😘 A Boston-based app made for Fourplay

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🍩 So … the DunKings released a song. “Don’t Dunk Away at My Heart (The DunKings)” is available on Spotify for your listening pleasure (albeit, “pleasure” seems generous). Our review: It’s about two minutes too long, but has major earworm potential.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Officials reflect on the snowmergency

• A rush hour traffic solution

• Meet your new librarian: Fabio

Up first…

LOVE IN BOSTON

Happy Singles Awareness Day!

Strike out yesterday? There’s an app for that. Really, there are around 1,500 of them.

Nearly 50% of folks under 30 have used a dating app or site to find love, with apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge leading the pack. But swiping through curated profiles and in-app conversations that lead to nowhere is causing some major dating burnout. 

These three Boston-based apps are looking to break the doom-swiping cycle:

👯 Fourplay is solving for bad dates with double dates. Think: Instead of making a dating profile for just yourself, you and your bestie make one together to match with other duos. “We use the double date solution to make dating a healthier experience,” said Danielle Dietzek, co-founder of Fourplay. By going out as a group, it’s “physically safer and emotionally and socially better,” she said. 

📱 How does it work? Assembling a profile is very similar to other apps (just with two people), and you’re limited to seeing only 30 teams a day so you can give other pairs’ profiles a close read. Dietzek thinks being single is hard enough, so whether the date ends in romance or is just a fun night out with friends, to her, “it’s a win win.” You can get a glimpse of what it looks like here.

🏃💨 Lola is trying to bring couples IRL ASAP. “You can get into the same track of getting lost in the dating app itself and stuck on your screen,” said Lola CEO Gertrude Allen. And then there’s the added fun of ghosting, catfishing, and matching with others who have mismatched intentions. So Lola is keeping your options open only to those who are also available. 

📱 How does it work? You select which days you’re available to go out that week and are matched with people who have the same availability (yes, you can only talk to up to five people at once!). Post-date, you can score your experience and give feedback using keywords that Lola’s algorithm will use to hopefully find you a better match. Plus, you can’t keep chatting in the app post-date, so exchange those numbers! The actual matching on Lola starts soon, so you can start building your profile here.

🎥 PreVue is keeping it as real as possible. “Users always think there’s another option out there,” said Luke Grady, the founder of PreVue, “so they build their profiles around quantity, not quality.” To stop users getting their first impression of someone’s profile from their job title or astrological sign, PreVue asks users to film a 22-second, unfiltered, unedited video of themselves explaining who they are and what they’re looking for.  

📱 How does it work? If you like someone’s video and they like yours, it’s a match! And Grady knows that filming yourself can be nerve wracking, so you’re allowed to record as many times as you’d like. Plus, PreVue makes you change your video every six months as things like your hair color, voice, and appearance can also change. You can learn more here. 

QUICK QUESTION

 👀 Which dating app sounds most interesting to you?

TOGETHER WITH THE BOSTON OUTDOOR EXPO

Don’t let the snow fool you…

🏕️🌱 Outdoor season is just around the corner. Get ready for warm-weather activities like beach trips, hiking, and biking at the Outdoor Expo on April 27 and 28 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. From camping essentials, to water sports equipment, interactive workshops, and engaging speakers, you'll find everything you need to kick-start your spring and summer adventures. Grab your free tickets online using code BSIDE (but hurry, this offer only lasts until the end of February).

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

☃️ Officials are reflecting on our false snowmergency. The Twitter (X) mob was rightfully miffed this week after Tuesday’s projected blockbuster storm turned out to be a bust (at least for those of us in Boston). Mayor Michelle Wu explained the city’s decisions regarding snow are made with convenience for families and commuters and the current best projections in mind. Meanwhile, meteorologist Dave Epstein explained how increased forecasting accuracy has put more pressures on meteorologists to always be right.

🚗 How do you solve a problem like rush hour traffic? In a meeting on Wednesday, the City Council considered the possibility of implementing congestion pricing in Boston — the practice of charging higher tolls during rush hour in order to dissuade drivers while generating extra revenue for the city. However, those who are less enthusiastic about the plan argue that until the MBTA is fully functional and reliable, it’d be an unfair burden on commuters, especially those who have little control over when they commute.

✊🏿 Frederick Douglass is coming to the State House. In statue form, that is. A commissioned bust of the abolitionist with deep Mass. connections was unveiled in the Mass. Senate Chamber yesterday, where it will sit alongside the six other busts of important historical figures currently displayed there (all of whom are white men). The decision comes as part of an effort by Senate President Karen Spilka to diversify historical representation in the State House, and a woman’s bust is planned to join Douglass and the others soon.

🧊 If we can’t have snow, at least we can have … ice? Ice sculptures, anyway. Today from 11 a.m. to dusk, 15 institutions in the Longwood Medical Area are hosting a free ice sculpture stroll. At each location, there will be a unique ice sculpture for viewing, and at two special stops, you can catch free ice carving demonstrations and complimentary hot cocoa and coffee. Check out the entire map here.

ONE LAST THING

The library’s newest volunteer

If you head to the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy this month, you might notice a new face. Enter: Fabio.

As a way to promote their paperback romance collection, the library decided to order a life-sized cardboard cutout of the iconic Italian model shirtless and holding a chain, in addition to making custom Fabio bookmarks and pins. And let’s just say … It worked.

In the time since, Fabio has been seen working the circulation desk (literally), gazing at patrons as they browse for romance, and helping library-goers search for books in their database.

Word on the street is, Fabio will be hanging out at the library until the end of the month, at which point we can only assume he’ll go back to Italy.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🔥 Thanks for reading! I’d make the trek to Quincy just to get my hands on one of those bookmarks.

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, The Boston Outdoor Expo, for supporting local journalism and helping locals gear up for a summer of adventure. 

📚 The results are in: Most B-Siders (56%!) have been on the romance bandwagon for a while. One reader even gave a local recommendation: “The STEM-romances by Ali Hazelwood slay ... her book, ‘Love, Theoretically,’ is even set in Boston!”

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].