now you have a legitimate excuse why you’re not friends with your parents and grandparents on Pingwheel. You’re welcome.

Some of questions don’t apply. Do I have to answer them? It’s alright to leave some answers blank, but the more you answer, the more people we’ll be able to suggest.

What are TICs? TICs stand for things-in-common. They are interactive, color-coded graphical representations of your common interests. There are six types of TICs: school, work, hobbies, interests, background and personal. Basically, we organized all the questions at the beginning into six distinct groups. And when we find someone nearby with something in common with you, we display the corresponding TIC on their profile. Because it’s color coded, you’ll immediately know that someone with an orange TIC has a hobby in common with you, or someone with a green TIC has work in common.

So the entire recommendation process is personalized? Absolutely! If you sign onto your friend’s Pingwheel profile (not that we encourage it), you’ll likely see completely different set of TICs even if you’re looking at the same person.

A lot goes on behind the scenes to bring you the best people for you, but we can’t share everything, can we?

What is a TIC+ (pronounced TIC plus)?
Good job! See these are the perks of reading our FAQs. We have a special feature called TIC+ that we are keeping low key. We created TIC+ for people who are looking for a very specific thing in common. The TIC+ tells us that this is important to you, so we prioritizepeople who share this common interest.

How do I make a TIC+?
It’s simple! When you edit your profile, you have the option of double-clicking on any answer. It should change colors. That’s it! Now when we show local users on the homepage, you’ll notice that some may have a TIC+ on their profiles. Because you know what question applies to the TIC+, you’ll immediately know what you guys have in common.

Am I limited to the number of TIC+?
Yes. With great power, comes greatly irritating limitations. We allow one TIC+ for all the TIC groups except for Hobbies and Interest, which are allowed 3 each.

Can I search based on each TIC?
Of course! On the top right-hand side of the homepage, there is a chart that says Search by TICs. Simply click on your desired TIC and we will filter the search that way.

Does location count? Yes it does.

Can I search other cities, even if I’m not currently located in it?
Absolutely. We created Pingwheel to help you develop roots in a new city. So if you’re readying for a big move, why not start meeting people before you get there?

WOW! What other secrets does Pingwheel hold?
Ahhh, we can’t tell you unfortunately. But they’requietly lurking, waiting for eager users to share them. Of course, if you buy us some chicken wings, we may be susceptible to bribery.


If I send you an email, will you respond to it?
It depends what the email contains. But we will definitely read it.

What is that little symbol under your logo?
It means we’re in beta, so please forgive us if you catch some glitches. We’re a startup, after all.

Pingwheel is running slow/not working. What do I do?
Our apologies in advance. As a startup, sudden growth is very hard to anticipate. Know that we’re doing everything we can to keep it speedy and provide the best experience possible.

About Pingwheel

When is your birthday?
September 9, 2014.

Why is Pingwheel so tan?
Because we’re born and bred in Miami, Florida.

Do you speak any other languages?
Claro! We’ll be showcasing them very soon, so keep visiting us!

If Pingwheel were a celebrity couple, who would it be?

I have a business or media inquiry. How do I contact Pingwheel?
That’s excellent! We’d love to hear from you. You can reach us via our contact page, or directly at contact@pingwheel.com

Ping Wheel          Ping Wheel          Ping Wheel          Ping Wheel