(Online Dating Industry Journal) More news has come out about PodDater.com, the site that combines the popularity of the iPod with online dating by allowing members to download video profiles of potential matches to their video iPod. Nate Elliot, an online dating analyst at Jupiter Research, told the Chicago Tribune that these sorts of attempts to "break the mold" of online dating services (he also mentions mobile phone dating) are a "big gamble" as most have been generally unsuccessful. Elliot told the Chicago Tribune:
"Consumers don't seem to care about bells and whistles,"...noting that the $500 million online dating industry is the largest category of paid online content.
"There's a reason that online dating is more popular than the forms of offline dating. The Internet provides an ideal medium for matchmaking. It has a combination of depth and anonymity."
John Myers of Pod Dater was quick to refute the doubtful statements claiming that poddating is the future and "younger people have embraced certain types of technologies in ways that need to be explored."
The article also touches upon the wary feeling of some online daters have towards dating services and the fear that they may not really work. A feeling that has grown in light of recent lawsuits against the big names in online dating - Match.com and Yahoo! Personals.
Kim's Comments:
Only time will tell if these new online dating trends will transform the way singles participate in online dating or are just gimmicks that will fade as their novelty wears off. It is my guess that a handful of tech-oriented singles may embrace the new technology but I have to agree with Elliot...the Internet seems to be the ideal medium for online dating. When in front of your home computer you have privacy, comfort, and, most of all, time to sit and examine profiles or send and respond to messages...three things that a portable iPod does not necessarily provide. Plus, have you seen how small those screens are? While incorporating video into profiles seems like the logical next step in online dating, I'm not yet convinced that mobile or iPod video will catch on.
Yes it might be a good way to pass the time during a long commute on public transportation, but I'm not sure how many people use it as anything more than just that, a way to pass the time. Serious daters will most likely get on their home computer when ready to look for a date.
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