HowRandom, a site for college students, launches today with one core feature &8212' the ability to anonymously chat with people from other schools. There&'s no photo uploading, file sharing or video capabilities, just a text entry line and a chat widget.

The student on student communication happens on two levels, a test function where you casually enter in your school (warning, you have to type the full word &''University&'') and a verified function which allows you to type in your .edu address in order to get &''Verified&'' as a bona fide college student.

Explains founder Jon Cook, &''It�a4���a4�s a way for guys at Harvard to meet girls at Yale, etc. And it�a4���a4�s not intrusive. HowRandom has a very solid viral loop. It has the Facebook-like .edu exclusivity. And it�a4���a4�s extremely simple to use.&''

Cook and co-founder Jason Humphries think of HowRandom as more of a social experiment than a business. They hope it will mirror the randomness of life and &''foster real-world meetings and interactions between two people that might otherwise never meet. �a4���� Like a text-based Chatroulette with no penis problem, there&'s also a next feature in case you don&'t like who you&'re chatting with.

Cook says he wants to keep evolving the app through user feedback, and is considering including limited profile option along with the &''Verified&'' logo.

Facebook initially restricted its users to college students with .edu addresses and that element was crucial to its success, this is also HowRandom&'s hook. Colleges are hotbeds of virality in more ways than one, and starting off there is a good move for any social app.