dating, lies and algorthms

Dating, lies and algorithmsDating, lies and algorithms

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoso_tc/3020826589/

We were all single onceWe were all single once

Yesterday 33% of couples met online. It will be 70% by 2040

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuarhodes/3357611013

The effect of the internet on matingThe effect of the internet on mating

Physical first, personality secondPhysical first, personality second

Personality first, physical secondPersonality first, physical second

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/3102118435

Celebrate! The geeks won?Celebrate! The geeks won?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/garrettcoyte/5641290993

It's been a periodic victory?It's been a periodic victory?

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/mobile-apps-dating-snap-article-1.1613415

Not so fast... the fightback has startedNot so fast... the fightback has started

Social dating is on the riseSocial dating is on the rise

But think about the data!But think about the data!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/luc/5418037955

Think about the money!Think about the money!The US dating service market is estimated to be worth $2.2 billion!

1. IAC (Match.com, OkCupid, Tinder, ...) at 27%2. eHarmony at 13.8%3. Zoosk at 5.1%4. Spark Networks (JDate, Christian Mingle, ...) at 3.2%.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/4634443529

Money you say?Money you say?UK's biggest online dating companies is Edinburgh-based Cupid plc, a company which generated revenue of £81m last year

The average dating site customers spends£150 per year

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalexanderson/6012209875

...oh that's where the money has gone...oh that's where the money has gone

https://www.flickr.com/photos/giumaiolini/2458096615

Imagine if you were deviousImagine if you were devious

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/3077375305

Imagine if you liedImagine if you lied

https://www.flickr.com/photos/renaissancechambara/6030597516

Lacked moral judgementLacked moral judgement

https://www.flickr.com/photos/legofenris/4390305784

...or simply had shareholders and ...or simply had shareholders and investorsinvestors

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stovak/2181398407

https://www.flickr.com/photos/legofenris/4644667131

Imagine what you could do with all that Imagine what you could do with all that data?data?

Learn from the dealersLearn from the dealers

https://www.flickr.com/photos/boboroshi/92765193

Offer a free trial to new usersOffer a free trial to new users

https://www.flickr.com/photos/josa/65878807

Raise the level of urgencyRaise the level of urgency

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cults/7714092304

Make it more addictive than a class A Make it more addictive than a class A drugdrug

https://www.flickr.com/photos/boboroshi/92765193

Add game dynamics and repeatAdd game dynamics and repeat

Make it like shopping for bread or milkMake it like shopping for bread or milk

https://www.flickr.com/photos/andreiz/1190592277

Abundant blur of facesAbundant blur of faces

Make it easy and attractive to start Make it easy and attractive to start againagain

“A permanently paired-off dater, after all, means lost revenue”

Sell the greener grass, on the other Sell the greener grass, on the other sideside

http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/01/a-million-first-dates/309195/

If you're not paying, you are the If you're not paying, you are the product?product?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/3981511729

Additional insultAdditional insult

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dahlstroms/5532390715

Create fake/shadow profilesCreate fake/shadow profiles

https://www.flickr.com/photos/scaramuzzino/383195361

Fake profiles which message people Fake profiles which message people leavingleaving

Florida mom's photos used in more than 200 bogus Match.com profiles$1.5 billion lawsuit http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/bogus-profiles-rampant-match-lawsuit-article-1.1526124

Offer no protection to your usersOffer no protection to your users

“the company ignores the fraudulent profiles and also creates its own”

Introduce premium match algorithmsIntroduce premium match algorithms

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/opinion/sunday/online-dating-sites-dont-match-hype.html?_r=3

Charge for personalised searchesCharge for personalised searches

http://www.datingsitesreviews.com/article.php?story=eharmony-broadens-its-scope-to-personalized-matchmaking

Paid dating “experts”Paid dating “experts”

http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/feb/25/science-dating-angry

Matching algorithms lies?Matching algorithms lies?

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/PSPI-online_dating-proof.pdf

The past 80 years of scientific research about what makes people romantically compatible suggests that such sites are unlikely to do what they claim to do.”

A recent paper from the Association of Psychological Science was prettyclear that there's little evidence for any matching algorithm's scientific merit("no compelling evidence supports matching sites" claims thatmathematical algorithms work")

Lawsuits? Sell the data, get out!Lawsuits? Sell the data, get out!

plaintiffs in the case are arguing that the company fraudulently misled them about their

services, charging $1,000 per year for services that they did not deliver

https://www.flickr.com/photos/agude/2850198138/

Two major online dating agencies are being sued for alleged fraud and malpractice

Is LOVE intangible?Is LOVE intangible?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeacid/3949510671

Do we Do we actuallyactually want to quantify want to quantify LOVE?LOVE?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Fisher_(anthropologist)

Remember sex education at school?Remember sex education at school?

Dr. Fisher earned a BA in Anthropology and Psychology from New York University in 1968; an MA in Physical Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistics, and Archeology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1972, and a PhD in Physical Anthropology: Human Evolution, Primatology, Human Sexual Behavior, and Reproductive Strategies from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1975. She is a leading expert on the biology of love and attraction. She is currently the most referenced scholar in the love research community. In 2005, she was hired by match.com

Mmmmmmmmoooooore data!Mmmmmmmmoooooore data!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/legofenris/4644667131

Well poke me... sounds like Facebook?Well poke me... sounds like Facebook?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalexanderson/5816619704

Remember zuck's site in 2004Remember zuck's site in 2004

https://www.flickr.com/photos/legofenris/4644667131

Facebook knowsFacebook knows

https://www.facebook.com/groups/228397100510387/

Facebook is the ultimate dating siteFacebook is the ultimate dating site

http://mashable.com/2014/05/19/facebook-ask-button/http://www.datingsitesreviews.com/article.php?story=facebook-s-new--ask--feature-is-sparking-controversy

Thank you... (Thank you... (no dating sites were harmed in this no dating sites were harmed in this

talktalk))

Ian Forrester | Ian Forrester | cubicgarden.com | @cubicgardencubicgarden.com | @cubicgarden