Social networking phenomenon continues to grown – MySpace with a unique audience of 36 million people ( Nielsen netrating March 2006 ) , Youtube with over 19 and dating sites such as Match.com has over 15 million members with profiles posted.
Dating is ‘ dated ‘
The trouble with all dating websites / contact websites is the very fact they are static.
The medium has moved on very little from the days of the newspaper advert of ‘ tall dark handsome male ‘ seeking ‘ slim attractive female ‘ to only now including pictures of the suitor or female to be wooed.
This , considering the primary function of the dating website is to promote ‘ engagement ‘ ( literally ) the present format is lacking.
Sites such as Friends Reunited have within their portal added instant messaging function to expand the usefulness of the site from being just a conduit, to being the tool for nurturing those all important first exchanged words in a real time fashion.
Match.com part way went the route all portals should take , allowing video content to be uploaded, which fits nicely into a new purchase Google has just made with Youtube.
Extending the YouTube service to include profiles of its users , joining up their content to their profile and that of the person they are looking for will act as a far more engaging user experience – it is a winning solution.
Visual representation portrays an honest insight into people psyche and personalities beyond that of a series of tem plated questions and answers being displayed. I am sure that the % success rate for matching people would increase. For those sites such as Myspace, which inadvertently promote relationships ( that are just beyond a shag ) this could be just the potion to build a revenue stream beyond that of advertising.
ITV’s purchase of friends-reunited makes for a mouth watering possibility, with an audience that is still used to using the TV as it’s primary source for information and entertainment, to engage in some visual interviewing an selection ( the red button ) of my next wife.
How technology helps to find and show, your love
Bluetooth - Your perfect match through perimeter based systems – your profile is stored and sent to other devices in range , allowing for you to target , or be targeted by your perfect suitor ( I would add that maybe a breath testing kit be integrated into this to ensure the ‘ beer goggles ‘ are not affecting judgement
SMS – informal way of flirting – with millions of texts sent on valentines, this is still the most popular method of non verbal communication
Email – the classic method for those interoffice communications , with the advent of Sarbanes Oxley though , I am sure this auditable method is on the way out
Websites – Social sites, Myspace, Match.com
The digital Camera – no more Polaroid’s means your bits are now ‘ bytes ‘ to be sent along the digital airwaves
Additional cross promotional opportunities
Dating sites should engage lastminute to allow potential lovers the opportunity to book restaurants, flights and gift items.
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