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The phenomenon of online dating sites has taken the Internet by storm. With new users every day, these platforms are much more complex than they seem. Using reality as an anchor for the online world, dating sites study compatibility to bring together people with the same tastes. To do this, they use an algorithm with the most diverse variables possible and imaginable.
In this article, we tell you the story of Amy Webb , an entrepreneur and founder of the Webbmedia Group agency for digital innovation, who set herself the challenge of finding the love of her life through dating sites. new zealand email list Read on to find out the full story of the woman who hacked the compatibility algorithm behind online dating sites .
But how did it all start? Amy Webb was 30 years old and had just gotten out of a relationship. At the time, her personal goals were to get married and have children. However, the possibility of that happening seemed remote to her, since the whole natural process of falling in love and finding the right person would take a certain amount of time. According to her calculations, if everything went well, it would only be around 35 that she would be able to achieve those goals.
Faced with family members accusing her of being too weird, Webb decided to sign up to a dating site . Since she didn't like filling out long questionnaires, she simply copied and pasted the information she had on her CV. Yes, you read that right: professional information. The result: no dating proposals came, or the ones that did arrive weren't exactly to her liking.
Here are some examples of dating sites like the ones Webb signed up for:
What we haven't told you yet is that the entrepreneur is a fanatic about information and data processing . After some bad experiences, Amy Webb decided to use her professional experience to create a method that would allow her to find her Prince Charming.
Instead of viewing websites as a platform for meeting people , Webb began to look at dating sites as a kind of database that he would use to find the ideal partner: someone from a Jewish family, who liked technology and who shared his passion for traveling to exotic places.
Amy Webb: The love algorithm exists
To help users, most websites create algorithms that try to establish compatibility.
Although this is a method applied to the Internet, the truth is that we are not talking about something completely new. Consciously or unconsciously, we all have criteria that we use when it comes to understanding whether or not someone is the ideal partner . Just go back in time and look at history to find real marriages where the criterion was wealth, a political alliance or any other factor.
But why aren't these algorithms always effective? What often happens is that these criteria have different importance for each person. While for some people liking movies is essential, for others it is a secondary aspect. For this reason, Amy Webb decided to create a list of topics that she considered important in the man she was looking for.
After compiling all the points into a list, the expert organized them in order of importance: while some were essential (such as being Jewish, for example), others were important but not mandatory. Amy Webb then used the dating site to find the person who matched all of these topics.
End of story? No, after sending the message to the perfect prince, the invitation to meet was rejected. Instead, the prince chose to go out with a young girl who, in her description, described herself as fun and smiling. It was then that Amy Webb finally realized that her resume was not, in fact, a good bait to capture the attention of suitors. Conclusion: it is not enough to find the right person, it is also necessary that this person is interested in us.
Amy Webb and the “market” of relationships
The next step in her quest to find the man of her dreams was to conduct market research. By creating 10 fake profiles, Webb was able to analyze the behavior of women who were attracted to the men she wanted to conquer. After conducting her research, the analyst came up with a series of interesting results: the number of characters used in the description, the words used, and the photograph are extremely important.
Apparently, men liked women with friendly, well-written descriptions that weren't too intellectual or technical. The photos should show some skin and be attractive. The frequency of responses and the number of characters used were also analyzed.
Once the data was gathered, it was time to work on her own profile. Amy Webb deleted her resume, edited her description, and replaced the image of herself in pajamas with one in more presentable clothing. The result: shortly after, she started receiving numerous invitations to meet up.
But the story couldn't end there. So what's the problem now? The problem was that none of the new suitors met enough criteria on the list of characteristics that made up the perfect prince. Accused again by her family of being too weird, Webb decided to wait a little longer. And then a man came along, Thenevin (pictured), who scored high enough for a first date.
After three weeks of online “negotiations,” the two dating site users went on a face-to-face date that ended up lasting 14 hours. A year and a half later, Webb and Thenevin traveled on a cruise to Petra, Jordan, and Thenevin proposed to the young woman. Within a year, they were married, and a year and a half later, the couple’s first daughter was born.
Conclusion: According to Amy Webb, each of us has our own love algorithm . And although dating sites can be a good start, the truth is that it is up to each person to decipher their own formula.
Access the TED Talk or click on the video below to watch the conference, where Amy Webb tells her story in a fun and humorous way.
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