4 ms·

I have a lot of respect for the people behind OkCupid. They tread a lot of grey areas that many online entities are scared to. On the whole, I also think usage

I have a lot of respect for the people behind OkCupid. They tread a lot of grey areas that many online entities are scared to. On the whole, I also think usage of willfully submitted and gathered user data for things other than advertising is amazing. Too many companies have invested too many resources into data analytics purely for increasing revenue from advertising. I think if companies can find ways to gain better social understanding and from that provide better value to end users (rather than to advertisers as in the advertising model) in a way that gets them revenue, it will be amazing. I am all for social media companies doing research from their user data, in the hope that we can move on from the ad-driven web.

Theodores 12y ago
> I have a lot of respect for the people behind OkCupid. Those people being match.com - the same people that operate the 'tinder' app. Much like how the company that sells the eco-friendly smoothies is probably Coca Cola. Ultimately match.com want to own online dating. Since there is always going to be a niche for free dating sites (as well as the subscription model), they have to have the best 'free'/freemium dating site going. The marketing/PR consists of 'insights' rather than TV adverts or social networking thingies. The site is just one part of their strategy to own online dating. People on the site might not pay, however those adverts probably bring in a lot of revenue - see Plenty of Fish story. Returning to the eco-friendly smoothies - there are no saints at the helm of the company determined to make a better world, they are just doing what is needed to bring in the revenue for the parent company and making sure nobody else is in that space. Another analogy - big software company making sure their software is reasonably easy to pirate so people don't use any other software, free or paid for. Clearly OKCupid was more valuable to match.com than anyone else hence they bought it. However the idea is no more respect worthy than the operations of the eco-friendly smoothie company owned by a fizzy drinks giant mega corporation.
- keerthiko 12y ago
  I see what you're saying. Sure, by some definitions the people behind match.com are behind OkCupid, but I'm pretty sure they're quite hands-off from okc's operations and general demeanor. Of course, they are probably involved in their profit strategies as you say, and that's hard to avoid. I still have respect for whoever came up with the eco-friendly smoothies and was able to pose enough of a threat to Coca Cola, but instead of getting crushed by them is able to harness the giant's resources to make more eco-friendly smoothies. It's a lot better than folding under the evil. There are no saints at the helm of any for-profit organizations, or they'd get destroyed. I'm talking within that (very realistic and tolerable) space, they do some creative things [as a past okcupid user and as someone interested in their data] that provide interesting value to the customer that are hard to find elsewhere.

Theodores 12y ago

> I have a lot of respect for the people behind OkCupid. Those people being match.com - the same people that operate the 'tinder' app. Much like how the company that sells the eco-friendly smoothies is probably Coca Cola. Ultimately match.com want to own online dating. Since there is always going to be a niche for free dating sites (as well as the subscription model), they have to have the best 'free'/freemium dating site going. The marketing/PR consists of 'insights' rather than TV adverts or social networking thingies. The site is just one part of their strategy to own online dating. People on the site might not pay, however those adverts probably bring in a lot of revenue - see Plenty of Fish story. Returning to the eco-friendly smoothies - there are no saints at the helm of the company determined to make a better world, they are just doing what is needed to bring in the revenue for the parent company and making sure nobody else is in that space. Another analogy - big software company making sure their software is reasonably easy to pirate so people don't use any other software, free or paid for. Clearly OKCupid was more valuable to match.com than anyone else hence they bought it. However the idea is no more respect worthy than the operations of the eco-friendly smoothie company owned by a fizzy drinks giant mega corporation.

keerthiko 12y ago
I see what you're saying. Sure, by some definitions the people behind match.com are behind OkCupid, but I'm pretty sure they're quite hands-off from okc's operations and general demeanor. Of course, they are probably involved in their profit strategies as you say, and that's hard to avoid. I still have respect for whoever came up with the eco-friendly smoothies and was able to pose enough of a threat to Coca Cola, but instead of getting crushed by them is able to harness the giant's resources to make more eco-friendly smoothies. It's a lot better than folding under the evil. There are no saints at the helm of any for-profit organizations, or they'd get destroyed. I'm talking within that (very realistic and tolerable) space, they do some creative things [as a past okcupid user and as someone interested in their data] that provide interesting value to the customer that are hard to find elsewhere.