FixMeUp is a new dating/matchmaking application for Facebook that utilizes the connections and the relationships that you already have to help you make the new ones that you want.

By now, you or someone you know has tried an online dating service – and let’s all be honest, it’s a pretty strange scene. From being propositioned by strangers behind murky images to trying in vain to pull off a three-line text-message pick-up, the online dating market has been in chaos, with more disappointments and failures than successes. Many of these sites boil dating down to a virtual people auction that often leaves users feeling vulnerable, confused, and disconnected – and a little more lonely than when they started.

But now, there’s a new option: FixMeUp, a dating/matchmaking application for Facebook! Everyone loves to try to set their friends up, and who better to help you pick your next date than a mutual friend? FixMeUp utilizes the connections and the relationships that you already have to help you make the new ones that you want.

There’s been a lot of talk about the power of Facebook’s “Second Circle of Friends,” which has been used successfully by advertisers and other professional networks. FixMeUp proposes, “Why not use these circles for a truly worthwhile cause, like finding love?”

FixMeUp’s solution, just like in real life, is to get people together through matchmakers – and who better for this role than your friends who actually know you? Inside the application, the user is invited to choose if he or she wants to be a “Dater”, a “Cupid” (i.e. a matchmaker), or both.  From this moment on, the games begin. Through FixMeUp, the search for love online can be social and entertaining, while keeping the search honest and real so that you can find something real. A proposed match can come from either the Daters themselves or from the Cupids. If you want to be set up with someone, you just need a mutual friend, and, as you probably know from experience, this makes your chances of success much, much higher.

There is even a bit of an incentive system in place. The more people that you fix up as a Cupid, the better your reputation and you’ll gain recognition for being a great Cupid and a good friend.

As a Dater in FixMeUp you get the opportunity to get to know your friends’ friends by browsing through your “Second Circle of Friends” on Facebook. That way: (1) you already have a friend in common, (2) you can ask your friend to make the introduction and recommend you, and (3) you’re both vetted! No more spinning roulette with “sick-o’s”, “weird-o’s” or “lame-o’s” – unless, you know… you’re into that sort of thing (no judgements, just leave a comment below and I’ll friend you on Facebook ;))

There is a great video that explains the concept below.

And be sure to get the app via Facebook here: FixMeUp App – and fix up your next date today!

Andrew Garde Joia is a freelance writer, business consultant, and web design professional. Actively involved in the New York Startup Technology scene, he is a regular volunteer with Ultralight Startups NYC and is the Managing Director for Customer Relations at Bedphones – The Headphones Designed for Sleep. To find out more about Andrew, visit his About.Me.