Online Dating Industry Journal

Compatibility Tests by Online Daters - Good Idea?

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Dr. James Houran, who publishes a weekly column on Online Dating Magazine titled Office Hours with Dr. Jim, has written an interesting column about compatibility tests that are done by online daters. In the column, he interviews Dr. Rense Lange who works in the filed of applying modern test theory methods to relationship testing and assessment.

In the column, one of the questions Dr. James Houran asks is "Designing  surveys and questionnaires is often regarded as something anyone - even  non-specialists - can do. Why is this?"

Here is an excerpt of Dr. Lange's response:

"...There are all kinds of bad reasons for this. The most important being that given we can all talk, we also can all write good questions. This reasoning has the same flaws as saying that since we all went to school we are educational experts, or since we have all been sick we all have medical qualifications.

This will not work for serious questionnaires. I find it amazing to see how million dollar decisions are quite often made based on shoddy questionnaires, guided mainly by questionable insights and theories that have long been discarded in the scientific psychological literature.

Maybe this is because people do not know how behaviors can be predicted quite reliably from the right indicators. Also, people tend to over-emphasize their own pet explanations and insights based on anecdotal evidence or mistaken media reports..."

You can read the entire column/interview by clicking here.

Interview with Patrick Perrine of MyPartnerPerfect

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Online Dating Magazine has published an interview with Patrick Perrine of MyPartnerPerfect, an online dating service for Gay men. In addition to discussing the new service, the interview also touches on the controversy with eHarmony not accepting gay or lesbian members.

From the interview:

"...I don’t know why it has taken so long for the industry to identify this tremendous opportunity. It was partially because of the eHarmony policy and other ‘relationship sites’ lack of service to the gay segment that I founded myPartnerPerfect. For far too long the industry has neglected the gay community and their pursuit for life-partners..."

You can read the full interview by clicking here.

Interview with Gary Kelly

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Online Dating Magazine columnist Dr. James Houran has posted an interview he conducted with Gary Kelly of DateAGolfer.com for Online Dating Magazine. From the interview:

"Dr. Jim: Let me play ‘Devil's Advocate’ and ask whether niche sites like yours are too narrowly focused? I mean having a common interest is good, but is a relationship initially built on a single interest or passion too fragile?

Gary Kelly: This is a great question and one we tend to be asked a lot by non-golfers. I can’t disagree with your opinion, but we believe golf is a much different niche than say baseball as an example.

Within the United States alone there are almost 30 million golfers and the total number worldwide is over 60 million. While those numbers alone are impressive, more impressive to me is the type of people that golfers tend to be. They are very serious and dedicated to their game, tend to be more affluent than the general population, and share many other interests outside of the golf course including travel, fine dining, and other sports. Not to mention that the fastest growing segment of golfers right now are females in the 40 to 50 age group..."

You can read the full interview here.

Joe's Comments:
In the interview, Gary also says that he is "negotiating with several golf courses in the United States and Canada with the idea of setting up singles golf leagues so our members can meet as many other people as possible in a less intimidating environment." This is a great idea. Arranging such events will only drive (no pun intended) memberships and help increase loyalty. Running an online dating service isn't just about monitoring a site... it is about making improvements and coming up with ideas that will take the service to the next level. Gary is doing this.

Online Dating Magazine Interviews Dr. Rense Lange

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Online Dating Magazine has posted an interview that Dr. James Houran did with Dr. Rense Lange. Lange is one of the brains behind True.com's SEXPLORATION quiz/test.

From the Interview:

"Dr. Rense Lange: I think that compatibility testing will fade if online dating sites keep on doing what they’re doing now. Long questionnaires, often with very predictable questions, text only, etc... this all will get (and probably is already) boring! The next generation of compatibility testing should be playful, short or long – depending on what the user wants, and above all interesting and worthwhile! I don’t mean 'cute' – I mean genuinely surprising, in a way that goes beyond what people now already expect.

