Social Experiment : Online Dating
Posted by Locke Cole
I've joined an online dating site! haha BUT - I have no personal interest in using it. This begs the question - why?? And you have every right to be intrigued.
Basically I have done this at the request of a friend, who knows my love for writing and wanted me to do some "undercover journalism". Naturally, my ego couldn't refuse. He raised some very interesting questions about the way that online dating "works", and in particular expressed concern about the lack of objective reviews regarding the use of these sites.
In addition, I myself have some questions which delve into the legality of certain actions taken by the sites, including the unsolicited use of people's profiles to 'hook' new customers.
I am therefore going to write about my experiences and post them on the internet for everyone to read. This is not the only forum that I will be posting on; I will be spreading my word as far and wide as I can. I will update weekly.
If you are secretly interesting in using an online dating site yourself, you will find my weekly updates interesting and perhaps useful.
If you have no interest in using them, please read it anyway - I'll do my best to keep it light, and you may well find something to laugh at!
Wish me luck! My social experiment starts today...
K*bots UK, specialist providers of 'fun science' Curriculum Enhancement days for Primary and Secondary schools in Britain.
Please find us on [en.wikipedia.org] for more information.
Basically I have done this at the request of a friend, who knows my love for writing and wanted me to do some "undercover journalism". Naturally, my ego couldn't refuse. He raised some very interesting questions about the way that online dating "works", and in particular expressed concern about the lack of objective reviews regarding the use of these sites.
In addition, I myself have some questions which delve into the legality of certain actions taken by the sites, including the unsolicited use of people's profiles to 'hook' new customers.
I am therefore going to write about my experiences and post them on the internet for everyone to read. This is not the only forum that I will be posting on; I will be spreading my word as far and wide as I can. I will update weekly.
If you are secretly interesting in using an online dating site yourself, you will find my weekly updates interesting and perhaps useful.
If you have no interest in using them, please read it anyway - I'll do my best to keep it light, and you may well find something to laugh at!
Wish me luck! My social experiment starts today...
What are the odds he will be pregnant by 2011?
Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it
Might even be pin-worthy. 
[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to.
[www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central
[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to.
[www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 CentralPart 1 – ‘The Hook’
People join online dating sites for all sorts of reasons. Some do it just for a laugh. Some do it to promote other aspects of their lifestyle, particularly “webcam girls” and aspiring models. Some join up because they’re writing a journalistic piece on how online dating sites operate. But the majority are undoubtedly those poor souls who haven’t had much luck meeting people in real life and are looking for that ‘special someone’ online. And it is to these people that the sites market themselves.
Before we look at the ways in which sites ‘hook’ potential new customers, let’s get one thing clear; online dating did not arise out of some good-natured endeavour to help soul-mates find each other. Dating websites, like every other business, are out to make money. And where do they get that money from? That’s right – You. So long as you remember that, aspects of ‘The Hook’ will make far more sense.
Registration
Registration for the vast majority of online dating sites is free. I’ve registered with several for the purposes of research for these articles, and there’s been nothing intrusive about it. Simply provide them with an e-mail address, receive a verification e-mail, and set your password. You’re all set to go! Ah…well, kind of.
You see, what dating sites neglect to mention is that, even though registration is nominally free, members can’t actually use the functionality of the site until they’ve signed up for a full account. And that means parting with your cash.
Let me give you an example: On the average online dating website, you can register for free, create a profile advertising yourself – even upload some pictures – and browse the profiles of other members on the site. However, you cannot make contact with other members until you have paid a subscription fee. Clever, huh?
In fact, on one site you are even notified when another member sends you mail, and you can browse the full profile of the person who sent it… BUT you can’t actually read or reply to the mail until you’ve subscribed!
So here’s your first important lesson: Dating websites may claim that they have ‘millions of registered users’, which they probably do. But how many of those can you actually contact? How many have paid their money to be able to send and receive messages? Think carefully on that before you hand over your credit card details.
Does the requirement to pay put a lot of potential customers off? Of course it does. But the dating sites aren’t so foolhardy as to leave it at that. There are ways to ensnare those people who are desperate for love into signing up. These ways, these ‘techniques’, are known as ‘The Hook’. Allow me to explain.
K*bots UK, specialist providers of 'fun science' Curriculum Enhancement days for Primary and Secondary schools in Britain.
Please find us on [en.wikipedia.org] for more information.
People join online dating sites for all sorts of reasons. Some do it just for a laugh. Some do it to promote other aspects of their lifestyle, particularly “webcam girls” and aspiring models. Some join up because they’re writing a journalistic piece on how online dating sites operate. But the majority are undoubtedly those poor souls who haven’t had much luck meeting people in real life and are looking for that ‘special someone’ online. And it is to these people that the sites market themselves.
