Two players of the online music trivia game ‘SongPop’ met each other in the real world and are now engaged to be married.
Millions who love music have flocked to the music trivia game SongPop. But two random competitors are taking their game to a whole new level: marriage.
Sara DeSpain and Nathan Purdom were playing SongPop on Facebook last summer and struck up an online conversation. After each game session – you hear a series of song clips and try to identify the artist or song faster than the other player – you can send a message to your competitor. They struck up a conversation. Using her profile picture, Purdom found DeSpain on Facebook and sent her a friend request. (Since then SongPop, which can also be played on mobile devices, has added a player locations to the game.)
“That is how it all happened because I was beating him more and more in SongPop so he had to know more about me,” says Sara DeSpain, 33, a self-described SongPop addict who owns a salon and day spa in Savanna, Ill., about 150 miles west of Chicago.
It turns out they lived only about 100 miles from each other, so they decided to meet face to face in September. “We connected immediately and we knew we were the ones for each other,” he says.
Purdom, 37, a surgical technician, proposed on Nov. 29 and DeSpain accepted. They plan to get married in May — they are yet to decide a wedding song. “I am very thankful that SongPop was on Facebook,” he says. “Even though she beats me constantly, we still enjoy playing against one another.”
The game, which is one of the most popular Facebook diversions, can be a place to flirt that was not the case with the couple. “I wasn’t even looking to date anyone and neither was he actually,” she says. “But thank god for SongPop, because I found my soul mate.”
Other games such as World of Warcraft have led to real-world teamups, but this is the first official wedding to be facilitated through SongPop, as far as developer Fresh Planet knows. “We created the game because we love music and the connection it provides- especially when there’s a bit of fun competition in the mix,” says CEO Mathieu Nouzareth, who founded the 16-person New York-based company. “In Sara and Nathan’s case, we were thrilled to hear how it had changed the course of their lives!”
source: USA Today