4 ms·

I love that you built something. But let me be brutally honest, because that's what I would want. I don't see the value-add. Maybe it's 2x better than e-harmon

by s_q_b 13y ago

I love that you built something. But let me be brutally honest, because that's what I would want. I don't see the value-add. Maybe it's 2x better than e-harmony, but it's not 10x better, like some of the new competitors are. Take Tinder for example. Dead simple app. See a picture of the a potential date nearby. Vote yes/no. If you both vote yes, it opens up a chat thread much like sms. Tinder incorporates friends-of-friends in the ranking already. I can see how many friends I have in common with a potential match, and I'm more likely to be shown potential matches with mutual friends. But Tinder goes a step further. It integrates with Facebook, so that it can match on similar taste in books, movies, entertainment, religion, philosophy, based on likes in the profile. Finally, from a cultural perspective, as a smartphone app it's much more free of stigma. So I don't see the improvement here. It's a good idea, with a growing userbase, but it seems slightly behind the wave, which is defintely going to be location aware mobile dating apps.

Yhippa 13y ago
Tinder has a rep of being more of a hook-up app (like Grindr) so having a web app may cause people to take this more seriously. This service looks like it uses Facebook to do similar things like matching on profile data. You're right about Tinder being dead-simple though. This looks like they basically took the Tinder concept and expanded on it for desktop viewing. One of the best parts about Tinder is that it really reduces the friction for people to talk to each other while still not being totally sketchy. That's the problem with most dating sites these days.
- s_q_b 13y ago
  Yeah, My thinking is that hook-up apps will disrupt the dating site market by slotting in below and rising up, innovator's dilemma style. Grouper, Tinder, Grindr, et al. are the model I believe will actually bring online dating forward. The problem I have with most dating apps is that they try to change, rather than facilitate, normal dating patterns. When you meet someone in bar or at a party, generally all you have to go on is some brief conversation, and physical appearance (which, by the way, I'm getting sick of people saying is terrible. Physical appearance communicates far more than simple in-born beautify: from fashion to mannerisms to posture, there's a massive amount of communication that's non-verbal.) Tinder emulates that process pretty well. I just don't know the value in custom-written interest profiles that are at best inaccurate and at worst deliberately deceptive. What I want is a Tinder that emulates the flow of a date, all as part of the app's design: Matching algorithm->Picture (Vine or something would be better)->(yes/no)->Text conversation->(yes/no)->Audio Conversation->(yes/no)->drink/dinner
Spearchucker 13y ago
I'm a bit of a veteran of online dating, did it for 6 years, and after quite literally hundreds dates eventually found the mother of my son. So, with that in mind - What you describe (Tinder), and what Eharmony, Match, Guardian Soulmates or any other site does, does NOTHING to speed up the process of finding Mr. or Ms. Right. All that a site can do is to appeal to specific character types (like to use your phone? Shy, and prefer an introduction? ...). Facebook integration will appeal to some (you, for example) but not to others (me, for example). If you're just looking to get laid you can game chicks on any site. If you want to meet someone to love unconditionally, you just need to bite the bullet and settle in for a long haul. NO web site can predict chemistry or love based on some funky new process and meta data. You need to spend time with someone to see if there's anything there. This means that dating sites are little more than databases of people that maybe, hopefully want what you want. Success is when they want it with you. I learnt quickly that I had better odds by using as many dating sites as I had time for, because (apologies to the romantics) it's a numbers game.
- s_q_b 13y ago
  I'm not interested in so much finding Mr./Mrs. right. I'm interested in the business problem. The waves I see coming are: a shift from long term romantic involvement to a trend toward shorter term interactions among my generation, a cultural lack of social stigma in smartphone apps vs. websites for dating, and an opportunity to use data that wasn't explicitly entered by the user for the purposes of impressing a prospective date. And while no program can predict love, it can reduce transaction costs, from e.g. distance, lack of social network, social anxiety upon meeting new people, etc. That friction is leading a lot of people to sit home alone when two apartments over there's a lovely person who would be thrilled to be out on a date with them. What type of commitment they make from there is beyond the purview of the technology. All the best to you, your wife, and family. It's fascinating and wonderful to me there are little humans running around very may not have existed without the communication the internet enables :)
pratikpoddar 13y ago
Point taken, Sir. I am not in US, so I might not have the entire context, though. I would say that the two ways I am adding value here: 1) To discover potential dates rather than search for them 2) Mutual connection if both parties find each other cute/handsome/attractive. Please let me know if I am wrong somewhere. Thanks
- s_q_b 13y ago
  Both of these are spot-on. I'm just suggesting taking a closer look at some of the competitors methods, and how're they're pursuing similar avenues. I don't know if Tinder's popularity has hit critical mass outside certain socioeconomic groups (i.e. young adults in the United States, especially college students), but you should check it out for some inspiration and op research. Grouper is another good startup that is attempting to break the dating paradigm. They combine intelligent matching with "group dates," which is really just a hangout session at a bar with three guys who are friends with three girls who are friends. It takes the sketchiness element out of the equation for women, and preserves more of the current cultural trend away from formal dinner dates. If you're outside the US, it's also possible that the US competitors might let you see a space that's wide open in your country, or vice-versa. Once again, congratulations on building something, that clearly your users want. It's so easy to criticize and so hard to create, so please understand that any feedback is meant to be constructive and is only my subjective opinion.
  - pratikpoddar 13y ago
    Thanks a lot Sir. The feedback means a lot. I am sure I am learning for the most evolved customers/entrepreneurs/techies on the planet right now. Thanks