Before we look at the ways in which sites ‘hook’ potential new customers, let’s get one thing clear; online dating did not arise out of some good-natured endeavour to help soul-mates find each other. Dating websites, like every other business, are out to make money. And where do they get that money from? That’s right – You. So long as you remember that, aspects of ‘The Hook’ will make far more sense.
Registration
Registration for the vast majority of online dating sites is free. I’ve registered with several for the purposes of research for these articles, and there’s been nothing intrusive about it. Simply provide them with an e-mail address, receive a verification e-mail, and set your password. You’re all set to go! Ah…well, kind of.
You see, what dating sites neglect to mention is that, even though registration is nominally free, members can’t actually use the functionality of the site until they’ve signed up for a full account. And that means parting with your cash.
Let me give you an example: On the average online dating website, you can register for free, create a profile advertising yourself – even upload some pictures – and browse the profiles of other members on the site. However, you cannot make contact with other members until you have paid a subscription fee. Clever, huh?
In fact, on one site you are even notified when another member sends you mail, and you can browse the full profile of the person who sent it… BUT you can’t actually read or reply to the mail until you’ve subscribed!
So here’s your first important lesson: Dating websites may claim that they have ‘millions of registered users’, which they probably do. But how many of those can you actually contact? How many have paid their money to be able to send and receive messages? Think carefully on that before you hand over your credit card details.
Does the requirement to pay put a lot of potential customers off? Of course it does. But the dating sites aren’t so foolhardy as to leave it at that. There are ways to ensnare those people who are desperate for love into signing up. These ways, these ‘techniques’, are known as ‘The Hook’. Allow me to explain.
Part 1 continued – The Power Of Persuasion
Remember; online dating sites are not in business to help you find your soul-mate. They exist to take your money. With that in mind, consider the following anecdote…
I registered with one site for free and started browsing some profiles. There was a handy function you could use called ‘Wink’, which basically allows users to declare interest in another member without actually e-mailing them. This function is free to use, but has its limitations. Even if two people ‘wink’ at each other to declare mutual interest, you aren’t going to get anywhere unless you sign up for a full account that allows you to e-mail somebody.
I winked at a few people, just to try it out. Then I logged out, had a sandwich, did some housework. Later that day, I logged back on and was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the girls I had ‘winked’ had winked back, and furthermore, there were two e-mails in my inbox! “This is fantastic,” I thought, “These girls have seen that I’m interested and obviously feel the same. I’m already on to a winner.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t read the e-mails until I became a paying member of the site. But with two prospective dates already lined up in my inbox, surely it would be worth signing up now?
Whoa, alarm bells, buddy!!
This is a classic hooking strategy. Make the potential customer feel as though they are attractive by dangling the incentive of interested members in front of them. Two people are interested in me? Hell yes! Let’s sign up so I can contact them and get myself a date.
It was around about this time that I remembered that online dating sites are only concerned with making money, and I hesitated. I thought it would be interesting to test my hypothesis of ‘the hook’. It was time, therefore, to introduce Pepe the Dwarf.
Pepe the Dwarf is a short, bald, bearded creature who is incredibly ugly. His profile is crude, unintelligent, insulting to women and written in incoherent English. He is, by my own design, the least attractive male ever conceived. Oh, and he’s also my alter-ego for the purposes of this experiment.
‘Pepe’ registered with the same dating site that I mentioned in my last anecdote. He searched out the most stunning, attractive girls he could find and winked at them. Then he logged off… and waited. Next time Pepe logged in, would you believe it? Two of the girls had winked back, and had even sent him an e-mail! Pepe the Dwarf, it seems, is just as attractive as me.
Of course, this illustrates that the interest was all an elaborate sham. The dating site was trying to ‘hook’ me into signing up by making me think that I would be guaranteed success. But just remember: They’re only after your money, and will pull every trick they can to hook you into parting with it.
As an aside, however, this raises some alarming issues with privacy. I have no doubts that the e-mails were fake. But equally, I have few doubts that the profiles were real. These were genuine girls, who allegedly ‘contacted’ me as part of an elaborate hooking technique. Were they aware that their profiles were being used in this way? I’m also registered on that site; is my profile also being used to ‘hook’ potential new customers? There are some big issues to look into here, and they will form the basis of one of my future articles.
K*bots UK, specialist providers of 'fun science' Curriculum Enhancement days for Primary and Secondary schools in Britain.
Please find us on [en.wikipedia.org] for more information.
