Innovation in Internet Dating
Innovation in Internet Dating
by Gordon Marsh
Recently a group of us established a dating site in the UK - www.Date-4-Free.com . It has enjoyed steady progress. From a commercial standpoint though, it seems fairly nonsensical to put such a 'clone' product up against the big boys of the sector, their large second-rate competitors and the massive plethora of tiny firms snapping at their heels.
Why embark on such a futile exercise? Why put in the hours of effort of development and setup? Why burn cash in trying to create a community? The reasons are simple. The market is potentially huge and the sector is incredibly underdeveloped in terms of innovation. The most basic of ideas such as incorporated Internet Telephony is not yet there. Even the largest of dating sites have just allowed users to easily upload video.
Yet, you may say there is no demand for such features. You may be correct, I'm a little behind with my market research this month. In fact we have our own ideas at www.date-4-free.com on the issue, but this article isn't intended to give our corporate secrets away. It's actually to discuss what I see as the problems currently in Internet dating. What a depressing sandpoint you may say, but it is only by analysing the problems that can you come up with innovative solutions that gives your firm that sacred 'competitive advantage'.
I see Internet Dating users in two camps. Firstly, the 'go-getters' who are willing to leap into a "real" date after a couple of emails; and secondly, the 'procrastinators' who want to either spend months validating that their partner isn't a raving psychopath or simply enjoy the process of flirting online with no real intent.
Personally I see the Procrastinators as being the lifeblood of such sites. They are the people who spend time in your community, develop it, they actually want to be there, as opposed to seeing it as a necessary evil. For this reason, my problem focus is on this group. That is not to say I have anything against the Go-getters, I just don't see them boosting my Google AdSense campaign as much! I see three main problem areas.
Problem 1 - No context
Surely one of the worst points in any social meeting is the icebreaker, and sometimes after the ice has broken, you're dumped into the icey waters of stunted conversation. Speed dating overcomes this to a certain extent, but surely context, maybe cured through the use of forum-like discussion, is a major issue.
Problem 2 - Profiles are Unsuitable
An inherant problem is the use of profiles. While I think they are here to stay, the problem here is that people cannot define what it is they are or what they want. The classic is "I want a good sense of humour". What does this mean? If my idea of a great sense of humour was The Three Stooges, I'm highly unlikely to have a cracking night with someone who only laughs out loud to a Shakespearean comedy. The point is here that if people are incapable of defining themselves or what they want, they have to be dropped into a more immersive environment than looking at profiles. Group Internet Telephony is one method, but are there more?
Problem 3 - Faking It
The final important problem I see is that the tools on offer today, perhaps as a result of the first two issues, allow people to misrepresent themselves. Here I don't mean false profiles, but the way that a person can allow themselves to be wittier, or in some other way "upgraded" online. Talking in a one-on-one conversation when you have all the time in the world to dream up that killer line is a far cry from being in a group situation where off the cuff remarks are the order of the day.
These three issues I see as prime areas for innovative ideas to be used in order to usurp the current encumbents of the Internet Dating arena.
Concluding Remarks
So why are we entering such a vicious market as Internet Dating? We have ideas but as they say, ideas are cheap - implementation is everything. Check out www.date-4-free.com over the coming months to see what we can come up with...
Gordon Marsh
About the Author
I am part of the team running www.date-4-free.com. I have studied computer science and business.
by Gordon Marsh
Recently a group of us established a dating site in the UK - www.Date-4-Free.com . It has enjoyed steady progress. From a commercial standpoint though, it seems fairly nonsensical to put such a 'clone' product up against the big boys of the sector, their large second-rate competitors and the massive plethora of tiny firms snapping at their heels.
Why embark on such a futile exercise? Why put in the hours of effort of development and setup? Why burn cash in trying to create a community? The reasons are simple. The market is potentially huge and the sector is incredibly underdeveloped in terms of innovation. The most basic of ideas such as incorporated Internet Telephony is not yet there. Even the largest of dating sites have just allowed users to easily upload video.
Yet, you may say there is no demand for such features. You may be correct, I'm a little behind with my market research this month. In fact we have our own ideas at www.date-4-free.com on the issue, but this article isn't intended to give our corporate secrets away. It's actually to discuss what I see as the problems currently in Internet dating. What a depressing sandpoint you may say, but it is only by analysing the problems that can you come up with innovative solutions that gives your firm that sacred 'competitive advantage'.
I see Internet Dating users in two camps. Firstly, the 'go-getters' who are willing to leap into a "real" date after a couple of emails; and secondly, the 'procrastinators' who want to either spend months validating that their partner isn't a raving psychopath or simply enjoy the process of flirting online with no real intent.
Personally I see the Procrastinators as being the lifeblood of such sites. They are the people who spend time in your community, develop it, they actually want to be there, as opposed to seeing it as a necessary evil. For this reason, my problem focus is on this group. That is not to say I have anything against the Go-getters, I just don't see them boosting my Google AdSense campaign as much! I see three main problem areas.
Problem 1 - No context
Surely one of the worst points in any social meeting is the icebreaker, and sometimes after the ice has broken, you're dumped into the icey waters of stunted conversation. Speed dating overcomes this to a certain extent, but surely context, maybe cured through the use of forum-like discussion, is a major issue.
Problem 2 - Profiles are Unsuitable
An inherant problem is the use of profiles. While I think they are here to stay, the problem here is that people cannot define what it is they are or what they want. The classic is "I want a good sense of humour". What does this mean? If my idea of a great sense of humour was The Three Stooges, I'm highly unlikely to have a cracking night with someone who only laughs out loud to a Shakespearean comedy. The point is here that if people are incapable of defining themselves or what they want, they have to be dropped into a more immersive environment than looking at profiles. Group Internet Telephony is one method, but are there more?
Problem 3 - Faking It
The final important problem I see is that the tools on offer today, perhaps as a result of the first two issues, allow people to misrepresent themselves. Here I don't mean false profiles, but the way that a person can allow themselves to be wittier, or in some other way "upgraded" online. Talking in a one-on-one conversation when you have all the time in the world to dream up that killer line is a far cry from being in a group situation where off the cuff remarks are the order of the day.
These three issues I see as prime areas for innovative ideas to be used in order to usurp the current encumbents of the Internet Dating arena.
Concluding Remarks
So why are we entering such a vicious market as Internet Dating? We have ideas but as they say, ideas are cheap - implementation is everything. Check out www.date-4-free.com over the coming months to see what we can come up with...
Gordon Marsh
About the Author
I am part of the team running www.date-4-free.com. I have studied computer science and business.
posted by attapol at 8:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home