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Amid social networking phenomenon,
dating Web sites create opportunities for genuine
interaction
By Michael Jones, President, Userplane
Love may be all around, but right now, online
dating is booming like never before.
- Some 44 percent of Americans believe that
individuals have a better chance of meeting a
partner online than in a singles bar, according
to Ipsos-Reid, an international market and
social research company.
- The Personals/Dating category surpassed
Business/Investing and Entertainment/Lifestyles
content to become the leading paid content
category in Q3 2002 with $87 million in revenues,
a 387 percent gain over the same quarter the
previous year, according to the Online Publishers
Association.
But, just like with dating itself, the numbers
don’t tell the whole story. The question
is, “Is there anything interesting behind
the pretty face?”
Thanks to new trends involving technological
advancements along with genuine creativity, there
is. In fact, so-called “social networking”
Websites—dating sites in particular—are
on the rise not only in the area of consumer usage.
Of late, the segment has witnessed a significant
infusion of capital, as the industry progresses
toward providing both real interaction online
and the business models to support ongoing online
communities.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the online
dating scene. The evolution of Internet dating is
not unlike that of its offline counterpart. From
arranged marriages, to chaperoned courtship,
to slightly more freedom to almost anything
goes—traditional offline dating progressed
from a system that involved knowing hardly more
than name and rank on the wedding day, to the
point at which parties now ask for complete
financial and medical disclosure and can purchase
full-scale background checks over the Internet.
Online dating is following a similar evolutionary
process. Many matchmaking sites compile lists of
potential mates using photos and only the most
basic information—age, gender and location.
With this bare-bones “profile,”
people are directed to a list of potential
mates—almost like looking for love in the
phone book. In the end, decisions are made almost
exclusively based on a photo.
But over the past few years new trends have
emerged, spurring the evolution of online dating
and shifting the matchmaking process from the
“arranged marriage” end of the
spectrum toward informed choices based on relevant
information. Recent technological advancements
have created an online dating scene in which
participants can meet people from the comforts
of their own homes, talk face-to-face in real
time using audio and video, and access online
journals that reveal thoughts and opinions.
Friendster, MySpace, Say Hello to Blogs
One of the more recent evolutionary steps came
with Web sites like Friendster.com and MySpace.com,
services that connect people through online networks
of mutual friends. Members join, then invite their
friends to join, creating a coast-to-coast online
social network.
This new social-networking trend connects
friends-of-friends, helping people find possible
mates or simply new friends. It goes beyond the age,
gender, location formula to match individuals
based on mutual friends and similar interests.
This approach offers a more personal experience
than the list-cruising of the past, and allows for
more custom searching based on relevant information.
The industry is gaining attention of late through
a series of announcements about new venture capital
funding for Friendster and some of its rivals—LinkedIn,
ZeroDegrees, Tribe.Net and others. Even standbys
like eVite.com are rethinking their strategies
in favor of joining the broader social networking
bandwagon.
At the same time, the burgeoning practice of
blogging is pushing online dating even further
toward “informed choice.” Blogs,
short for weblogs, are a kind of online diary.
Through a blogging service, anyone can maintain
a running commentary online—accessible
to anyone with Internet access.
While dating sites typically restrict the creation
of individual personal home pages, blogs offer
a forum for sharing anything from deeply held
convictions to random musings. Bloggers can
create and post content immediately, and often
update their blogs daily—even multiple
times per day.
Blogs provide a formula of creating online
identities—or at least sharing one’s
offline identity with anyone who cares to
notice—giving potential suitors a much
deeper, more relevant personal profile.
Expanding Instant Messaging
Much like the offline dating world’s
phone call, instant messaging (IM) capabilities
transform static data on a page into actual
online, real-time conversations.
But while providing a handy form of communication,
text-based messaging systems are limited to the
keyboard. There’s no visual or audio, making
it difficult to create a true personal connection.
Emotions are expressed through a common language
of key strokes :), rather than through more
meaningful nuances of voice fluctuation and
other verbal clues.
Progress has been made: while previous systems
only displayed the conversations, today’s
IM users may have access to some personal
information to help provide an initial spark.
But it’s still a one-dimensional conversation.
Growth in online audio and video capabilities—and
the proliferation of higher bandwidth to support
them—is bumping online communication up
a notch into the two-dimensional world.
Integrating audio and video into a live online
dating experience gives the entire process more
validity and increased security:
- People will not be able to pass themselves
off as something they're not—at least
in the obvious ways
- Video profiles offer more depth and expression
than do lists of likes and dislikes
- Real-time, online dates that use audio and
video provide real interaction while allowing each
participant location anonymity and
security—there’s no immediate need
to give out phone numbers, addresses or to meet
in person
Users have the opportunity to date online
“virtually”—allowing for
a much more personal experience than before—without
leaving the comfort and security of home.
According to Tim Sullivan, president of Match.com:
“Online dating is going to evolve with
the convergence of various technologies. We
believe video and voice are going to be a big
part of our business.”
The Future of Online Dating
The future of online dating will include all
of these trends: Friendster’s relevant
searching method, instant messaging capabilities
and the use of audio and video—which all
combine to create personal meaningful interactions.
And the integration of blogging tools will give
users the ability to truly create an online
identity, and give the website that houses that
profile a lifelong customer.
But beyond the technological advancements that
give users better tools for getting to know each
other, online dating will explode as new business
models take shape:
- Profiles will become commodities that are
shared outside the “walls” of the
individual dating sites.
- Systems soon will allow profiles to be searched
through standard file-sharing mechanisms. Imagine
a video profile along with an abbreviated data file
that can be placed into Kazaa and searched through
a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. After selecting
profiles of interest, users register with the particular
dating Web site to gain access to the complete
file—including contact information. This
enables a dating Web site to circulate its dating
inventory externally on computers around the world.
- A system to standardize user profiles will take
shape, to allow universal access to “networks”
of dating Web sites.
- And in perhaps the biggest endorsement yet of the
online dating sector, AOL recently unveiled Love.com,
a personals site that incorporates AOL’s popular
Instant Messenger (AIM) service— with audio
and video capabilities. Leveraging AOL’s current
user base of paid AOL subscribers and free AOL IM
subscribers, AOL has essentially invited all AOL
users to join Love.com.
As consumer magazines weekly attest, there’s
no shortage of dating pitfalls and mishaps—whether
online or off. But as more and more people look for
love on the Internet, the evolution of online dating
will continue to make it just a little bit easier
than before.
Michael Jones is president
and co-founder of Userplane
in Los Angeles.
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About Userplane
www.userplane.com
A wholly owned subsidiary of AOL, Userplane is the world’s premier communication
platform for online communities. The company’s hosted applications enable instant community
and communication for websites of any scale and audience. The combination of instant and elegant with
robust and powerful has made the platform a must-have for thriving sites worldwide – supporting
millions of daily users. Founded in 2001 by long-time partners Michael Jones, Nate Thelen, and Javier
Hall, Userplane is a diverse and talented team headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif.
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