Remember; online dating sites are not in business to help you find your soul-mate. They exist to take your money. With that in mind, consider the following anecdote…
I registered with one site for free and started browsing some profiles. There was a handy function you could use called ‘Wink’, which basically allows users to declare interest in another member without actually e-mailing them. This function is free to use, but has its limitations. Even if two people ‘wink’ at each other to declare mutual interest, you aren’t going to get anywhere unless you sign up for a full account that allows you to e-mail somebody.
I winked at a few people, just to try it out. Then I logged out, had a sandwich, did some housework. Later that day, I logged back on and was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the girls I had ‘winked’ had winked back, and furthermore, there were two e-mails in my inbox! “This is fantastic,” I thought, “These girls have seen that I’m interested and obviously feel the same. I’m already on to a winner.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t read the e-mails until I became a paying member of the site. But with two prospective dates already lined up in my inbox, surely it would be worth signing up now?
Whoa, alarm bells, buddy!!
This is a classic hooking strategy. Make the potential customer feel as though they are attractive by dangling the incentive of interested members in front of them. Two people are interested in me? Hell yes! Let’s sign up so I can contact them and get myself a date.
It was around about this time that I remembered that online dating sites are only concerned with making money, and I hesitated. I thought it would be interesting to test my hypothesis of ‘the hook’. It was time, therefore, to introduce Pepe the Dwarf.
Pepe the Dwarf is a short, bald, bearded creature who is incredibly ugly. His profile is crude, unintelligent, insulting to women and written in incoherent English. He is, by my own design, the least attractive male ever conceived. Oh, and he’s also my alter-ego for the purposes of this experiment.
‘Pepe’ registered with the same dating site that I mentioned in my last anecdote. He searched out the most stunning, attractive girls he could find and winked at them. Then he logged off… and waited. Next time Pepe logged in, would you believe it? Two of the girls had winked back, and had even sent him an e-mail! Pepe the Dwarf, it seems, is just as attractive as me.
Of course, this illustrates that the interest was all an elaborate sham. The dating site was trying to ‘hook’ me into signing up by making me think that I would be guaranteed success. But just remember: They’re only after your money, and will pull every trick they can to hook you into parting with it.
As an aside, however, this raises some alarming issues with privacy. I have no doubts that the e-mails were fake. But equally, I have few doubts that the profiles were real. These were genuine girls, who allegedly ‘contacted’ me as part of an elaborate hooking technique. Were they aware that their profiles were being used in this way? I’m also registered on that site; is my profile also being used to ‘hook’ potential new customers? There are some big issues to look into here, and they will form the basis of one of my future articles.
But for now, I’ll leave you with a closing pearl of wisdom. There are plenty of good reasons to sign up for an online dating site. But signing up, just because the site makes you think that there are people interested in you, is NOT one of them! Be careful out there, folks. Enjoy your browsing, but don’t get hooked.
Coming up next:
Online dating sites are filled with single, sexy people who all think YOU are the type of person they’ve been looking for. Sounds too good to be true? It undoubtedly is. My next article will be the 101 guide to spotting fake profiles and bogus members.
K*bots UK, specialist providers of 'fun science' Curriculum Enhancement days for Primary and Secondary schools in Britain.
Please find us on [en.wikipedia.org] for more information.
Coming up next:
Online dating sites are filled with single, sexy people who all think YOU are the type of person they’ve been looking for. Sounds too good to be true? It undoubtedly is. My next article will be the 101 guide to spotting fake profiles and bogus members.
This is most entertaining.
[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central
[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to.
[www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 CentralWell written piece there, Locke. However, I do think you're jumping to conclusions too quickly.
As an aside, however, this raises some alarming issues with privacy. I have no doubts that the e-mails were fake. But equally, I have few doubts that the profiles were real. These were genuine girls, who allegedly ‘contacted’ me as part of an elaborate hooking technique. Were they aware that their profiles were being used in this way? I’m also registered on that site; is my profile also being used to ‘hook’ potential new customers?
This bit for example. The emails are very likely to be fake, yes (or weren't they? You can only guess). But if the dating site is as morally deprived as you claim it to be, couldn't it be that there are loads and loads of fake profiles on the site (created by the site itself) of which you have winked some. In that case there isn't any case of abusing peoples profiles like you describe.
Also the stunning girls Pepe winked at are more bound to be fake. Those are the fake profiles people are most easily attracted to. So the site creates some of those and lets them wink back. If the site does make fake profiles to attract people, they're more likely to create profiles with good looking people.
If you'd create another account, a female account, and wink to the same persons and they wink back, then you have reason to believe that either the emails are fake, or the profiles are fake or both. Now it's more or less a feeling you have, then your theory is a bit more proven.