You can read the full interview here.

Joe's Comments:
Dr. Lange hit the nail on the head about compatibility testing failing if it is overused with predictable questions, etc. His philosophy of next generation compatibility testing needing to be overhauled to become more playful and interesting is right on. Sites will only separate themselves from the pack with new and innovative compatibility testing and specialized matchmaking quizzes. And the more fun they are, the better. I still remember the first time I took True.com's test and one of the questions was "what does your bedroom currently look like?" with a couple of different pictures to select from, including one that looked like a tornado hit the room. That was great - fun and visual. I think more fun and visual tests will make the experience much more enjoyable for the user.

I really enjoyed this interview, but wish it was longer. Dr. Lange obviously has some great insight to share.

Interview with Userplane CEO and Founder Michael Jones

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Online Dating Magazine has just posted a detailed interview with entrepreneur Michael Jones, the founder and CEO of Userplane.  Userplane is a company focused on connecting users through innovative applications. 

In his interview Jones gave his thoughts on how the online dating industry has changed in the past couple of years, what deceptive methods some online dating services are using in order to manipulate members, how to attract and maintain users, and the future of the online dating industry.

Here is a sample from the interview:

ODM: Converting users is vital and in your guest editorial you gave some good examples for conversions. Retaining a converted customer is also vital. What are your thoughts on keeping a person using (or coming back to) a service after they’ve become a member?

Michael Jones: I have not seen many sites using tiered membership structures, which many other businesses have found successful. We setup our applications to allow tiered features, with quick upsell opportunities for desired features. Most dating sites still seem to have a single cost offering, which is limiting.

Conversion and user retention is an ongoing issue with online dating, especially for sites that aim to build long term relationships, resulting in the loss of paying members. There are a few sites that focus on "long term relationship" needs, but most are currently ignoring this market opportunity. We often recommend that sites with retention problems take a look at how they handle user profile exposure and search, and even recommend they use our Sitesearch product. Search, being the key to many sites, is often overlooked, and long-time members lose exposure and interest over time while search primarily features new users. In our experience, having a system that keeps both older and newer users "in-the-loop" helps with member retention.

To read the full, in-depth interview with Michael Jones, click here. 

Interview with Online Dating Blogger David Evans

(Online Dating Industry Insider) Online Dating Magazine recently interviewed David Evans, online dating blogger also in charge of ProfileDoctor.com, about his insight into the trends, problems, and future of the online dating industry. 

Evans gave his opinion on a variety of topics, ranging from new trends and technologies popping up in the online dating industry to recent litigation associated with some online dating services. When asked his thoughts on the recent lawsuits against Match.com and Yahoo! Personals, Evans replied:

"I believe the fraud originates from members, i.e. Russian dating agencies, Nigerian scammers, etc.

"Match and Yahoo have 20+ million profiles. There is no need for them to "game the system" with fake profiles at this point. Smaller sites have, however, purchased CDs full of fake profiles and uploaded them to their sites.

"The claim that Match employees are going out on dates with members is ludicrous."

For the full interview on Online Dating Magazine, click here. 

Interview with MyPrivateLine Privacy Consultant Robert Siciliano

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Online Dating Magazine has just posted a new interview with Robert Siciliano, a safety and privacy consultant who endorses MyPrivateLine, an anonymous phone number service.  In the interview, Siciliano explains some of the safety risks that online daters can encounter and why an anonymous phone number may help protect privacy and prevent identity theft. Siciliano tells Online Dating Magazine:

"A multitude of situations can arise from giving out your number online. Identity theft is a growing problem and very hard to track. All sorts of personal information can be found with as little information as your phone number. With your phone number, it is simple to find your address and even a map to your home. This can result in harassment, stalking, and assault. Imagine giving your number out and finding that person at your door with criminal intentions in mind. If people don’t safeguard their information, situations like this can occur in alarming rates."

To read the full interview, click here.