This post acts as an update to a recent post on dating in the digital age: “Keith Petri is now ‘Single’”.
Earlier this week I published a post titled “Keith Petri is now ‘Single'” on dating in the digital age. The following morning I was introduced to ALikeWise, an online dating service that matches potential “mates” on their literary preferences.
ALikeWise’s website is clean and simple. Setting up a profile takes less than a minute and allows you to search their database of users based on their favorite books in addition to the typical dating “criteria”.
With no hard-to-comprehend formula to match users or exclusive membership required like eHarmony or JDate, the site represents a new trend in online matchmaking.
Two similar services have recently begun gaining momentum in the online dating community: 1) Tastebuds and 2) HowAboutWe.
Tastebuds matches candidates based on their passion for music. Relying on the ideology that a Kiss diehard would not mesh well with a Britany Spears fan, this service integrates with popular music service Last.fm.
HowAboutWe focuses its magical methods on the activity of choice for its anxious singles. The founders are well aware that bachelors, who are dedicated sports fans, won’t be too keen on seeing a Broadway show during the most important game of the season. Likewise, a television addict won’t woo an individual who likes the outdoors.
I am interested to see what social networks and the Internet hold for the future. With various online communities collecting enormous amounts of personal information on individuals, wouldn’t creating an application for Facebook be the next logical step?
[UPDATE – July 22nd, 2010 @ 6:30PM EDT] See NYTimes Article “The New Dating Tools” for another perspective and interesting advances in the industry.
[UPDATE – July 26th, 2010 @9:45PM EDT] See CouplesSpark: A website that acts as a “ref” for any quarrel you and your significant other may have. Crowdsourced Dating? Or couples therapy without the bill? LINK
Thoughts?
Links
– Keith Petri is now “Single” – Article
– AlikeWise – Link
– TasteBuds – Link
– HowAboutWe – Link