What made you think that those profiles were real? What is a few in 'I winked at a few people'? Is that five or twelve? Of course, the more you wink, the greater the chance that you've winked to a fake profile. There are a load of questions that aren't answered. It's all quite vague, while especially in critial pieces, clarity and significant evidence are very important.
Nontheless, it's a well written article and I'm looking forward to the next parts
As an aside, however, this raises some alarming issues with privacy. I have no doubts that the e-mails were fake. But equally, I have few doubts that the profiles were real. These were genuine girls, who allegedly ‘contacted’ me as part of an elaborate hooking technique. Were they aware that their profiles were being used in this way? I’m also registered on that site; is my profile also being used to ‘hook’ potential new customers?
This bit for example. The emails are very likely to be fake, yes (or weren't they? You can only guess). But if the dating site is as morally deprived as you claim it to be, couldn't it be that there are loads and loads of fake profiles on the site (created by the site itself) of which you have winked some. In that case there isn't any case of abusing peoples profiles like you describe.
Also the stunning girls Pepe winked at are more bound to be fake. Those are the fake profiles people are most easily attracted to. So the site creates some of those and lets them wink back. If the site does make fake profiles to attract people, they're more likely to create profiles with good looking people.
If you'd create another account, a female account, and wink to the same persons and they wink back, then you have reason to believe that either the emails are fake, or the profiles are fake or both. Now it's more or less a feeling you have, then your theory is a bit more proven.
What made you think that those profiles were real? What is a few in 'I winked at a few people'? Is that five or twelve? Of course, the more you wink, the greater the chance that you've winked to a fake profile. There are a load of questions that aren't answered. It's all quite vague, while especially in critial pieces, clarity and significant evidence are very important.
Nontheless, it's a well written article and I'm looking forward to the next parts
Thanks for your post. I hope to provide greater clarity and more significant evidence as I delve further into the issues, and I'll hopefully have the chance to examine each part in great depth.
But if the dating site is as morally deprived as you claim it to be, couldn't it be that there are loads and loads of fake profiles on the site (created by the site itself) of which you have winked some.
Oh, I am absolutely certain that there are a vast number of fake profiles on the site, and on most dating sites, to act as a 'hook'. My next article will look into how to spot them and the different types you might find. You have to question the ethics of providing so many 'fake' profiles, however, even if it is not a breach of the trust of registered members as has been suggested.
Rest assured, more research is coming. I hope I can dispel any doubts in subsequent articles.
K*bots UK, specialist providers of 'fun science' Curriculum Enhancement days for Primary and Secondary schools in Britain.
Please find us on [en.wikipedia.org] for more information.
But if the dating site is as morally deprived as you claim it to be, couldn't it be that there are loads and loads of fake profiles on the site (created by the site itself) of which you have winked some.
Oh, I am absolutely certain that there are a vast number of fake profiles on the site, and on most dating sites, to act as a 'hook'. My next article will look into how to spot them and the different types you might find. You have to question the ethics of providing so many 'fake' profiles, however, even if it is not a breach of the trust of registered members as has been suggested.
Rest assured, more research is coming. I hope I can dispel any doubts in subsequent articles.
The alarm bells for me are the offence to the dwarf. Tad unfair. Risky mate. Very risky. Otherwise, funny.
You could always set about making twenty profiles, of varying degrees of people. Fat, thin, male, female, black, white etc. All wink to the same people. Then see what results crossover.
Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2010 11:38PM by danm.
You could always set about making twenty profiles, of varying degrees of people. Fat, thin, male, female, black, white etc. All wink to the same people. Then see what results crossover.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2010 11:38PM by danm.
Telling your lady you just joined this online dating side for a "social experiment" won't work, buddy.
REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS
REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS
One of my friends met his girl on match.com. I think if I show a photo of him, as well (lol) as (lol) her (LOL) that would only aid your evidence to suggest pretty girls on that site are indeed fake.
Edit: Infact I am going to find and post photos of myself, my girl (real world couple meeting) versus him and his match.com solution. For a fair test, we have both been together for three years, same school, same age everything. Let me hunt his facebook!
Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2010 02:26AM by danm.
Edit: Infact I am going to find and post photos of myself, my girl (real world couple meeting) versus him and his match.com solution. For a fair test, we have both been together for three years, same school, same age everything. Let me hunt his facebook!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2010 02:26AM by danm.
This will have win written all over it.
[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central
[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to.
[www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central
Actually, I think the argument is more that match.com actually does match you with a match.... literally.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2010 05:11AM by danm.
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.