by s_q_b 13y ago

Yhippa 13y ago

Tinder has a rep of being more of a hook-up app (like Grindr) so having a web app may cause people to take this more seriously. This service looks like it uses Facebook to do similar things like matching on profile data. You're right about Tinder being dead-simple though. This looks like they basically took the Tinder concept and expanded on it for desktop viewing. One of the best parts about Tinder is that it really reduces the friction for people to talk to each other while still not being totally sketchy. That's the problem with most dating sites these days.

s_q_b 13y ago
Yeah, My thinking is that hook-up apps will disrupt the dating site market by slotting in below and rising up, innovator's dilemma style. Grouper, Tinder, Grindr, et al. are the model I believe will actually bring online dating forward. The problem I have with most dating apps is that they try to change, rather than facilitate, normal dating patterns. When you meet someone in bar or at a party, generally all you have to go on is some brief conversation, and physical appearance (which, by the way, I'm getting sick of people saying is terrible. Physical appearance communicates far more than simple in-born beautify: from fashion to mannerisms to posture, there's a massive amount of communication that's non-verbal.) Tinder emulates that process pretty well. I just don't know the value in custom-written interest profiles that are at best inaccurate and at worst deliberately deceptive. What I want is a Tinder that emulates the flow of a date, all as part of the app's design: Matching algorithm->Picture (Vine or something would be better)->(yes/no)->Text conversation->(yes/no)->Audio Conversation->(yes/no)->drink/dinner

Spearchucker 13y ago

I'm a bit of a veteran of online dating, did it for 6 years, and after quite literally hundreds dates eventually found the mother of my son. So, with that in mind - What you describe (Tinder), and what Eharmony, Match, Guardian Soulmates or any other site does, does NOTHING to speed up the process of finding Mr. or Ms. Right. All that a site can do is to appeal to specific character types (like to use your phone? Shy, and prefer an introduction? ...). Facebook integration will appeal to some (you, for example) but not to others (me, for example). If you're just looking to get laid you can game chicks on any site. If you want to meet someone to love unconditionally, you just need to bite the bullet and settle in for a long haul. NO web site can predict chemistry or love based on some funky new process and meta data. You need to spend time with someone to see if there's anything there. This means that dating sites are little more than databases of people that maybe, hopefully want what you want. Success is when they want it with you. I learnt quickly that I had better odds by using as many dating sites as I had time for, because (apologies to the romantics) it's a numbers game.

s_q_b 13y ago
I'm not interested in so much finding Mr./Mrs. right. I'm interested in the business problem. The waves I see coming are: a shift from long term romantic involvement to a trend toward shorter term interactions among my generation, a cultural lack of social stigma in smartphone apps vs. websites for dating, and an opportunity to use data that wasn't explicitly entered by the user for the purposes of impressing a prospective date. And while no program can predict love, it can reduce transaction costs, from e.g. distance, lack of social network, social anxiety upon meeting new people, etc. That friction is leading a lot of people to sit home alone when two apartments over there's a lovely person who would be thrilled to be out on a date with them. What type of commitment they make from there is beyond the purview of the technology. All the best to you, your wife, and family. It's fascinating and wonderful to me there are little humans running around very may not have existed without the communication the internet enables :)

pratikpoddar 13y ago

Point taken, Sir. I am not in US, so I might not have the entire context, though. I would say that the two ways I am adding value here: 1) To discover potential dates rather than search for them 2) Mutual connection if both parties find each other cute/handsome/attractive. Please let me know if I am wrong somewhere. Thanks

s_q_b 13y ago
Both of these are spot-on. I'm just suggesting taking a closer look at some of the competitors methods, and how're they're pursuing similar avenues. I don't know if Tinder's popularity has hit critical mass outside certain socioeconomic groups (i.e. young adults in the United States, especially college students), but you should check it out for some inspiration and op research. Grouper is another good startup that is attempting to break the dating paradigm. They combine intelligent matching with "group dates," which is really just a hangout session at a bar with three guys who are friends with three girls who are friends. It takes the sketchiness element out of the equation for women, and preserves more of the current cultural trend away from formal dinner dates. If you're outside the US, it's also possible that the US competitors might let you see a space that's wide open in your country, or vice-versa. Once again, congratulations on building something, that clearly your users want. It's so easy to criticize and so hard to create, so please understand that any feedback is meant to be constructive and is only my subjective opinion.
- pratikpoddar 13y ago
  Thanks a lot Sir. The feedback means a lot. I am sure I am learning for the most evolved customers/entrepreneurs/techies on the planet right now. Thanks