10.19
Question: Would you consider role-playing out a rape fantasy with partner who asked you to? 340,000 people responded. Green = YES, Red = NO.
It’s a very specialized kind of porn. It’s my kind of porn. It’s data mining porn!
Recently (in June) and with little fanfare to the world outside, popular dating site OKCupid, the venerable hookup hotspot, launched the OKCupid Trends Blog. Here, they keep me endlessly fascinated with their humorous presentation of data used to discover trends and statistics from their users. Which, by the way, are a lot of people. Especially when you consider that over 300,000 people answered an OKCupid poll, while 3050 answered a nationwide Gallup poll for the 2008 American election. (Yay old media. Not.)
You know they’ve got *tons* of data on users and it’s got to be worth a pile of money — not to mention how much value could be gleaned about learning people’s actual sexual and dating habits. They feel that way too. What they’re analyzing is also really helpful information for online dating. And importantly, I appreciated that they address privacy issues up front and explain how they’re anonymizing the information. Caveat: it’s mostly heterosexually focused but they are listening to users and have started offering same-sex dating data presented as tips.
Favorites include Online Dating Advice: Same-Sex Messaging (what words do and don’t work in messages to women and men), Online Dating Advice Part 1 (very useful), Sweet-ass American Trends (great map post, including Rape-Fantasies and Hygiene By State), Flowchart To My Heart, and the real must-read, Online Dating Advice: Exactly What To Say In A First Message
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Veronica Lynn
I use Okcupid…..
@Heath
Really?
Unfortunately yes I had an issue a few years back had a couple of friends I liked. One I knew had no interest and the other I just thought what the hell and I asked her out. I hadn’t asked anyone out in around 7 years. She said ok but when it came time for our first date she told me something came up then she blew me off completely and I just couldn’t take that sort of shit anymore and kind of lost it. I asked out all the women I was interested in even went so far to ask out a friend of mine who is 8 years older and has 2 kids but none of it worked. I then turned to myspace and later after being rejected by eHarmony I finally found Okcupid. My top match will not talk to me and all I find are married women and polygamists. I talked to a girl for 5 months or so on myspace but she refused to meet me for a date. After she told me shes never met a guy like me before told me it was refreshing to meet someone so open and that she would never just stop talking to me she finally did just that. I guess im just that screwed up I have never really dated. It’s only been in the last year that I have even been on a date 2 women 3 dates and they just weren’t my type. One I met on Okcupid the other I was set on a blind date with through a friend of a relative. Most Women I know who actually take any time tro talk to me think im a great guy and most think it odd that im single unfortunately these women are taken. All my friends with kids give me shit saying how I need a family and I just start feeling like shit. Dating sites take whats left of your shattered soul and then defecate on it and incinerate it. So far I have yet to find any place for single people who aren’t whores or are really serious but serious types don’t get dates. Another issue is why are many of these people married.